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Planting, Growing, and Caring for Tulips
Planting
Tulips prefer a site with full or afternoon sun. In Zones 7 and 8, choose a shady site or one with morning sun only, as tulips don鈥檛 like a lot of heat.
The soil must be well-draining, neutral to slightly acidic, fertile, and dry or sandy. All tulips dislike areas with excessive moisture. Prepare the garden bed by using a garden fork or tiller to loosen the soil to a depth of 12 to 15 inches, then mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost.
Tall varieties should be sheltered from strong winds.
When to Plant Tulips
- Plant tulip bulbs in the fall, 6 to 8 weeks before a hard, ground-freezing frost is expected. The bulbs need time to establish themselves. Planting too early leads to disease problems. See local frost dates.
- A good rule of thumb is to plant bulbs when the average nighttime temperatures in your area are in the 40s.
- In colder northern climates, plant in September or October. In warmer climates, plant bulbs in December (or even later).
- To find the best dates, consult our fall bulb planting chart.
- Nature never intended bulbs to loll about above ground, so don鈥檛 delay planting the bulbs after purchase.
- In southern climates with mild winters, plant bulbs in late November or December. The bulbs will need to be chilled in the refrigerator for about 12 weeks before planting. (Bulb suppliers often offer pre-chilled bulbs for sale, too.)
- If you miss planting your bulbs at the optimal time, don鈥檛 wait for spring or next fall. Bulbs aren鈥檛 like seeds. Even if you find an unplanted sack of tulips or daffodils in January or February, plant them and take your chances. See more about planting tulips in winter.
How to Plant Tulips
- Plant bulbs fairly deep鈥8 inches deep, or about three times the height of the bulb. Dig a hole deeper than that in order to loosen the soil and allow for drainage. In clay soils, plant 3 to 6 inches deep instead.
- Space bulbs 4 to 6 inches apart.
- Set the bulb in the hole with the pointy end up. Cover with soil and press soil firmly.
- Water bulbs right after planting. Although they can鈥檛 bear wet feet, bulbs need water to trigger growth.
- If you鈥檙e planning to raise perennial tulips, feed them a balanced fertilizer when you plant them in the fall. Bulbs are their own complete storage system and contain all of the nutrients they need for one year. Use organic material, compost, or a balanced time-release bulb food.
- To deter mice and moles鈥攊f they have been a problem鈥攑ut holly or any other thorny leaves in the planting holes. Some gardeners use kitty litter or crushed gravel. If ravenous voles and rodents are a real problem, you may need to take stronger measures, such as planting bulbs in buried wire cages.
- Don鈥檛 lose hope if you鈥檙e planting your tulips later in the season鈥攋ust follow these tips.
Growing
- If it rains weekly, do not water. However, if there is a dry spell and it does not rain, you should water the bulbs weekly until the ground freezes.
- Rainy summers, irrigation systems, and wet soil are death to tulips. Never deliberately water a bulb bed unless in a drought. Wet soil leads to fungus and disease and can rot bulbs. Add shredded pine bark, sand, or any other rough material to the soil to foster swift drainage.
- Apply compost annually to provide nutrients needed for future blooms.
- In the spring, when leaves emerge, feed your tulip the same bulb food or bone meal you used at planting time. Water well.
- Deadhead tulips as soon as they go by, but do not remove the leaves!
- Allow the leaves to remain on the plants for about 6 weeks after flowering. The tulips need their foliage to gather energy for next year鈥檚 blooms! After the foliage turns yellow and dies back, it can be pruned off.
- Large varieties may need replanting every few years; small types usually multiply and spread on their own.
Catherine Boeckmann
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Hi, Sonya: Much of this depends on how deep you (and your neighbor) planted and what was going on underneath your board. The first thing to do is examine your bulbs and make sure they haven’t been eaten by something or rotted. You may find, too, that the stems were forced to grow sideways, in which case you could try gently turning the bulbs. If all seems well, you could try removing a little soil from the top. Beyond that: patience. Your soil does not necessarily have the same characteristics/temp as your neighbor’s. Thanks for asking!
Hi,
I received tulips as a gift in a vase of water. Will they blossom if I replant it for next year? I live in Minnsota. I do not have a green thumb, so lots of help & advice would be great.
Thank you.
Hi, Alison: Sorry, tulips must grow from bulbs and not cuttings. But do keep asking questions, as we all have to start somewhere!
I bought my daffodils and tulips from lowes and when i took them out the bucket, there was a root system all around the plant. I loosened it up and stuck it and the ground. And 2 weeks later they're dying. Will they come back. What do I need to do?
Hi, Starshima: It sounds like your tulips have just run their course, as they are not a very long-lived bloom. Let them die back fully before removing the aboveground parts, then stayed tuned for even more next year. Thanks for asking!
I have two pot of tulips with flowers. Spring has started at Michigan but the weather is still cold. Should I plant them right now ?
If your tulips are blooming we suggest that you leave them in the pots until the flowers fade and the foliage starts to turn yellow. You can then plant the bulbs in the garden and hopefully they will bloom again next spring in your garden.
I received about 15 Dutch bulbs last year and planted it last fall. We just left them indoors and not in direct sun light. About a month ago they started to come out. Largest is about 12cm now. To be honest I don't know much about gardening but I do like plants and flowers and growing things out of seeds. Lets see how these tulips work out. Thanks for the tips, didn't know about the newspaper funnel and cold water trick.
Hello.
Last fall I planted alot of tulips I had purchased at Tulip Festival in Holland Michigan.
My hubby made approx an 8x8 raised bed specifically for me to plant these in. It has two tiers-bottom tier is about 6-8 inches high, add about 6more inches for the top one. Daffodils I planted are just starting to come up, but not one tulip. Tomorrow is St. Patricks day and I am concerned. Other tulips elsewhere in our yard
are up and getting taller seemingly on a daily basis. Drainage is good, but moles are running rampant this year-tunnels are around base of bed, but i cannot see where they might have dug themselves under it and ate my bulbs. Forgot what types I purchased, but I did get a Darwin breed. What could have happened? Am I jumping the gun b/c they are not up yet? Any advice is much appreciated.
We recently bought a new home in Wisconsin that has a tulip bed in the backyard. We have never grown or cared for tulips before. The bed is covered in old flower stems and other weeds. Should we clean up the bed and remove all of the decaying material? Is it OK to walk on the bed, because we don't know where the actual flowers are located? We also want to put a fence around the bed, and possibly chicken wire above it to prevent squirrels and rabbits from eating them. Please provide advice. Thanks.
