Anyone successful with tulips?

[ChanellG]

Someone gave my aunt some potted tulips a few weeks ago. They were already past their prime and I knew she wasn't going to put in the care for them so I rescued them hoping to keep the green tops going, but they died off. I decided to let the pot dry out so now I'm faced with digging up the bulbs and trying to get them to bloom again.

We're experiencing what is hopefully winter's last gasp and soon it's going to get really hot really fast. Right now the bulbs are still in their pot on the windowsill. I'm thinking of dumping out the dirt and putting them in a paper bag until later.

Anyone know how to get them to grow again?

 

[kaydee]

I think a lot depends on what variety they were. If they were in a pot it sounds as if they might have been forced for early flowering. If the bulbs are plump & firm now they might flower again though the flowers might not be quite as big next year. If you keep them in a bag they would need to be somewhere cool, dark & dry & need checking now & again for fungus. Pot them up again in the late autumn.

 

[ChanellG]

They were definitely early. Unfortunately, I didn't see them until they were pretty much spent, so I can't identify them unless I can get them to bloom again. Even then it would most likely be a "best guess" situation. I wish the person who bought them had left the ID tab in the pot; maybe there wasn't one, but it would definitely make things easier.

 

[ChanellG]

Well, I managed to sprout a bulb in water, but I should have put it in soil I think. I don't think the conditions indoors are ideal enough to be able to really support the plant's needs. I have another bulb in the fridge, but now I am concerned about winter approaching. If I put the plants out and we get a hard frost, I could lose them.

 

[firelily99]

Bulbs are like batteries, they need to be recharged. After they bloom the leaves absorb light and nutrients and then die. The bulbs then need eight to twelve weeks of rest in a cool place. After that you can start watering again - don't water them when they are resting.

 

[ChanellG]

Bulbs are like batteries, they need to be recharged. After they bloom the leaves absorb light and nutrients and then die. The bulbs then need eight to twelve weeks of rest in a cool place. After that you can start watering again - don't water them when they are resting.

Great advice! I kind of failed with the tulips this first time in that I didn't maintain the water level well enough, but now that winter is approaching I plan to wait before sprouting anymore. In the future I will sprout them and plant them in soil for outdoor growing. I'd like to plant them in with lilies but if they shouldn't be watered during that dormant period that wouldn't work.

 

[firelily99]

Great advice! I kind of failed with the tulips this first time in that I didn't maintain the water level well enough, but now that winter is approaching I plan to wait before sprouting anymore. In the future I will sprout them and plant them in soil for outdoor growing. I'd like to plant them in with lilies but if they shouldn't be watered during that dormant period that wouldn't work.

You don't need to sprout them for the spring. you plant them in the fall when they are dormant and they come up in the spring.

 

[ChanellG]

You don't need to sprout them for the spring. you plant them in the fall when they are dormant and they come up in the spring.

Well, but if I plant them outdoors they will get watered when it rains, won't they? Not only that, they won't really rest in a cool place where I live unless I refrigerate them. It's warm much of the time and the weather flip flops a lot; it may be cold one week and back to summer the next. I think the poor bulbs would be confused.

 

[ChanellG]

Tulip update: I sprouted more by putting them in the fridge and then when I took the other bulbs out of the bag where I had them they'd started to sprout on their own as well. I've planted them all and the ones I "wintered" in the fridge are sending up green shoots. Still waiting to see what happens with the ones that tried to start out on their own. One pot is outdoors and one is indoors.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

we have a few of the traditional type that are coming up year after year. but waited until the area was cleared enough for the sun they like. I have many early bloomers that do well also as they bloom before the leaves on the trees are not in yet.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

How to make tulips last longer every spring

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Indian Summer Tulip has multiple colors.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/33214115983677492/

 

[LouisFerdinand]

https://flic.kr/p/acWhCU
The given color of these tulips is pink. However, they could also pass as a pastel purple.