How to Care for Tulips

Tulips are a beautiful addition to any flower garden or lawn. Tulips are fairly easy to grow – they don’t need a watering schedule and don’t require complicated fertilizing techniques. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, tulips are a good choice for any garden.

Table of Contents

Growing tulips from bulbs

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Plant tulips in the fall, about 6-8 weeks before the onset of winter. The best time to plant tulip bulbs is in September or October in northern climates, and October or November in southern regions. The warmer the climate, the later it should be planted. The temperature in the soil should be below 15°C. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Tulip bulbs can be stored in the refrigerator (or in a cool, dry place) for about 2 months before planting season if you buy them during the summer. However, do not keep it next to apples, because apples emit ethylene gas, which damages tulip bulbs.
Most tulip bulbs need 12-14 weeks in the “cold phase” to grow well in the spring. Do not buy tulip bulbs after December 1, unless they have been “chilled” first.

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Choose a location with some shade. The tulip growing area needs to be sunny for at least part of the day. In regions like the southeastern United States, people grow tulips in places where there is only morning sun. ^{[2] X Research Source} Tulip likes the sun, but also likes cool soil; so don’t let the sun burn the tree.

In the northern parts of the United States, you can grow tulips where there is full sun throughout the day (the temperature in the soil is already cool enough). But if it’s hotter in the south, you’ll need to plant the plant in the afternoon shade to keep the soil cool. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Choose sandy and well-drained soil with a pH between 6 and 6.5. No tulip variety likes too much moisture. Tulip soil should be well drained, neutral or slightly acidic, fertile and even sandy. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Wet soil will kill the tulips. Never overwater your tulips – the most important thing is to ensure good drainage in the soil by adding chopped pine bark or even sand to the tulip soil.

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Loosen the soil. Before planting tulip bulbs, you need to use a tiller to loosen the soil. Dig down about 30-40 cm deep. Then mix 5-10 cm of compost into the soil.

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Plant the bulbs at a depth 3 times the size of the bulbs. The larger the flower bulb, the deeper the planting hole must be dug. The planting hole should be about 30-38 cm deep. Turn the soil up to ensure quick drainage, or you can plant it in a raised garden.

The bigger the tuber, the bigger the flower will be. ^{[5] X Research Sources}
If you are in a very warm climate, you may need to store the bulbs in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks before planting to simulate winter. Water sparingly every few weeks to keep the moisture level slightly.

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Plant tulip bulbs at least 15 cm apart. Tulips need about 10-15 cm of separate soil to grow well, otherwise they will compete with each other for nutrients. You should choose the planting area so that each tulip tree has a “homeland”.

Place the tulip bulb in the hole in the ground with the pointed end facing up. Fill the hole with soil and compact it.
Tulips multiply very quickly. Even if you plant just a few bulbs, in a few years you will have a flower garden. ^{[6] X Research Source}

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Apply coating. After you have planted your tulip bulbs, you need to cover the soil with a layer of chopped leaves, shavings or mulch. If you’re worried about rodents or other animals infesting your garden, you may need to snap a cage or put a fence around your newly planted tulip bulbs. You can also plant thorny leaves or sprinkle gravel on the ground to repel pests.

Apply a mulch of leaves or shavings about 2.5 – 5 cm thick to protect the bulbs, control weeds and retain moisture.
If you grow your tulips year-round, you’ll need to fertilize them every year to help them recover and continue to grow. You can add organics, compost or slow-release balanced nutrients every fall

Tulip tree care

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Watering after planting. Immediately after being planted, tulips need water to grow. This is one of those times when you need to water.

Do not water more until the plant begins to produce its first leaves. Then you can water as little as possible, and that should be enough. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Only water growing tulips when they are dry. If it doesn’t rain for a few weeks, mist the plant lightly. This is one of those rare times when you have to intervene to replenish moisture in the soil.

In spring, tulips usually need less watering, due to more rain and humidity. Usually, the weather will take care of the tree for you. Ordinary rains are enough to meet the needs of tulips. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Caring for tulips after blooming

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Check for ash fungus and other diseases of tulips. Ash fungus causes brown spots on leaves and causes flowers to turn gray. If one of the bulbs is sick, you must dig it up and throw it away to prevent spreading the disease to other tulips. If part of the tree is damaged, cut it off to see if it can be saved. ^{[10] X Research Source}

The only thing you can do to prevent plant disease is to take proper care of it. Just make sure the plant is planted in a place with some moisture, some shade, and a good, slightly acidic soil.
Bed bugs are also a problem, but you can easily get rid of them by spraying them with water.

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Cut off dead flowers. Tulips will give seeds when they begin to wilt; These seeds weaken the flower bulbs and reduce their vigor. Removing wilted flowers works well for year-round and annual plants. ^{[11] X Research Source} Here’s how:

Use scissors to cut the flowers that have fully bloomed and are beginning to fade from the stem.
Leave the flower stalks for about 6 weeks or until the foliage begins to turn yellow.
Prune leaves close to the ground and discard any dead parts after 6 weeks have passed. If you want, you can mark the location of the plant so you can find the bulbs later.
However, you should not do this step with some particular varieties of tulips. They need to develop seeds to grow into plants.

Advice

Dig up the bulbs after the leaves and stems turn brown so that more bulbs can be planted elsewhere.

Warning

Use caution when fertilizing tulip plants immediately after the flowers bloom. This can increase the risk of diseased plants.
Mulch thicker than 5 cm can be harmful to tulips because it keeps them too far from the sun!

Steps

Growing tulips from bulbs

Tulip tree care

Caring for tulips after blooming

Advice

Warning

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