Understanding Tulips

“I’ve planted tulips several times, and they do great the first spring, then the next year they either don’t come up, or just send up green leaves, and sometimes a distorted flower. What am I doing wrong?”

This is one I hear often, because who doesn’t love tulips? And the bulbs aren’t cheap. The only thing you’re doing is not understanding the biological requirements of tulip bulbs. They need a long stratification. This is the time of cold-hours they require to bloom properly. That’s 6 weeks, or more, at or below 40-degrees (in the bottom of the fridge is about that). Here in upper east Tennessee, we rarely get that long of a cold period, so the bulbs aren’t ready, when spring comes. If you’re trying to save your bulbs for another year, they will need to be dug, then stored in a paper bag, as explained above. If you’re storing in the fridge, don’t store fresh fruit in there, as well, because the ethylene gas they put off, will cause the tulips to rot. Some gardeners have an extra refrigerator, where they stratify their seeds and bulbs, separate form food items.

These properly stratified bulbs – most bulbs need at least some chill-hours - may be planted in early spring.

As with scarification, commercially sold bulbs have already had their chill-hours (stratification), so they’re ready to plant and enjoy, the first season. You’ll need to decide if it’s worth the time, to save them over, or replace them every year.

The Tennessee Dirtgirl