Beginning gardeners often have questions about growing tulips. The best time to plant tulips is in the fall, when the ground is soft enough to dig the planting holes to the required depth yet the air retains its chill. Cool temperatures prevent tulips from breaking dormancy early or sprouting in the fall.
Newcomers to growing tulips often ask one or more of the following five questions. Before digging in, read this Q & A for best tips for growing tulips.
When Should Gardeners Plant Tulips?
Planting times vary according to the gardening zone, but the general rule of thumb is to plant tulip bulbs in the fall before the or soon after the first frost. Tulips require planting holes dug several inches deep, and it's easiest to dig into the soil before it has frozen.
Is There a Right or Wrong Side Up for Tulip Bulbs?
When planting tulip bulbs, remember to keep the pointy side up. Tulip bulbs are shaped like Hershey's kisses. Plant them with the pointy side up, as if a Hershey's kiss is set down upon the table. The stem grows from the point side, the roots from the flat side.
The Tulips are Already Sprouting and It's November. What Should Be Done?
The best time to plant tulip bulbs is in the mid to late fall, prior to the first heavy frost. If despite the best predictions the weather turns warm again, the bulbs may be fooled into thinking it's spring and start to grow. There's really nothing to be done. Nature takes care of tulips by providing them with a reservoir of stored energy in the bulb portion. The newly sprouted green stems may die at the next frost, but the bulbs should sprout again in the spring and continue to produce flowers.
Tulips Planted Last Year Did Not Come Up. What Went Wrong?
If this is the second year of growing tulips in the garden and they fail to come up, nothing may be wrong. Many tulips last only one season. While the bulb package promises glorious flowers for several seasons, in warmer climates and gardening zones, tulips often struggle to produce abundant flowers as the years go by. Gardeners may see lots of green leaves and stems and no flowers or no stems at all.
Another reason may be that rodents have eaten the tulip bulbs. Many animals like to nibble at tulip bulbs and flowers including mice, rats, rabbits and deer. Using bone meal and commercial products such as Ropel to make the bulbs taste bad is one way to repel unwanted diners from the garden, but no one method of repelling pests is foolproof.
Forgot to Plant the Tulips - What Can be Done?
Tulips are surprisingly forgiving flowers, and if there's a forgotten bag tucked in the back of the garage or garden shed, they can be planted as long as the ground can be worked and the holes dug to the required depth. Another option is planting tulips in pots, and keeping the pots in a cold frame or other protected area. Still another option is to plant tulips indoors, forcing them early for cheerful spring blossoms. Tulips can be grown as container flowers with some care and attention to the time and method of planting.
With hundreds of color, variety, and petal types to choose from, tulips offer gardeners in most gardening zones a rich and colorful palette to play with for bright spring blossoms.
