Let’s plant some tulips together. Tulips are easy to grow and bring so much spring joy.
Plant tulips now for the ultimate reward in the spring. Not only will you reap the rewards of simply stunning blooms in the spring, It’s good for your soul to get your hands dirty, and to be out in nature.
Come spring, watch them poke up through the soil, stretch and bloom. Then it’s time to pat yourself on the back and admire what you grew. Take some pics (maybe not thousands like me but a few for sure), share them or just stare at them….
But you need to plant them soon to enjoy the fruits of your labour.
How to Grow Tulips
Tulips are the easiest spring bulbs to grow. They come in different varieties and colours and have different bloom times too.
- Plant bulbs in the fall, after a few frosts and the ground is cool or cold but not yet frozen.
- Choose a location with well-draining soil and full sun.
- If you are planting in a flower bed - consider planting the bulbs in clusters, say groups of 5 or 7.. They will look more natural when they bloom in the spring.
- Dig out the planting area 6 ish inches deep
- Sprinkle a thin layer of compost or organic matter
- Place bulbs pointy side up on top of the organic matter and give a little twist to ensure the bulb has made contact with the soil.
- Cover the bulbs with soil and additional compost (optional)
- If planting for cut flower production, plant bulbs pointy side up close together, but not touching, like eggs in a carton.
- Give them a good watering at planting, but after that, mother nature will look after watering them with rain, snow and snow melt in the spring.
- Wait and watch for the first green sprig to poke through the soil in early spring. Then it's just a few weeks until they bloom.
PS - Having trouble keeping rodents from digging up your tulip bulbs?
If the bulbs are dug up in the fall - it’s most likely a squirrel. Here’s what to do to keep them out…cut to size and bury chicken wire or hardware cloth an inch or so below the surface of the soil, over top, of where you planted your bulbs. Or you could stand the chicken wire up and make a fence around where you planted the bulbs.
If your tulips are eaten in the spring it’s most likely a rabbit or deer. Deer like tulip foliage but not daffodils, snowdrops, hyacinths and allium so try interspersing your tulips with the bulbs deer stay away from.
Mice and voles also like tulip bulbs but it’s unlikely. If you’re sure it’s a varmint … get yourself a cat - we have plenty… email us for pick up time. ;-) Truthfully though, it is unlikely it’s mice or voles if you plant your tulips deep enough and they are planted outside.
If your tulips don’t come up in the spring, chances are it’s related to moisture; either too much and the bulbs rotted or the wet soil was too heavy/clay like for the tulips to push through. Or it could be that there wasn’t enough fall rains or snow cover to adequately water the bulb through the winter.
Happy Tulip Planting...the spring reward of beautiful blooms is worth the effort now. I promise.