Q&A for How to Plant Tulip Bulbs

Check the density. IF they feel dry, flaky, or relatively light, they've probably lost their moisture content.

You should be able to store them at least 6-12 months. If stored correctly, most flower bulbs can last for over 12 months. See this wikiHow article to learn more about storing tulips specifically.

Unless you live in a particularly cold climate, always plant tulip bulbs in fall.

Layer mulch over your soil. This provides an additional layer of insulation for your tulips.

A trowel works best. If you have very loamy soil, you can use a bulb digger.

It depends not the size of your hole. Approximately 9 tulip bulbs can fit in a hole that's 12 inches wide and long.

Tulips generally do not like to grow in overly waterlogged soil, so growing one in water is an amazing feat. Plant it in well-drained sandy soil. Plant the bulb pointy side up in the fall.

Make sure you add flower food to your box. Otherwise, this sounds fine to me.

Yes, but it's a difficult process. You have to refrigerate them in a container like a vase with pebbles and water or in a plastic pot. For 12-16 weeks, the temperature should be 45-55 F. Then pull them out of the fridge. Keep them in darkness for the first week, then for the next two weeks in sunny, indirect light. After flowering, you can plant the bulbs outside. These bulbs can never be forced again. This process can be started between September and December or between February and May if you live in the South.

No, this would be too early. You should plant tulips in the fall. If you'd like to plant some bulbs in the spring, try some annuals, such as: begonias, cannas, dahlias, and gladiolus.

Yes, just keep them refrigerated until fall. They should do just fine once you replant them.

Tulips are cool-season bulbs that grow in the coolest springs. They grow as annuals in the Northern Hemisphere. The bulbs need to be cooled to root and flower early.

Cut off the flower stem, but keep the leaves intact. This way the plant can make nutrients for the bulb, so it will bloom next year.

You can remove the bulbs from the growing media and containers of your hydroponic system and allow them to dry in a paper bag or in a ventilated container with pure clean cotton as bedding. Store them in a cool dry place for at least 3 weeks so they become dormant. The bulbs can be saved for next season or you can start some early to have blooms earlier in the year. To germinate the blooms again, place them in a moist, not soaked, media/soil and place in a cold area for 3-6 days, slowly increasing the temperature to 31 Celsius (72 Fahrenheit) with warm water.

Yes, as long as the plant has been taken good care of, the bulb can be planted again.

Unless something goes wrong, they should come up again, year after year.

Dig them up and store them in a cool dry place, ideally a paper bag or similar. Do not use plastic, it promotes rot.

Yes. After the bloom dies, leave the foliage on until it, too, shrivels and dies, then the dead foliage can be easily pulled off. The bulb will hibernate until next spring.

They were possibly given too much water and all of them had rotted, or the winter was extremely cold and they all froze.

Dig them all up and plant them right side up.

No, because the two plants will grow too close together and could cause both of them to not grow properly.

A cool, dark area should do the trick.

Give them good cover from freezing. This will help them stay alive in the colder seasons. When the warmer seasons come around, bring the pot back outside so they can grow.

Cover the planted area of bulbs with a roll of mesh wire. This will keep squirrels and mice out. Moles will need to be trapped and removed.

Yes if the bulb is attached, then plant the whole plant and let the leaves die down naturally. Your tulips should bloom the next spring.