Tulip, magnificent in the springtime

Partager

0

One straight stem, 8 to 30 inches tall, carrying a single flower that can be as full as a peony or as ragged as a parrot’s plume: the tulip (Tulipa) is the queen of the bulb flowers, and it suits beds, terraces and balcony pots alike. Give it full sun and well-drained soil, and each bulb quietly multiplies year after year.

Planting tulips well and caring for them will enhance blooming and let them grow more numerous year after year.

Planting tulip

To have beautiful tulips in spring, bulb planting should start early fall to early winter at the latest. This lets them spread roots over the winter and spring flowers will be larger and more vigorous.

How to plant tulip bulbs

Dig a hole 2 or 3 times as deep as the tulip bulb is high, to protect it from freezing. Space your carefully chosen tulip bulbs at least 4 inches (10 cm) apart, but don’t spread them too much, either.

The pointy tip of the bulb should face upwards, towards the sky.

• Choose a well-lit place to get nice blooms. Bulbs in part shade will bloom 2-3 weeks later.
• Well-drained soil will guarantee better growth for your tulips.
• Upon planting your tulip bulbs, throw a handful of soil mix at the bottom of the hole. It will significantly increase growth and blooming of your tulips.

Grouping tulips together in small bunches of 10 to 50 bulbs produces a much nicer effect than simply spreading them by twos or threes across the garden.

• Take a look at our guide detailing how to plant bulbs
• Learn how to plant bulbs in clay soil or flood-prone areas

Planting tulip in pots

Tulips are particularly well suited to being planted in pots.

• In fall, plant 3-4 tulip bulbs per pot and cover with around 4 inches (10 cm) soil mix.
• Let your pots spend the winter outside, unless the climate is very harsh, in which case bring them in a cool place where they will be protected from the coldest freezing.
• In spring, bring the pots out to the terrace and water if it doesn’t rain.
• At the end of the blooming period, wait for leaves to turn yellow before cutting them off.
• You may either leave the bulbs in their pot, or dig them up to store them in a cool, dry place, before replanting them come fall.

More on the best tulips for growing in pots (and tips to do it right)

Where and how to plant: four situations compared

Tulips take to open beds, shadier corners and pots alike, but the planting depth, spacing and watering change with each. Use the table to match your situation before you dig.

Whatever the situation, a handful of soil mix dropped in the bottom of the hole pays off in growth and blooming.

Caring for tulip

Tulip needs virtually no care at all because, once planted, it should bloom again come the following spring without any intervention.

Each tulip will actually multiply and you’ll have two, three or four new bulbs where you previously only had one! This is how wild tulip used to spread, and cultivated tulips do the same, too!

Fertilizer for tulip bulbs

It is possible to enhance and stimulate blooming further if you apply bulb flower fertilizer when the first tulip leaves sprout.

• Tulip-specific fertilizer can be used at planting and again during the growth phase.

Normally, when tulips sprout in spring, rainfall covers water needs and extra watering isn’t needed.

However, in containers and pots, you’ll have to water as soon as the surface of the soil feels dry to the touch.

Tulip after flowering

This period of time is often underestimated for tulips, because it is actually during the wilting of leaves that tulips stock up on reserves for the next season’s blooming.

Indeed, it is important to wait until they are completely wilted because that phase is when tulips gather nutrients for the following year.

• Wait until leaves and stems are clearly yellow before cutting them off, and do not cut if still green.
• If you remove leaves just after blooming, tulips probably won’t bloom in the following spring.
• You may nonetheless cut the wilted flower off to beautify the garden somewhat.

Which tulips come back year after year

Tulips are sorted into groups, and the group tells you far more than the colour does: it settles when the flower opens and, above all, whether the bulb will flower again next spring or fade after a season. The short ones bred from wild species are the ones that stay; the showiest doubles and parrots rarely do.

Whatever the group, the bulb rebuilds its reserves from the leaves after flowering: cut the faded flower off, and leave the foliage alone until it yellows.

All there is to know about tulip

Tulips are single-stemmed bulbous plants that are very much appreciated to garnish any type of garden at the end of winter and beginning of spring.

There are over 125 different species, and thousands of varieties to make for many combinations of color and shape. From stupendous peony or parrot tulips to natural botanical tulips, there’s definitely one to share vibes with for you!

You can imagine how many different garden compositions are possible!

Tulips are referred to as the queen of the bulb flowers and equally suit gardens, terraces and balconies.

• Tulips adapt perfectly to all temperate climates.
• The amazing range of store-available varieties lets one choose from many diverse shapes and colors, to match everyone’s favorite combination!