How long does Tulips lives

I would like to plant tulips in my perennial garden and would like to know how long does tulips lives?
What do you do to keep them looking beautiful year after year as they looked the first year?
Who is the best source for the best tulips?

A tulip lives only 1 year.......do not panick.....it makes a completely new bulb for the following year.

TLC.......some fertilizer......some water every now and then......not too much during Summer......maybe digging up very few years to make space for the littler ones.

Who do you think................?????

If I knew I would not ask!

I hope someone else will answer my questions and help each other out when in need.

GE, tulips can last for years. The bulbs don't die each year but they do grow new ones from the older bulbs. You'll have more each year. Go ahead! Add as many as your want.

Bluestone Perennials is a great place for tulips and they have a wide variety of choices. They are a Garden Watchdog Top 5 seller.

http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/search.html?fi=products&st=db&co=1&sf=disc&se=0&op=%3C%3E&nu=1&sf=ty&se=tb&op=rm&nu=0&sf=genus&se=tulip&op=rm&nu=0&tf=genus%2Cvariety&sp=results_pics&ml=24&md=5&ext_title=Tulips

I did answer question 1 and 2, but I can not advertise about me. Sorry if it was confusing.

Golden Eagle: To answer your questions backwards. Bleek didn't give you a direct answer to who is the best source because he is in the bulb business and self promotion is frowned on in the forums. On the other hand, I can talk about his company because I have no connection to it besides being a very happy customer of his coop eflowergarden.

http://www.eflowergarden.com/

Change - He doesn't seem to be using eflowergarden anymore although I can log in. I think this is the site he is using now.
http://www.thegardengeeks.com/home/index.php?option=com_agora&task=topic&id=1275&Itemid=56

His store is

http://www.touchofnature.com/

I haven't ordered from the store because I've gotten great deals from the coop, but I see no reason why they shouldn't be good as well.


I've also been happy with Van Engelen Inc / John Scheepers, Inc.
It's the same company. Van Engelen says wholesale and John Scheepers retail but it's more large order verses small order as I've ordered from Van Engelen with no proof of business ownership.

I've ordered from Easy to Grow Bulbs
http://www.easytogrowbulbs.com/
and I was happy. They provided nice large bulbs.

I always check
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/ before I order from a company.


To answer how long do tulips live:
It seems to vary a lot between varieties and growing conditions. I planted a bag of fifty mixed tulips ten years ago. I bought them at a steep discount at a local hardware store way after the ground was frozen. I kept them in a back room where they stayed around 45 degrees and planted them in April. Most of them bloomed that year and ever year thereafter. One thing I've noticed is that the mix seems to be slowly losing the purple ones out of it. Many people treat them as annuals. I don't because one, I'm too cheap and two, much of the pleasure of gardening for me is getting plants to multiple. One thing I do do is to leave the leaves on them until they die down completely on their own. I think this makes a huge difference on how well bulbs do the next year. If they are located where the leaves are unsightly plant something in front of them so you don't see them

This message was edited Aug 20, 2011 5:19 PM

I'm surprised no one mentioned that they last longer if you get rid of the moles, voles and other burrowing critters.

Do you put down screen over the top of them, before covering them up?