Tulip Bulbs

I planted a bed of tulip bulbs last Nov, which came up beautifully this spring. I thought they were like daffodils and they would bloom every year without touching them. Have since read that they will not bloom the 2nd year. Is this correct and if so can I/should I dig up the bulbs and then plant them next spring? I am really a newbie at this, and loving it!

They need a certain amount of winter chill in order to bloom, so it depends on how cold your winters are--I think Vancouver is zone 8 and I'm pretty sure in zone 8 you'll have the best results if you dig them up and chill them, but hopefully someone who lives near you can confirm that. But...do you know if the tulip bulbs you bought and planted last year had been pre-chilled? If they weren't pre-chilled, then apparently your winter cold was enough for them so unless last winter was an unusually cold one then you should be fine leaving them in the ground.

I've never found that to be the case, my tulips have always come up the 2nd year.

Of course, while I was typing ecrane always gives the best advice.

Here in zone 9a they come every year, I never do anything to them as they are naturalized in my garden.
Plenty of moisture during the summer is important.

pajonica

That's interesting--over here in zone 9 if you don't dig them up and chill them (or buy pre-chilled bulbs) you generally won't get too many blooms.

ecrane3, Zoning is by no means an accurate science and is only average minimum temps, ours is -2c or 29f if you prefer. chill enough for me, Lol.

pajonica

Oh, believe me, I know that about the zones! LOL Our California version of zone 9a is very different than the Florida/Gulf Coast version of 9a, there are tons of things they can grow that we can't because although our minimum temp that we get every winter is the same as theirs, they'll hit that temp once or twice and we will get there much more often so all the things that can't take repeated cold nights will die.

Thanks for the replies. Bulbs I bought were not pre chilled, and yes we did have a cold winter this past year (at or about freezing most of the winter). Will try leaving them in ground this year and see what happens.

I have also planted tulips only to have them die out after a few years. I live in Pittsburgh, PA (zone 6) so the winters here are cold. Is there a step that I am missing or does it depend on the tulip? I have heard that species are longer lasting than the hybrids. Also I have daylilies and irises in a front and side garden. Would tulips be OK planted with in this garden since they are planted at a different depth and bloom at a different time than the other flowers?

I have my daylilies underplanted by tulips...these work out perfect as the foliage of the tulips is dying back the dl's are starting

ridgebax--your climate should be fine for tulips. If they're coming back with leaves but not blooming, they may need to be divided. And if they're not coming back at all, have you checked to see if there are critters munching the bulbs?

So how would you pre chill the bulbs and when. I dug up last years bulbs. I wasn't sure how to store them. David

never heard of prechilled bulbs. Here in NC the winters are pretty cold and the instructions are to dig up the bulbs every three years and replant in the fall after putting them in a cool enviroment such as fridge for a couple of months. Mine have been in the ground for three years and still blooming.

I think most people just stick them in the fridge for 6-8 wks to chill them. Just make sure you don't have any fruits like apples around that release ethylene gas.

ecrane, I'm so glad you are on this thread. Ok, I am in zone 8b or 9a, they don't seem to be able to make up their minds on that. I realllyyy want tulips this year. Had my list all ready to order from Bleek, then I did alot of reasearch. It really just depends on which site you go to as to whether they say zone 8 or 9 for the tulips. My question is this. If I receive tulip bulbs at the end of October and chill them for 8 week until the end of December, then will I be able to plant them outside? Some years we wear shorts for Christmas, so December doesn't always mean cool or cold weather. Once they are chilled, if I plant them in 70 degree soil, will they bloom? I realize they have to be chilled before planting, but how does the warmth of the south effect them once they are planted? And does it matter which type I plant? I'm so confused, but I really want tulips. LOL

Debbie

My mother retired to SC and was dismayed by the second year no bloom on her tulips...then made the classic "fruit" with bulbs mistake the next year.

I believe her solution was to repurpose my nephew's old college dorm fridge in a completely different room (like the garage)...for her bulbs.

To answer the will it bloom the first year...she always got blooms the first year but had to rework her strategy to produce perennial blooms ...but perhaps since she's coastal the weathers more temperate? cooler?...

So glad I don't have to dig mine up every year!!! but to get bigger, more profuse blooms I feed mine a little blood meal and bone meal in spring and fall....hope that helps

Debbie--you'll be fine with your plan, all that matters is that they get that cold period in your fridge, if they go in warm soil after that it's fine. You might check whether Bleek's bulbs come pre-chilled or not, some bulb suppliers will do that and if they already chilled them then you wouldn't need to.

QuoiMerrie--if your mom had bulbs that bloomed the first year but not after that, I suspect she probably bought bulbs that had been pre-chilled (or raised in a colder climate and had already gotten the chill they needed for that first year before they were shipped to her) but then her climate didn't provide enough chill to get them to bloom in subsequent years unless she chills them.

Thanks so much ecrane

Here in our zone 8b/9a it is recommended that you lift and chill your tulips each year as we do not have 6 to 8 weeks of steady below 40 degree weather. Also recommended that you use bone meal for sure and blood meal if you desire each time you replant them.

Thank you tmh. We are closer than you think. I'm 3 miles from Port Vincent.

Debbie

Hi Debbie. I am in Galvez area of Prairieville, about 5 miles from Port Vincent. as Minnie Pearl would say "Howdee"

Yep, we are indeed neighbors. :) I'm 3 miles north of Port Vincent. Have you grown any tulips or hyacinth's? I don't even mind treating them as annuals, but I've purchased so many things that just don't work here. And again, I can grow beauties here that won't grow elsewhere.

Debbie

I had grape hyacinths for a few years until the DH accidently sprayed them thinking they were wild onion....or that's his story and he is sticking to it....grin. I tried tulips a couple times, but discovered the moles just loved them from underground up....lol. Now I will occassionally pick up a handful at wal-mart when they get them in and chill them down and stick them in a pot. Sometimes I get a second or even third year from them...sometimes not, but always try to remember to dig them out in November to chill. I agree, we have a really long growing season and can often do two crops on some things.

Thanks tmh, that's what I thought. I think I will just stick to my new amaryllis that are coming for fall and I ordered a few daffodils. I saw this photo with a collection of the fall planted bulbs from Old House Gardens and I wanted to duplicate it so bad, but without tulips and hyacinths, the effect won't be the same. http://www.oldhousegardens.com/desktop.asp

Debbie, hyacinths and tulips will grow here, you just have to lift them after the foliage dies and store them for the next year. They just don't repeat bloom very well if left in the ground....remember the first rule of gardening...where there is a will to grow it, there will be a way.....grin Go for it, if you don't mind the little extra work.

Ps I use old mesh onion bags to store mine in.

I use to grow about a 1000 tulips a year up hear in Northeast Louisiana. I had to dig them up and dry them, clean them and then refrigerate about 6 weeks before planting. They are still my favorite flower but it just got to be to much work and to time consuming.

Thank you both for the info. Your right, I won't know if I don't try LOL.

JIm a thousand? Geez, I'd love to see a that many tulips in bloom all at once. I bet that is just awesome.

living in england, we don't have the beat of weather so we always lift the tulip bulbs and re-plant them next spring.
we did leave then one year but thet didn't flower the next year.
hope this helps.

What about the people in more Nothern Climes? I am on the 3b/4a break and we get about a week of -40F.

I love tulips and I buy 100s of bulbs every year. Finally I started ordering the more perennial types (like the ones in the photo), including the small species varieties for this year. But sometimes the bulbs do not come up at all (too cold?) and sometimes they come back unexpectedly a second year. Sometimes they come back in a weakened state (smaller, paler).

People around here mostly treat them as annuals. Why is this? If they can survive one of our winters, why not more?

And is there a type that will come back reliably around here?

Thanks

Good Morning all. Here is a link from a company that sells bulbs by zone...this may help in choosing what will work for you and how to care for them.Just click around for links to various bulbs.

http://www.vanengelen.com/tips_map.html

I've always left my tulips in the ground. In our area they come back the next year. Wildlife eat a few and the squirrels move a few (wish they would plant them in a garden instead of in the lawn) so I do have to replenish every couple of years.

~Sharon

I always thought in colder areas you could leave them in the ground. Just need to feed them good after they bloom and leave the foliage until it dies down.

Yes, in colder areas you can leave them in the ground--although if you're in too cold of a climate then maybe some types wouldn't be hardy. Critters munching bulbs can be a problem in some areas too, so in areas where they should be hardy if they're not coming back then that's a possibility. Either that or drainage is poor where they're planted and they're rotting over the winter.

My grandmother, who lived in So Illinois, planted her tulips and other bulbs in the ground, but lined the area where she planted with poultry wire to help deter underground bulb munchers. She then took a length of window-pane fencing and placed it over the area under the mulch. The bulbs came up quite nicely through the openings in the fencing and it was invisible in the bed. She said it also kept her from planting on top of dormant bulbs as she had so many she would forget where they were....must run in the family that forgetfulness thing. grin

The prettiest tulips I ever had, my daughter went to the tulip festival in Amsterdam. I told her all I wanted for Christmas was 300 pink tulip bulbs. I through away all my old bulbs and massed the pinks. It was something.

I have three great gardening passions.

Tulips, because they are the first bright flowers here after our long winters-- they appear with infinite forms and colors. I would gladly plant them fresh every year if I had to. I love tulips best of all.

Irises, because they are complex and move me with their convolutions.

And asiatic lilies, because they in their simplicity they make you stop and ponder the nautre of things.

Here is a picture of part of this spring's crop.

Jim I bet that was an awesome sight. I love pink.

Thank you so much for the photo rubia. Yep, I think you are right, even if they don't come back, they are so beautiful , a must have.
And you so rightly put my thoughts in your selections above. The first time I saw an iris was from a gift Riverland had sent me of the ugliest root I had ever seen. LOL I was so new to gardening and just stuck it in my planter. When it bloomed, it took my breath away with it's beauty. And the first time I smelled heaven was when I first saw and smelled the Casablanca lily , yet another gift of bulbs from Heavenscape .

I wish I knew what happened to the photo of the first tulips I raised. Had alternating red and yellow all the way across the yard. Tulips were in full bloom, got 6 inchs of snow, nothing but the blooms showing. They just sat there and smiled. Cold didn't bother them a bit.

Oh my Jim, I bet that was pretty. If you find the photo , post it please. Just a silly question. How long do tulips bloom? Just in general. I know each of them have a different time to bloom, but I don't know how long the blooms stay. Any ideas? And Jim, where is Delhi?