How to prepare and store Tulip Bulbs please?

louise.whittington100 · June 2023

Hi, I successfully grew some tulips in pots this year (a variety) and following Monty's advice have allowed the leaves to die back and lifted them. I have removed the leaves and this is what I have now (as photo). What do I do with them next? Do they need cleaning more and then how / where do I store them? I have an unheated potting shed but last winter all my cuttings froze in there so not sure that is suitable? I am hoping to re-pot them for next year and/or put them in the borders - which would be best to get a second flowering?

Hostafan1 · June 2023

IMHO , you'd be better off buying fresh bulbs in the Autumn.

Dovefromabove · June 2023

Do you know what sort they are? Species types come back pretty reliably, and some of the Darwins will repeat for a few years, but some of the others really don’t repay making a lot of effort with them.

fidgetbones · June 2023

I would store those somewhere dry and fairly cool and plant them in your garden in the autumn. they may or may not flower next year. I would get new bulbs for pots to guarantee a display.

Joyce Goldenlily · June 2023

Put them on the compost heap and buy new tulip bulbs next year. Treat them as annual seed. Plant, grow, flower, dead.
If you look at the size of your bulbs now, they are half the size of the ones you planted, they will need several years of growing on before they are likely to flower again, if ever.
Think of it as a chance to try new colour combinations next year.

punkdoc · June 2023

I would bin them. Most of them look too small to flower next year. I have a few long lived Tulips in borders, but most rapidly decline.

louise.whittington100 · June 2023

Thanks folks for all the advice! I will compost them but am wondering why Monty advised storing them???

chicky · June 2023

I do as you have done, and then store them in a shed (keep the mice away) until November. I then plant them in my veg patch and use them for cut flowers the next spring - most of them flower again. Mine aren’t species, or varieties that are known for repeat flowering so I have been pleasantly surprised.

i buy new ones for the pots every year.

thevictorian · June 2023

My mum buys new tulips for her pots every year and I get donated the old ones to find a space in the gardens for. I have to say occassionally they give a good display but if you struggle for space like most of us, it's not worth the hassle, i just dont like throwing anything out. We do the same with daffodils which are better and crocus which are really worth it.

Lizzie27 · June 2023

I'm quite surprised by the advice to bin old tulip bulbs as I always replant the majority of mine from pots into open ground in late autumn and most of them flower well and continue to do so. I do throw away the smallest bulbs. I've tulips flowering for at least 5 or 6 years now from memory, particularly 'Pink Parrot', 'Black Parrot and Ballerina. None are specie tulips.

Although we have clay soil, our front garden faces south and is on a slope so drains well, presumably this makes a difference?

Fairygirl · June 2023

It makes a huge difference @Lizzie27 . With the best will in the world, it's extremely difficult to give them the conditions they like if you don't have a suitable climate and soil. Some of the bigger 'normal' ones will return, or return but less profusely, but it's easier if they're in the ground, and again with the right soil and good drainage.

If they're species/botanical tulips @louise.whittington100 , they would be fine kept potted and in a drier spot for overwintering, but if you don't know what they are, it's not possible to advise accurately. Some of the bigger ones are also fine, but you have to store them in the right conditions for them to thrive and still be viable. You could always try doing a bit of both but the storage can be tricky unless you can be sure they won't get damp/freeze, or dry out and wither away.

How to prepare and store Tulip Bulbs please?

Posts