Who doesn’t love a gorgeous patch of tulips?!
Location: Full sun is ideal but will tolerate a little shade. Site needs good drainage and air circulation, tulips don’t like having “wet feet”. Deer love them so choose your site accordingly.
Planting: These tulips will be coming “pre-cooled” and ready for planting immediately in mid-November and early December. The pre-cooling will have already fulfilled most of their required winter chilling hours and so they will be ready to put out roots right away! Plant as deep as possible with pointed end up, up to 4 inches (double the height of the bulb). I find that they produce a stronger stem when planted deep. Bulbs can be planted quite close together.
Watering Needs: Leave them alone! They’re more likely to rot from overwatering than suffer from under-watering.
Fertilization: Bulb-tone organic fertilizer (3-5-3) in the spring when tulip foliage starts pushing through soil.
Insect Control: Typically only bothered by aphids, slugs, and large-mouthed critters like deer. We have several organic insecticide options that we sell at Renfrow’s that combat both of these insects. You can also pick off by hand or spray with a hose.
Flowering & Harvest: If you want to harvest and enjoy indoors, cut when bud begins showing signs of color and plumping out. *an exception to this rule – the double tulips and parrot tulips need to be showing more color before harvesting, otherwise they may not open up fully. Cut with clean clippers and put in clean vase of water and they should look beautiful for approximately a week. The stems will grow after being picked. Leave the remaining foliage to photosynthesize and create energy to bloom next year, and wait to cut foliage away when it is yellowed and dying.
