I'm new to tulips, I'm used to my amaryllis which stay in the ground, multiply by bulb and seed and flower more and more each year.
So my tulips are just about done blooming. Now what can I do? Do I dig them up and put them in the fridge? Will they bloom next year? I think the answer to that is "no". Will the flowers produce seeds like the Amaryllis?
Below is a pic of the Monsella Tulips I love! Aside from those all the other tulips are just the traditional kind.
I don't know what tulips do in your zone, but I would recommend following:
- fertilize the bulbs now and keep them growing green as long as you can.
- once the leaves die back in early summer, dig up the bulbs and store then dry, clean and cool (in an onion sack in a spare fridge)
- next year, plant in late january, again.
Amaryllis can stay in the ground where you are, and they are much more reliably perennializers. Maybe you just want to consider tulips annuals ?
(in our zone they stay in the ground, but the amaryllis get dug and planted indoors)
You've been given the right advice! I find alot of my tulips just don't repeat bloom as they produce small offset bulbs that are too small. Only very few of the tulips I have stay in the ground and flower every year - they are Purissima, Ballerina and some of the small species types. I do love them though!
