Hello!
I've recently discovered what I'm pretty sure are tulips popping up around my garden beds. I don't know anything about tulips except that they're grown from bulbs...so what do I do after they bloom? Can I cut them and bring them inside? Will they bloom more than once? I've read some things about splitting the bulbs after the season and replanting...what does that even mean?
Thanks again for all your help? Getting this garden under control is quite the task!
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noobgardener
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rainbowgardener
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You can cut your tulips off to bring indoors, though they won't last as long that way. Just cut the flower stem off at the bottom. But leave the leaves alone. The leaves feed the bulb for next year, so as long as the leaves are green, let them stay. Once they start turning brown and wilting you can take them off. Tulips only bloom once, whether or not you cut them.
Mark the spot where they were, because by the time it is time to dig/ divide in the fall, there will be no visible trace of where they were. If they are getting really crowded, or you want to have tulips in other parts of the yard, you can dig and divide in fall. You just want to dig down deeper than the tulips (which is deep, the bulbs are usually 6 - 8" down) and bring them up from underneath, to avoid damaging the bulbs. Then you can just pull them apart in to separate bulbs (it will be obvious when you are looking at them) and replant immediately. If they are not over-crowded, you don't have to do anything.
Mark the spot where they were, because by the time it is time to dig/ divide in the fall, there will be no visible trace of where they were. If they are getting really crowded, or you want to have tulips in other parts of the yard, you can dig and divide in fall. You just want to dig down deeper than the tulips (which is deep, the bulbs are usually 6 - 8" down) and bring them up from underneath, to avoid damaging the bulbs. Then you can just pull them apart in to separate bulbs (it will be obvious when you are looking at them) and replant immediately. If they are not over-crowded, you don't have to do anything.
Ok I collect some experience last years with tulips...noobgardener wrote:so what do I do after they bloom? Can I cut them and bring them inside? Will they bloom more than once? I've read some things about splitting the bulbs after the season and replanting...what does that even mean?
Ok I will tell you some steps what you need to do the save them and having them each year.
1. After when the petals fall, you need cut off pestle
(to bulb energy not be used for creating seed pod)
2. When the leaves start turning yellow, cut them off and dig out bulb's...
3. Leave the bulbs in the box to they dry
4. Save them in a dark place where the temperature is not too high in the summer and so you keep them like that until autumn.
5. In September you bring them our, separate to each bulb be alone and plant them where you want.
You can mark them when they bloom and separate color from color if you have different variety's...
Doing like that, you will keep the bulbs for a long time, and increase their number.
In first year I get 3x more bulb's then I plant it... I was shocked...
They like good gardening soil, permeable and with nutritious...
Some of my pictures:
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rainbowgardener
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Mr Bobo your pictures are beautiful, so what you are doing is working for you.
But I totally don't understand digging and storing your bulbs through the summer rather than letting them stay dormant in the soil. A ton of extra work and not at all necessary unless you just want to have exact placement of each bloom. In gardens where they spell out letters with tulips, that would be necessary to keep the letters from getting all ragged. I like a natural look, so I just leave my tulips grow where they want to, until they are getting really over crowded.
But I totally don't understand digging and storing your bulbs through the summer rather than letting them stay dormant in the soil. A ton of extra work and not at all necessary unless you just want to have exact placement of each bloom. In gardens where they spell out letters with tulips, that would be necessary to keep the letters from getting all ragged. I like a natural look, so I just leave my tulips grow where they want to, until they are getting really over crowded.
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noobgardener
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Thank you. Yes its true.rainbowgardener wrote:Mr Bobo your pictures are beautiful, so what you are doing is working for you.
Actually I don't understand either... but fact is that in our parks all over my near city they dig them out each year... and replant them in autumn... Somehow tulips bulb's react and grow better when you dig out them in summer and split them and plant them again in autumn... because they don't like grow in mass... (most of variety)rainbowgardener wrote:But I totally don't understand digging and storing your bulbs through the summer rather than letting them stay dormant in the soil.
I was have them to grow free all around garden... and I can say I have them each year less and less, and I even lose some variety's and I did not know what to do... (They not teach us in school or collage
)Then one lady explain to me that I need dig them out each year, I say ok I can try and see what will happen... and I was shocked...
I think soil eventually crowding when they are more years on one place... and they not like it...
Various summer pests which live in soil can also damage bulb's...
...I will add pictures from this year... I plant them by color and time when they bloom... and I have 30 variety's so far... and want more !!
Yes, its extra work... but result is amazing... and its definitely worth of...rainbowgardener wrote: A ton of extra work and not at all necessary unless you just want to have exact placement of each bloom.
Uff I not see so far letters from tulips...rainbowgardener wrote: In gardens where they spell out letters with tulips, that would be necessary to keep the letters from getting all ragged.
...it is good if tulips can grow and multiple just like that...rainbowgardener wrote: I like a natural look, so I just leave my tulips grow where they want to, until they are getting really over crowded.
...in my garden that not be the case...
...yeah I use all day to plant them... (and I still not finish)
...I not have enough time... so some of them I will plant in spring... and I will compare difference between bulb's which are planted before winter and which ones are planted in spring...
...you can do test by yourself... on like 10-20 bulb's and see results...
Mr_bobo_ What a beautiful tulip bed! I love all the different kinds! Can I set up shop in your garden to practice my Van Gogh reproductions?
Noob, sadly they will only bloom once a year, but will come back year after year for a brief and beautiful display, with very little fussing.
If they are in the ground you can cut them back once the leaves all die and they'll come back next spring. If they're in a pot you may want to dig them out at that point.
You can cut them, but cut tulips do not last and you'll enjoy them for much longer if you leave them on the plant. If I had as many as mr_bobo I'd probably bring some in though!
Tulip bulbs form individual sections, kinda like garlic. So you simply split the individual "cloves" up and each one will become a tulip plant. Mine usually begin to sprout in the paper sac in the shed before I even think about them, and I end up giving away tons of little tulip plants. I'd say each bulb produces about a dozen new plants when broken up.
Noob, sadly they will only bloom once a year, but will come back year after year for a brief and beautiful display, with very little fussing.
If they are in the ground you can cut them back once the leaves all die and they'll come back next spring. If they're in a pot you may want to dig them out at that point.You can cut them, but cut tulips do not last and you'll enjoy them for much longer if you leave them on the plant. If I had as many as mr_bobo I'd probably bring some in though!
Tulip bulbs form individual sections, kinda like garlic. So you simply split the individual "cloves" up and each one will become a tulip plant. Mine usually begin to sprout in the paper sac in the shed before I even think about them, and I end up giving away tons of little tulip plants. I'd say each bulb produces about a dozen new plants when broken up.
You are welcome...sepeters wrote:Mr_bobo_ What a beautiful tulip bed! I love all the different kinds! Can I set up shop in your garden to practice my Van Gogh reproductions?
This is not all...
I expect 10 new ones which need to bloom in spring...
I buy it when I was in Paris and spend 10 euros for 11 different variety...
...which is quite expensive...
Can't wait, because they are amazing...
+ I will go in all gardens around neighborhood and mark variety's which I don't have... and after I will collect them for my collection...