Forum home Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Tulips

anniedtanniedt Posts: 85
Last year I lifted tulips (and put them on paper on a shelf in the shed), something I have not done before, and I was pleased to get five flowers.  Will I be pushing my luck to lift them again this year?
Thank you.

Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    Surely worth a try., though if you got 5 flowers but  you replanted 20 bulbs maybe not worth the bother!
  • anniedtanniedt Posts: 85
    Yes, I think I will just lift the 5 that flowered. Thank you.
  • Pauline 7Pauline 7 Posts: 2,246
    People will gasp in horror when I say that I never lift my tulips, just leave them in the ground and hope for the best. This year OH counted them and I had 121 in the front garden alone.
    West Yorkshire
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Me either, but the big showy ones don't always come back.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • anniedtanniedt Posts: 85
    Your comments are interesting.  I was told they rarely do well after the second year.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    There's a lot of factors involved.
    If you don't have the right conditions, or they haven't been planted deeply enough they tend to diminish over time. 
    Some are slightly more reliable than others too. The bright red and yellow Apeldoorns for example.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • anniedtanniedt Posts: 85
    Thank you.  I will see how they do in the spring. 
  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    I only ever buy species tulips, they come back year after year, and the clumps increase in size.  The flowers are smaller and less showy, but IMO they are much better value.  I buy from Peter Nyssen, but plenty of other growers sell them.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I have loads of them too @josusa47. Fabulous bulbs  :)

    I occasionally buy a few of the blousier ones, but I regard them  as annuals, and a slight indulgence  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • anniedtanniedt Posts: 85
    Thank you for your comments.  I have been given some of the more showy type so without wishing the year away, I am already looking forward to next spring. 
Sign In or Register to comment.