2 - Plant your Tulips Properly

• Tulips like fertile, well-drained soil that is neutral to slightly acidic and plenty of sun - at least six hours a day. They need plenty of water when they are in growth, from fall to late spring.
• If the fall has been dry, water your tulips immediately after planting to get the roots started.
• Planting tulips deeper in the soil (four times the height of the bulb) can help keep them coming back. This protects them better from deep frosts and fluctuations in temperature. Their bulbs are less likely to split into 2 or more small bulbs.
• Avoid planting too early in the season. Wait until mid to late fall, when daytime temperatures are in the 70s (20ºC) and nighttime temperatures are in the 40s (4ºC).
• Apply compost.
• Make sure the bulbs don't get too much moisture in summer, when they're dormant. Plant your tulips in a site you will never water over the summer to avoid bulbs rot.
• Don't cut your Darwin or Fosteriana tulips to make fresh bouquets. Removing their stems depletes their energy-storing ability. Wait until the flowers start dying back, then cut off the flower heads 1 in. below their base so the plant doesn't put its energy into seed production. This rule does not apply to the species tulips as you want to let them self-seed and multiply. 
• Let the foliage die back before removing it, which can take as much as 6-8 weeks.