Growing: Tulips

By mondo. las vegas (Guest Post)

What do you do after they bloom to replant them?

Editor's Note: If they are potted or in the ground, let them die back. They only bloom once a year so will come back up again in the spring. If you want to dig them up to divide them, do that in the fall.

By Ellen (Guest Post)

Hi beachers,
Let me preface my response by saying that depending on who you ask, tulip bulbs can require anywhere from 4-16 weeks to chill to induce blooming. How long they need exactly depends on the variety. If you're not sure what variety you have, 8-10 weeks is a safer bet. Tulips should be planted in the fall. Some zones don't reach cold enough temps or stay there long enough to chill the bulbs. In this case, youll need to simulate cold weather (about 40F) by storing the tulips in your refrigerator before planting in the fall. Start this process early so that they are ready to plant by November or December-your optimum window for planting bulbs in Southern Cal. You can also order bulbs that have been pre-chilled, but not usually this time of year. Some sources will claim you can pre-chill bulbs anytime during the year. I'm not convinced. Bulbs are grown and shipped with optimal planting times in mind. If stored too long dry before they are prechilled or planted they tend to die. These are usually the bulbs you see marked way down at the stores. You can try planting them or prechilling them and planting them, but they will usually not produce good results. I hope that helps clear things up!

Ellen

By

beachers

What do you mean when you wrote, "If you want bulbs to bloom south of zone 8, you'll need to cold treat the bulbs (in the refrigerator) for 4-6 weeks before planting or buy bulbs pre-chilled." I live in Southern California. Does this mean I can trick the bulbs into thinking they went into a cold season by placing them in the fridge for 4 weeks and then plant them and they will bloom this season in April or May. The reason I am confused is because I was at the store the other day and they were selling bulbs. I thought bulbs needed to be planted in the fall meaning September in California. It is March. I would love to have pots full of bulbs next month or the month after but, I thought it was too late and I missed the planting season this year and would have to wait till next fall to plant for a bloom in next spring. Please if you can clear all this up for me, I would be greatly appreciate it.