Hello, I have been looking for some information on Tulip planting. Last summer, we pulled up all of our gardens for re-landscaping-I wasn't happy with what the builder had had done and we changed it all to be very lovely. I had fully intended to replant the tulip bulbs in the fall and then got very ill and was unable to do so. By the time I was on my feet again it was December and a little too cold up here in Washington-not to mention the rain. Anyways, my question is, can I start the bulbs inside, or plant them and have them still bloom this year? If not, then I will plant something different for this year so that I at least have my color in my garden, I just really love my tulips, seeing them pop up always tells me that Spring has arrived.
You didn't indicate where you live or whether the bulbs have begun to sprout. How were they stored?
Tulips require a cold period to bloom.
What we recommended to a neighbor who had sprouting bulbs stored in her basement is thus:
Using cardboard boxes, put a few inches of potting soil in the bottom. Place the bulbs on top of that layer of soil and at the recommended spacing. Then cover with 6" of soil. Set outdoors and mulch with snow, if you have any. Let the bulbs do their thing and then once the leaves die back, dig them up and store until late September or early October and replant. You may get some blooms this year but you should have more next.
a new face over the garden fence smiling back at the rest of us. Are we speaking of Washington state or D.C.? You can start the tulips inside but focing them will only give you some spring relief. Planting the pots into the soil after they bloom will set them back a bit for next spring, and there are always some tulips that return weaker despite our best efforts. If you MUST have some tulips, now is the time to search out the forced pots at grocery stores, Walmarts, Home Depot and Lowes as they're coming in by the truckload. Not a wild assortment or variety, you can still get a bit of spring satisfaction and later when they're spent, you can plug them in your garden too.
I'd look into Dutch Garden's variety of tulips in their late summer release of their fall catalog and see what they recommend for reliable returns and invest in a few of those when fall tulips become available. Also invest in some true perennial spring bulbs....Pushkinnia, Squill, Crocus, Wind flowers, both the anemone and De Caine varieties. Aconite is a nice golden early spring bulbil. Little alliums and narcissus in all sorts of sizes and timings are nice and welcome springtime. Don't forget the woods hyacinths, trout lilies, Cammasia's for late summer blue's, little Frittleria's for hot, sunny spots where you can sit and admire their delicate flowers that are petite. (the little checkered ones are so cute!)
The list is immense and long. But you get my drift. If you want late winter flowers, go ahead and start some bulbs for the house if you have some. I always put my bulbs in the fridge drawer for chilling (no fresh fruit in there as the gas kills the blossom!) Then you can plant them after they've given you smiles into your new gardens. They'll return a bit later next year but most will return for you never the less. Good luck in your endeavors and again, welcome to the newsgroup! Keep us informed to how your garden is doing. It's always nice to hear from someone else.
madgardener, up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36
I am about an hour north of Seattle. They have been stored in my cold garage all winter on a newspaper lined shelf. They are not sprouting at this time. Thanks for the tip.
I live pretty close to you and understand our growing situation, which tends to be not very similar to most of the rest of the country. You have a couple of options, but first let me say that you are ahead of the game by storing your bulbs in a cool, even cold, dry location. They have experienced a sufficient winter chill period and should be ready to go. However, they need time in the ground or soil to develop roots from the bulbs, sprout and bloom. You can plant them in pots or containers now and set them out into the garden OR you can plant them in the soil directly.
At this late date, it is very likely you will not get the same volume of flowers that you would had they been planted in the fall, but you will most probably get some, but late flowers. And hybrid tulips tend not to be reliable perennializers - they weaken in time and eventually disappear so reusing existing bulbs will never result in the same full flush of flowers you get from planting new bulbs each season.
You have nothing to lose by planting now and could still get some very satisfactory results. I'd certainly include some bulb fertilizer in the planting area or container, but don't overdo and mix it into the soil well - direct contact with straight fertilizer, even organic ones like bone meal, can burn tender roots.
Thank you very much for replying back to me on this Pam. I was very frustrated when I realized that I had not gotten the bulbs back in the ground last fall. And it is definitely a beautiful day today to be working in the yard.
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