Also receive the 蜜桃恋人 Daily newsletter including gardening tips, weather, astronomical events, and more.
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
ADVERTISEMENT
I bought beautiful tulips grown in water at Woolworths. What is the next step once the flowers die etc. can i plant yhe bulbs in the garden. Must i put them in the fridge and plant them in March. I live in Cape Town
There are a lot of roots with these tulips. Can they be transplanted in soil? I live in Central Florida.
Cam tulips bought in the store with lots of roots be transplanted in the soil. I live in middle Tennessee.
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
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???
Most of my Tulips this year have a lot of leaves but no blooms. They have been loaded with blooms for years.
I received tulip bulbs for my birthday in mid December. The ground is frozen so I can鈥檛 plant now. What do I do with the 40 or so bulbs I received?
When do I plant them?
You could try planting them in mulch. See our article on planting tulip bulbs in winter for more information.
Hi 蜜桃恋人 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.
Growing tulips in warm climates is tricky because tulips need a cooling period of 3鈥4 months with temperatures below 50掳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.
