Tulip Rescue
Yesterday, I was on the sidelines of my son’s indoor soccer game when a friend confessed she’d bought tulips in the fall and never planted them. What a waste!
But wait! “Where are the tulip bulbs now?” I asked. “In my garage.” was her reply.
This is actually promising news as tulips need to be chilled for around 14 weeks to bloom. They don’t like to be frozen or stored above 60 degrees for days on end. So, depending on where in her garage the tulips have been stored, they may be just fine.
Tulip Rescue. What to do.
Discard soft or dried out tulip bulbs.
Buy yourself some potting soil. (Can be found at Home Depot)
Find weatherproof planters. (anything “Frost Free” will work. Steer clear of your terracotta or ceramic planters as they will crack when the damp soil expands under frost). I recycle old nursery containers for this purpose
Recycled #1 nursery pots. I filled these half way with potting soil, placed the tulips in a layer then covered with 3 inches of potting soil. I watered them well and stacked them 2 deep (to save space) by my back door.
3. Layer potting soil and tulips. Water well. Place the filled pots in an out of the way but protected place (such as along the side of your house)
4. To keep squirrels from taking their share, I cover the pots with prickly plant material.
Top down view.
5. When it’s super cold (in the low 20’s) I will make sure the tulip pots have a layer of snow to keep them cozy. Or, if there isn’t snow available, a towel or blanket will do.
6. You can pretty much put the tulips out of your mind until Mid-March.
7. April Fools Day. (Mid March for warmer springs) April 1st, start watering once a week and unstack pots - if you stacked them. If tulips don’t receive enough water four weeks before blooming, they will fool you and produce stunted growth. Also, it’s time to move them into a sunnier location so they can energize those new leaves with the sun.
8. When you are ready to display your tulips, you can “plant” the container for an instant garden display OR slip the growers pot into something more fancy.
Tulip pot planted directly in ground.
Tulips bulbs can also be tucked into existing containers. Here, I nesseled in some tulips around the evergreen and filled in with complementary pansies.
