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Learning about Tulip bulbs
Passionate
Posts: 225
hi everyone, im a bit late I know but I've just taken my tulip bulbs out of their pots to dry them out hopefully to grow them again next year. I have so many, My problem is I am thinking should I really be going to all this trouble, is this what everyone else does?
I loved the flowers in spring but I've had a right job getting them out and cleaning each one, with some bulbs having little bulblets falling off ? Are these bulblets potential bulbs for next year, or are they too small to do anything with?
Ive saved the compost which is far too good to throw away, but should I store it for next year Im not sure.
Can anyone give me advice please. The pictures show them drying in my garage arranged on old towels on a trampoline.????
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It takes a good few years before those bulblets will make viable tulips passionate. Considering they're relatively cheap to buy I can't see what you're trying to achieve. I don't lift and store tulips personally. I plant deep, about 8 inches and leave them too it for 3-5 years. I had the best display ever this year so I may have to renew them after next year. Keeping compost is ok as bulbs have all they need to grow within the bulb. Keeping compost for next year seems a bit of a phaff especially as it's relatively cheap these days.
I only grow them in pots - the weather here means that the ground is difficult to get right for them. I just leave them in there and move the pots to a sheltered spot after flowering - somewhere against the house wall usually to keep the worst of the winter wet off them. I certainly don't lift them - no need.
As Dave says - planting deeper can help to keep them going longer, but they don't really last more than a couple of years, maybe three. A bit longer if you have perfect conditions and climate. They gradually diminish and that's when I stick them in a raised bed and let them flower if they're able, or simply disappear over time. Many people do treat them as annuals, and plant new every year. I don't have the time to do that!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks everybody, I appreciate your opinions, I think I will plant the best ones, as you say deep in my garden and look forward to them next year, and chuck the little bits away. ?
I was disappointed with my Florentine tulip bulb collection I purchased from Sarah Ravens website. I planted them deep in large pots but not many of them flowered, but those that did were lovely. I mixed them with daffs & crocus but next year I'll plant tulips on their own as the dying daff leaves spoilt the look of the tulip display.
Not sure whether to leave them potted as they are for next year, or scrap them and buy fresh this autumn?
Last edited: 16 June 2016 14:48:06
Like Fairy, I leave them in pots for 2 to 3 years giving them a liquid fertiliser after flowering.