Q&A for How to Care for Tulips

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  • Question
    Do you need to deadhead tulips?
    Maggie Moran
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Expert Answer
    Deadheading tulips isn't a must, but it does help make the flower bed look tidier.
  • Question
    How do you keep cut tulips from drooping?
    Maggie Moran
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Expert Answer
    Cut the stem about an inch above the current cut and remove all the leaves under the rim of the vase.
  • Question
    What do you do with tulips after they are done blooming?
    Maggie Moran
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Expert Answer
    After the tulips are done blooming, deadhead them with a pair of shears just below the spent bloom.
  • Question
    How often do tulips need to be watered?
    Maggie Moran
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Expert Answer
    If the plant is outdoors, you may need to water as often as once a day in certain conditions. Alternatively, indoor tulips only need to be watered once or twice per week.
  • Question
    How long should tulips last in a vase?
    Maggie Moran
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Expert Answer
    Once they are in a vase, tulips should last for approximately one week in good health.
  • Question
    How do you keep tulips in a vase?
    Maggie Moran
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Expert Answer
    You can keep tulips in a vase by placing them in clean and cool water with added flower food then replacing the water every day. Also important to remember is to place the vase out of the sun.
  • Question
    How long do potted tulips last for?
    Maggie Moran
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Expert Answer
    Some types of tulips are annuals and only bloom once while some are perennials and keep coming back year after year.
  • Question
    How do you keep tulips alive?
    Ben Barkan
    Professional Gardener
    Ben Barkan is a Garden and Landscape Designer and the Owner and Founder of HomeHarvest LLC, an edible landscapes and construction business based in Boston, Massachusetts. Ben has over 12 years of experience working with organic gardening and specializes in designing and building beautiful landscapes with custom construction and creative plant integration. He is a Certified Permaculture Designer, is licensed Construction Supervisor in Massachusetts, and is a Licensed Home Improvement Contractor. He holds an associates degree in Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
    Professional Gardener
    Expert Answer
    Plant your tulips in the fall, and then use fertilizer in the Spring. If you think critters are going to dig up the bulbs, consider laying down some hardware cloth around the area.
  • Question
    Can I save bulbs when I take them out and replant them?
    Maggie Moran
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Expert Answer
    Yes. Store them in a cool, dry place. In warmer climates you will actually need to chill the bulbs before replanting them.
  • Question
    How can you tell if your tulips are annuals or perennials?
    Maggie Moran
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Maggie Moran is a Professional Gardener in Pennsylvania.
    Home & Garden Specialist
    Expert Answer
    Whether a tulip is a perennial or an annual depends on your climate. For tulips to be a perennial they need an environment of a cold winter and a hot, dry summer. For climates different than that, you can artificially create these conditions by chilling the bulbs before replanting them.
  • Question
    I was given a tulip as a gift, but all the label tells me is put in bright room, water after an inch of top soil is dry, and fertilize every two weeks. Can I plant this in the ground outside?
    Community Answer
    Yes. you can, but still follow the instructions on the label. Plant it in a sunny spot and water and fertilize it regularly. It will bloom every spring. If it starts to look like it will rain hard or snow hard, you can cover it.
  • Question
    Flower are falling off before they even fully bloom. Would squirrels eat the flower tops?
    Community Answer
    Yes. Any rodents will eat tulips.
  • Question
    Why are my tulip stems too long and the blooms very small?
    Community Answer
    Most likely, this is because of a lack of sun. When you plant tulips, make sure they are in a sunny location, and get a sun exposure at least four hours a day. They do best in a soft and moist soil with a neutral pH.
  • Question
    It is going to snow tomorrow. Should I cover my outside tulips that have buds?
    Community Answer
    It really depends on how hard the snow is going to fall and the temperature. If it will be very cold and snowing hard, yes cover them, if it will be somewhat cold with a light snow it's optional. If they are planted in the ground, cover them, if they are in a pot then just take it inside your house or garage.
  • Question
    What can I do if my tulip petals are falling off and the stem and leaves are yellow?
    Community Answer
    To keep tulips at their best, you can give them lots of sunshine or light and water them at least every other day. If they're dying, you can check the soil, because most flowers only grow and stay bloomed in healthy, earthy soil.
  • Question
    What are the pods on top of the stem after the bloom?
    Community Answer
    Tulip seeds. You should cut them off so the plant spends energy growing its bulb, not the seeds.
  • Question
    Do I have to plant the bulbs in the ground, or can I just keep them in the pot and care for them, hoping they bloom again next year?
    Community Answer
    They should bloom next year if you live in a climate that will give them the cold time they need in winter. I leave my tulips in the pot and plant annuals around them. In the fall, I pull the annuals out and leave the pot outside where it gets the same inattention that they would if planted in my garden.
  • Question
    Do I need to remove the bulbs after growing tulips in pots?
    Community Answer
    No, you can plant annuals over them and they will come up again next spring.
  • Question
    Can I plant bulbs if the roots were just in water?
    Community Answer
    Yep, it helps with some tulip plants. When the roots come out, they will be good for a while and when you plant them you water the tulip.
  • Question
    Why have my tulips been in the ground for two years without ever multiplying?
    Community Answer
    Chances are that either too much rain or rodents/animals have gotten to the plant. Consider these choices and make any necessary adjustments for the health of your tulips.
  • Question
    My tulips are in a vase with water. What do I do with them next?
    Community Answer
    Don't put tulips in water with a vase. Put them in a planting pot with some soil. Water them every day, and make sure they have enough sun.
  • Question
    How do we keep them from coming up too early? Our tulip garden is already coming up!
    Community Answer
    You can't! Nature takes its course and tulips come up according to the weather.
  • Question
    My tulips grew in water and have died, what do I do now?
    Community Answer
    Replant your bulbs in arable soil 4-6 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart. Spray the bulbs with WD-40 before covering with the soil. Once covered completely, add a few drops of 3-1 oil.
  • Question
    I have tulips in a vase with water only touching their roots. They are now spent. I dead headed the flower stem. What do I do with the plant now?
    Community Answer
    They were forced and can not be forced again. If you're in an area where you have a cold spell in winter, you can plant them in the garden and they will probably bloom next spring.
  • Question
    Is late summer or early fall an okay time to dig up and replant tulips in another location?
    Idabelle
    Community Answer
    No. The best time to replant tulips would be around late fall, around November in the northern hemisphere.
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