PTP Donate

PTP Social

Planting Tips

When and How to Plant

Tulip bulbs can be planted any time from mid-fall to early winter. Late planting will still yield impressive displays, but the ideal time is mid-October to Thanksgiving. If you plant earlier in the season, the emerging foliage in spring will be vulnerable to fungal disease and frost damage.

Tulips benefit from deep planting – a depth of 4 inches at minimum. 6 inches is ideal. Deeper planting (8-10 inches underground) means you can leave the bulbs in the ground and plant summer bedding on top.

Where

Tulips are easy to grow - as long as the tulip bulb does not rot in waterlogged soil over the winter, you are more or less guaranteed a bloom. However, tulips do best in free-draining garden loam  and in a spot that is warm and dry over the summer when the bulbs are dormant. If you have problems with water logging, you may improve drainage by digging in garden compost or grit. Consider growing tulips in raised beds if drainage is a problem.

Deer love tulip bolbs so if you have had trouble in the past, consider planting the Narcissus Faith daffodils instead.

Bulb Care

Look for large heavy bulbs with a brown outer coating (the tunic) intact. Reject dried out or chalky looking bulbs as well as any with drops of what looks like brown glue on them – this is a sign they’ve been exposed to sour rot. Superficial blue mold surrounding the tunic is ok. Store bulbs spread out on a plastic or metal mesh tray in a cool, dry, dark place until ready to plant.

For more information on species and care, see “Tulips” by Liz Dobbs, 2007, Quadrille Publishing Ltd.