Long live the tulip! This brightly colored jewel announces spring’s arrival, along with the cheery daffodil. We look forward to seeing those blue-green leaves start to emerge as the Earth awakens from its winter sleep. Here are our tips on how to plant and care for tulips.
The bulbs are planted in the autumn before the ground freezes. By planting varieties with different bloom times, you can have tulips blooming from early to late spring. Some types are good for forcing into bloom indoors. Most are excellent for cut flowers, too.
Tulip flowers are usually cup-shaped with three petals and three sepals. There’s a tulip for every setting, from small “species” tulips in naturalized woodland areas to larger tulips that fit formal garden plantings from beds to borders. The upright flowers may be single or double, and vary in shape from simple cups, bowls, and goblets to more complex forms. Height ranges from 6 inches to 2 feet. One tulip grows on each stem, with two to six broad leaves per plant.
Although tulips are a perennial from a botanical perspective, many centuries of hybridizing means that the bulb’s ability to come back year after year has weakened. Therefore, many gardeners treat them as annuals, planting new bulbs every autumn. The North American climate and soil can’t replicate the ancient Anatolian and southern Russian conditions of their birth. Gardeners in our western mountain regions come closest to this climate.
Reader Comments
Leave a Comment
How to grow flowers in hot sandy soil
We just moved to SC and have so much sand and no rich soil. I have no idea how to plant my flowers and really miss having beautiful flowers spring and summer. What do I do?
First, you will need to add
First, you will need to add substance to your sandy soil and improve water retention with some potting soil or compost. Mix in 2 to 3 inches of composted leaf mold, peat moss, manure, or a peat moss-based potting soil. And look for flowers and plants that are drought-tolerant. For example, consider Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella) and Black-Eyed Susans Rudbeckia). For a flowering shrub, consider Indian Hawthornes (Rhaphiolepis). Contact your SC cooperative extension for more local advice.
Tulips planted in water
How to care for stents blooms and bulbs for next season?
care of tulips next season
HI,
WE live in Napa CAlifornia, usually nice and warm but periodic downpours. Our tulips bloomed beautifully but age and rain flowers are gone and only green leaves are left. How long do you suggest to keep them in the ground, before removing them. and put them in a dry area (paperbag)until next fall.
Thanks MUCH for your help
Best
Saskia
The tulips bought in the store in water. Can they be planted?
There are a lot of roots with these tulips. Can they be transplanted in soil? I live in Central Florida.
Tulips bought in store
Cam tulips bought in the store with lots of roots be transplanted in the soil. I live in middle Tennessee.
Tulips
Why do my tulips have lots of leaves but no flowers, do I plant too deep or not deep enough? I have one pot with lots of green but looks like no flowers, the other pot didn't come up at all, same bulbs planted at same time???
Tulips
I received tulip bulbs for my birthday in mid December. The ground is frozen so I can’t plant now. What do I do with the 40 or so bulbs I received?
When do I plant them?
Planting Tulips in Winter
You could try planting them in mulch. See our article on planting tulip bulbs in winter for more information.
Grow Tulips in the shade
Hi Almanac Staff,
I live in San Diego Zone 10, it's very dry and hot, but my backyard is very cool with shade from the house. Please let me know if I can grow tulips in the shade (almost all day until Summer)
I just received several bulbs (single and double) can I grow it now or soon? Thank you.
Tulips in Hot Climates
Growing tulips in warm climates is tricky because tulips need a cooling period of 3–4 months with temperatures below 50°F in order to produce blooms. For this reason, many warm climate gardeners keep their tulip bulbs in the refrigerator for about 3 months before planting them in late December or early January. It’s a bit late at this point in time (late November), but you could try storing the bulbs for about two months and planting them in late January, though your blooms may be disappointing due to the short cooling period and warm temperatures. Another alternative would be to keep them stored for longer and then grow them indoors. In any case, you will probably have to treat your bulbs as annuals, rather than perennials.
Additionally, tulips prefer full sun or partial shade, and do not do as well in full shade.
Growing of Tulip in Delhi under controlled condition
Want to grow Tulips in Delhi (Lodi Garden) under controlled condition. Please suggest some suitable varieties and tips as climatic condition of Delhi are not suitable for the same.
Tulips
I live in zone 3,if I plant tulips in cinder blocks will they survive?
Tulips in Cinder Blocks
If the cinder blocks are above-ground, then the plants likely wouldn’t survive unless the blocks were completely surrounded by mulch. If you were to plant the tulips in cinder blocks sunken into the ground and put a layer of mulch over them, they may be able to survive a Zone 3 winter.
Could I plant tulips in pots in the fall and store them ina shed
I'd like to protect my tulips from hungry mice and voles. If I plant them in pots and store them in a dark, unheated shed could I bring them out in the spring?
Tulip Storage
Hi Darlene,
Yes, you can plant your tulip bulbs in pots in a dark and unheated shed. Be sure to wait until all of the tulip foliage has died back before transplanting the bulbs into pots. In the spring, either transplant the bulbs into the ground early on, or leave them in the pots and bring them out of the shed a couple of weeks later. We hope this helps!
Missing tulips
I have been reading about everyone's tulips and am so jealous! I have loved tulips since I was young and helped my mom plant many, many bulbs. The first fall I had my own home, I was so excited to plant tulips. With several acres of land, I had visions of fields of tulips! So off I went and planted about 1000 bulbs. Sure enough, when spring came, I had many blooms--for about a day! The nex day all the blooms were gone and I learned that deer also loved tulips! Since I also loved the deer and we had dozens visit daily, my dreams of a yard full of tulips was over quickly. I tried other bulbs over the years but the rabbits, squirrels, moles, and voles got most of those.
H
Need to dig up bulbs and move them
Hi,
Because of changes to my garden, I need to dig up my bulbs and move them in the next few days. I live in Colorado Springs. Should I keep them in a cool dry place until the fall and then replant or do it now? Thank you
moving bulbs
If the foliage has died back (it should have by six weeks after bloom), they should be ok to lift and move. Store in a warm (65° to 68°F), dark, well ventilated place and replant in fall.
Tulip Bulbs
I live in Wisconsin and I was wondering if I need to dig up my tulip bulbs after the leaves have wilted and turned yellow? If I want to dig them up and replant them in the fall how should I store them?
dig up tulips
You do not need to dig up your tulips. Let the tulips’ foliage die down from green to yellow. Don’t remove the green foliage. Once died back, strip off the foliage and keep the bulbs in the soil.
I'm hooked
I got some Canadian tulips last year and planted them for our 150th Anniversary and they all bloomed! I'm totally hooked on tulips now and will plant more this year. I researched how to plant them and take care of them here online, followed your directions and am very pleased with the results. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
Deer prevention
In the early spring when the tulips are just a few inches out of the ground I sprinkle them with a mixture of 3 eggs (thinned out in a little water) mixed into a watering can of water. This lasts a month in Avon Lake Ohio. No deer damage and glorious tulips.
cost
how much do tulip bulbs cost?
tulips bulbs
I just got some tulip bulbs given to me by someone out west. I live in SC. I understand they are to be refrigerated until time to plant in November. My question is what do I put them in to keep the other foods from getting affected from the gasses they put off. Do they need air? What is the best way to wrap or store them in the fridge?
Tulip Storage
Hi Danna,
The best way to store tulip bulbs in the refrigerator is to place them in a brown paper bag. The bulbs don’t give off any gasses that I know of, but fruit in the fridge give off ethylene gas as they ripen. The ethylene will spoil the bulbs, so try to keep fruit out of the fridge while the bulbs are in there.
Tulips
My tulips are all starting to bloom, my question is I want to move them to a different part of my yard. How long do I have to wait to move them? Do I I store all the bulbs till fall? And where should I keep them until then?
can I move my tulips?
After the leaves and stems turn yellow you can dig them up and transplant them to a new spot.
Replant and see what happens?
I have a row of hostas that are intermingled with tulips that haven't bloomed since I purchased my home nearly five years ago. While digging up the hostas to divide I also brought up the tulips bulbs which where all tiny bulbs and leaves. I have over 50 of these now with leaves still green and intact. Its not even May yet, so should I replant them somewhere there is space for them to spread out and grow while letting the foilage die back, or should I dry them out now and plant in the fall? I am in zone 5a.
Replanting Tulips
Hi Amy,
It is still early in the spring season, and since the bulbs are already dug up, we recommend replanting the tulips where there is space. However, since you have so many bulbs, try planting half while drying and saving the rest! You’ll increase your chances of success by doing both.
Good luck!
Pages