Growing Tulips??

[PunkRotten]

Hello,
So I got a hold of 3 tulip bulbs. I know nothing about growing them. I was doing a little reading and from what I gather I should put the bulbs in the fridge for 12 weeks. Or, I could put them in the ground and wait until spring. As far as lighting and water, they want full sun and not too much water (rarely watering). Is this right?? And I was reading they prefer a mostly sandy soil with some organic matter. There's one problem I face though, there are gophers here and other critters that might eat the bulbs. So, I was thinking about growing them in vases. I seen some pictures online of some people doing this. Anyway, I have no experience growing them but I'd like to give them a shot. I'd appreciate some growing tips you might have. Thank you

[rainbowgardener]

Well for most of the US, we would just put them in the ground now. But there in Monterey, it never gets very cold (mid to low 40's deg F). They say tulip bulbs need eight to 15 weeks of chilling between 35 and 45 deg F. That means accumulated chilling time. So if some days get warm, they don't count towards the minimum 8 wks of chilling. It looks like where you are it would be very borderline whether it would get enough chilling, just planted in the garden.

So you could pre-chill it in the fridge. But understand that doesn't mean just putting the bulb in the fridge. All you are doing then is cold storage. To count, the bulb has to be planted in moist (but NOT wet, barely damp is more like it) potting soil, then the whole thing-- bulb, soil, and container--wrapped in plastic and refrigerated.

Whether you want to grow it in the ground or in a vase, either way it will have to be pre-chilled as above. That is unless it has already been pre-chilled. Sometimes in warm climates, they sell bulbs pre-chilled. But that would usually be in the spring, so you could just plant it and it would start growing. And of course, where I am, I plant tulips in the ground and leave them and they multiply by themselves and each year there are more. You will have to dig your tulips back up every year at this time and do the chilling procedure and then plant them again in spring.

But I have to say, you have so many beautiful plants that are native to your climate. Why do you want to go through all this trouble trying to grow something that doesn't like it there?

Here's a Monterey Bay chapter of California Native Plant Society https://montereybay.cnps.org/ They know a lot about your native plants. Here's a list of a few of your native plants : https://www.wildflower.org/expert/show.php?id=3183

[Allyn]

Everything RBG said is good advice. The only thing I'll add is that if you do plant them in the ground, you can plant them in a 'cage' to keep gophers and other foraging critters from digging them and eating them. Make an 8-inch (or thereabouts) box out of wire mesh such as hardware cloth and bury it so the top of the box is ground level and fill it with dirt. Plant a bulb or bulbs in the box at the specified planting depth. The caveat is that you'd have to dig them up to separate out the bulbs that multiplied or the box would be overcrowded next year; but if you have to chill the bulbs each year to get them to bloom, you'll be digging them up anyway.

Do you know what kind of tulips they are? I've been seeing some hybrids that are supposed to bloom with little or no overwintering.

[Susan W]

Here's an idea for 3 tulip bulbs......In checking briefly on-line, chilling can be done in a mesh bag or paper sack, put in frig for 12 or more weeks. Then, why not plant in a pot, 2-3 qt, even decorative. Hopefully they will come up and bloom and you have a stunning (hopefully) patio or table tulip pot. Blooms don't last very long, but so lovely for the moment.

[PunkRotten]

I left these bulbs on a counter and actually forgot about them and noticed they were sprouting. Then I placed them in a shallow dish with just a little water and roots started to grow. So now I have them in a glass container with stones and water barely touching their bottoms. The stalk is getting bigger and more roots are growing. Maybe the cold in my room gave them they chill they needed? Is this the right time for them to sprout? I'll throw up some pics later too.

[imafan26]

Tulips, like daffodils can only be forced here. They don't survive in zone 12a. Amaryllis and glads though will naturalize.

[PunkRotten]

20160108_193150.jpg (21.82 KiB) Viewed 3462 times

One of them is starting to flower.

[rainbowgardener]

maybe, but it is kind of odd looking. Tulip bulbs usually arise at the end of a tall flower stalk:


https://www.pd4pic.com/images/-tulip-flo ... leaves.jpg

[PunkRotten]

I thought it was odd too. I guess we'll see how it progresses.

[applestar]

You can force tulip bulbs in water and gravel, but they deplete themselves pretty severely so planting them in soil afterwards don't always bring them back.

Also, they tend to fall over with out the extra support along their flower stalk.

[rainbowgardener]

any update? DId your tulip go on to bloom?

[PunkRotten]

Yep, and it got a little longer too. There's 3 bulbs total in the container but the others are still pretty small. I'll get a pic soon.

[PunkRotten]

The flower looks terrible.

[rainbowgardener]

It looks spent already. They don't last real long even in the ground in sunshine. In your conditions, probably less.

The houseplant behind it is beautiful!

[applestar]

At this point, you could gently repot into potting mix in a largish container or in the ground outside if spring-like, and let the leaves grow and feed the bulbs for about ...two months, maybe? I think it takes that long for the leaves to yellow and shrivel up... But it might depend on heat level and it happens faster if it gets hotter faster.

Depending on the variety, some tulips come back every year, albeit sometimes not as showy as the first year, and other, more domesticated hybrids are mostly throw away, bloom once a year.