Can You Plant Tulips in the Spring? There’s a misconception about when it’s best to plant tulips. It’s a common belief that tulips do well during the fall season. While this is true, it doesn’t mean you can’t grow your tulip any other time. All you need is to follow the proper process, and your flowers will turn out fine.
You may be thinking, can you plant tulips in the spring? The short answer is yes, you can. Although it’s not a common practice, that doesn’t mean it’s not doable. In fact, your tulip may turn out to be better than those planted during the Fall.
Issues arise occasionally, and some may prevent you from getting close to planting your flowers at the right time. Notwithstanding, it’s not the end of the world as there’s an alternative way to go. Once you’ve decided to start planting, you should choose the proper method to go about it. We have a detailed guide and answers to your questions when planting tulips during the spring season.
We’ve shared some of our secrets in this article to paint a clear picture of the whole process. Not only this, you’ll learn tips on caring for your flowers until they’re mature. Continue reading to get all the information you need.
An Introduction To Tulips
Tulips are one of the most sought-after flowers that bloom during the spring. It has green foliage and is a member of the Tulipa family. In the 1630s, there was a widely known phenomenon called the Tulipmania. During this period, people were obsessed with the flower and spent years planting and collecting all sorts of tulips.
Since then, tulips have been a significant part of every garden. Also, tulips are stunning as they come with attractive fleshy leaves. They reproduce from bulbs, a particular part of the plant. The bulb then germinates and grows into a fully formed flower. There are two main types of bulbs, the soft one and the hard one. The season you’re planting will determine which bulb to use.
What’s The Life Cycle of Tulips?
Tulips are perennial crops; this means they bloom and die every year. Most of the time, professional growers give it the same treatment as annual crops. This is because their life cycle is concise, and they stop reappearing after a few years. If you want to build a garden full of tulips only, you may wish to exercise your options and choose a more tough species. Some types to consider are the Fosteriana, the Darwin hybrids, or the Wild-type tulips.
It takes 16 weeks for tulips to exceed their dormancy stage and breakthrough. It’s essential to keep the temperature between 40 – 45 degrees Fahrenheit before this can be achieved. Anything below or above this will cause the bulb to wither, or it may refuse to open.
How Do You Force Tulips to Bloom?
One of the things that makes tulips really cool about tulips is the fact that you can force them to bloom any time you want them. Yes, you read that right! First, you’ll need to get healthy, firm tulip bulbs. There are several well-known bulb companies that you can buy from. Local gardening stores also sell flower bulbs, and you can get yours from them. They sometimes sell them in big box stores at considerate discounts.
After getting the bulb ready, you’ll need to select a suitable pot with holes in the bottom to drain excess water. You’ll then fill the pot with compost till it almost reaches the top of the pot. If you don’t want to use compost or have no access to it, you can opt for coconut coir-based or peat. Place the bulb inside the pot with its tips sticking out. Water the bulb at intervals and wait some weeks for it to bloom.
How Do you Plant Tulips in the Garden?
It doesn’t matter whether you plant your tulips in the Spring or Fall; if you are transplanting tulip bulbs, you must be aware of the area you’re using. It should be a space that gets enough sunlight; anything lower than 6 hours of light is not ideal. Besides, a good drainage facility is required to have a very healthy plant.
In a situation where there’s too much water retained in the pot, the bulbs can rot within days of planting. The next step is making your tulip bed and the spacing that goes with it. This step is critical as it can make or break the entire life cycle of the flowers. Make sure you put enough space between the tulips if you treat them as perennials.
How To Harvest Tulips! A Guide!
Whether you want to grow tulips for the beauty they offer or for their fresh cuts, there are some tips to know about harvesting or taking care of your tulip plantation.
Fresh cut tulips
Fresh-cut tulips are stunning in a vase and can last longer than you expect. You may not know that tulips actually grow in the vase. After cutting the flower stems entirely from the plant, You should trim the stems shorter to leave more space when they grow up to an inch in the vase. Then you can cut the flower stalks when most of the buds are still closed, and they’ve started to show some color. By this time, some of them might have started to loosen. You’ll get a favorably long vase life if you decide to cut them early.
Most times, professional growers will pull the whole tulip plant out and keep it in storage while the bulb is still attached. This practice is ideal only if you treat the flower as an annual plant. You’ll first wrap it in a newspaper and lay it in a crate before putting it all together into the fridge.
When it’s time to sell the fresh cuts, the bulb will be taken from the storage, trimmed, and placed in warm water to rehydrate. In order to try this at home, you need to wrap a bundle of stalks inside a newspaper. This process will keep the tulip stalks from bending as they rehydrate. If you want any methods, cut the flower buds as early as possible to get the fresh ones. Now, it’s time to sit back and watch your tulips unfold before your eyes. It is a remarkable experience!
How Can I Harvest Tulip Bulbs?
Harvesting tulip bulbs is straightforward, but you may make mistakes if you don’t know how to do it properly. Whether you want to give them to your friends or store them for another reason, below are some tips.
Suppose you simply want to move your tulip bulbs, whether moving to a new spot in your garden or sharing with a friend. In that case, you should wait until the foliage has completely died back. By this time, all the nutrients have been replenished and saved in the bulb to prepare for the next bloom.
You’ll want to dig up the bulbs and clean the bulbs by getting rid of the husks present on them bulb. Also, you need to trim the bulb and dry it for up to three days. One thing to remember is the type of bulb to choose; the firm ones are perfect as they don’t rot quickly. Place the bulbs in a paper bag and store them in a cool, dry place until you’re ready for them.
Let’s say you notice your tulip has a new shoot, or it broke a separate one on the side. In that case, you may be able to divide these and increase your tulip bulb stock. Be aware that these tiny bulbs won’t start making flowers as early as you may expect. It sometimes takes up to 6 years for the bulblet to mature enough to make flowers.
Notwithstanding, you may want to flex your gardener’s muscles and try the division; you’ll need to divide the bulb where the old and new offset meet. You can snap the shoot-off carefully or use a pair of snips. If the bulblet is still pretty small, you should wait another year until it is more significant to divide the bulb.
Once the foliage has died, you can start dividing until the ground freezes and it’s no longer viable to do so. The entrance of Fall makes it hard to till the land and most gardening activities typically halt. To avoid confusion, mark the spot where your tulips are planted, as it’s sometimes difficult to locate when the foliage has died.
Conclusion on Can You Plant Tulips in the Spring?
Tulips are stunning when planted outdoors. They give off a very welcoming and calm feeling; this makes them beloved companions in homes worldwide. The best time to plant tulips is during the Fall season, but if you have what it takes, you can plant them in the spring. The purpose of this article is to get you closer to the entire process of planting tulips. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can leave it in the comment section below. We want to hear back from you.