When to plant tulips?

[YourRabbitGirl]

They are just in a very small plastic container. Would it kill them if I planted them in the ground this year?

I think that container I just fine. I planted mine in a container smaller than that. but they are very healthy now. they will strive. don't worry.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

Hello all,

I just got some tulips that are almost blooming and I am wondering if it is safe to plant them. The lowest the temperature will be at night is 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thank you!

The tulip as duly noted in horticultural texts is a perennial flower. This means that a tulip should be expected to return and bloom year after year. But for all intents and purposes, this isn't always the case. Most tulip-lovers content themselves with treating it as an annual, re-planting again each fall. Like what we do here.

 

[flowerbug]

most tulips need a certain amount of cold to do well. the fun is that different varieties do have a different response to how much cold they need. also some really like a nice hot and dry spell after they have flowered and died back.

i have enough cold here for most of the varieties i planted when i set up a large collection of them. unfortunately i also have some soil they don't like, too wet for some others and botrytis has gotten some. i did some experiments to see what i could do naturally for botrytis (mostly decayed wood chips, worm compost and worms did help a lot - other fungi and bacterial competition were what i was after).

after six years Mom wanted to move the tulips that were left from the one garden into another but there are still tulips in the one garden. i'm working on redoing this large tulip garden this spring so i will be moving or interrupting what is left growing in there. some will be ok and other's won't like it.

the only reason most of them are still alive is because they are inside the fenced gardens where we grow most of our vegetables. any we put in various gardens outside the fence are repeatedly eaten back to nothing so they don't usually have a chance to flower or even grow much at all. i planted them in spaces surrounded by daffodils but that wasn't even enough to keep the critters from finding them and eating them so for now i haven't replaced any of them.

to get them to rebloom in warmer areas you'd need to lift them after they have dried back, let them dry out for a bit and then replant into pots that can be kept in cold storage for long enough that they think they've been through a winter. not many people have that kind of space so it is easier to treat them as an annual.

my plans for tulip breeding and raising the seedlings were put on hold because the fences i wanted to put up to protect various gardens were cancelled. Mom said yes, i spent a lot of money getting going and then she changed her mind and said no when it came time to put up what i wanted to do.

still i've enjoyed the flowers and managed to get some pictures at times.

http://www.anthive.com/project/tulips/

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

most tulips need a certain amount of cold to do well. the fun is that different varieties do have a different response to how much cold they need. also some really like a nice hot and dry spell after they have flowered and died back.

i have enough cold here for most of the varieties i planted when i set up a large collection of them. unfortunately i also have some soil they don't like, too wet for some others and botrytis has gotten some. i did some experiments to see what i could do naturally for botrytis (mostly decayed wood chips, worm compost and worms did help a lot - other fungi and bacterial competition were what i was after).

after six years Mom wanted to move the tulips that were left from the one garden into another but there are still tulips in the one garden. i'm working on redoing this large tulip garden this spring so i will be moving or interrupting what is left growing in there. some will be ok and other's won't like it.

the only reason most of them are still alive is because they are inside the fenced gardens where we grow most of our vegetables. any we put in various gardens outside the fence are repeatedly eaten back to nothing so they don't usually have a chance to flower or even grow much at all. i planted them in spaces surrounded by daffodils but that wasn't even enough to keep the critters from finding them and eating them so for now i haven't replaced any of them.

to get them to rebloom in warmer areas you'd need to lift them after they have dried back, let them dry out for a bit and then replant into pots that can be kept in cold storage for long enough that they think they've been through a winter. not many people have that kind of space so it is easier to treat them as an annual.

my plans for tulip breeding and raising the seedlings were put on hold because the fences i wanted to put up to protect various gardens were cancelled. Mom said yes, i spent a lot of money getting going and then she changed her mind and said no when it came time to put up what i wanted to do.

still i've enjoyed the flowers and managed to get some pictures at times.

http://www.anthive.com/project/tulips/

I've checked on the link that you added, It seems like its very relevant, I really love the idea, and it's very very in-depth. I hope you can send more. Thanks..

 

[flowerbug]

I've checked on the link that you added, It seems like its very relevant, I really love the idea, and it's very very in-depth. I hope you can send more. Thanks..

if you are speaking of the website in that post for tulips that is my own website and so you can go to the top of that page and look through all of it as you have time.

 

[YourRabbitGirl]

Tulips Need Cold to Grow
Tulip bulbs require cold weather to properly bloom. ... When planting tulips in the spring, the warm soil may not allow the bulbs to break out of their dormant state and grow. For spring bulb blooms, you have to start in late winter for outdoor planting or indoors for transferring to warmer soil. I believe this answers my question.

 

[PlantNurse15]

The best time to plant tulips is November-December. If the bulbs are planted earlier they will start to grow and this may result in frost damage to the shoots.

They will grow in any reasonable soil, as long as it does not get waterlogged, and they do best in full sun but tolerate some shade. Plant the bulbs 6-8ins deep, 4-8ins apart.

If planting in containers it is important to provide adequate drainage, and if the weather should become really cold, protect by wrapping with bubble wrap, cardboard etc. If the bulbs become frozen, they are likely to rot on defrosting. In pots, you can plant fairly close together for a good display but ensure the bulbs do not touch each other or the sides of the container. Plant with the flat side out.

Tulip bulbs can be lifted when the foliage has turned yellow. Store in a cool dry place and replant in November.

Thank you LoraMoser!

 

[PlantNurse15]

Wow!! Lucky you.. Every Season would be nice if your gonna ask me. they are very tough flowers... and they can be very beautiful if you move them in your property..

Lowest temp at night then. Now it gets 4 below.

 

[flowerbug]

some of mine haven't been moved in 10yrs or more and they are doing ok. unfortunately we have so many herbivores that love them that any i plant outside the fenced gardens rarely make it past a year or two. i have some that i've grown from seeds that i hope will eventually flower but i have no idea of they are anything special or just something like what we already have. that is the mystery of pollinating and also open pollenated flowers. you never quite know what you will get.

-4F isn't as low as it will get here, -20F has happened once in a whlie. i'm glad not often. this winter i think we've as of yet only been near -5F - 0F once or twice. not much on the windchills either.

 

[ducks4you]

Lowest temp at night then. Now it gets 4 below.

Where do you live? You could put at least the state on your profile and that would help us to give advice.