Tulips are beautiful spring flowers that color the garden like the rainbow. Plant the bulbs in the fall, before the soil gets too hard and cold and you will see them bloom in the warmth of spring. Read on to learn more.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Preparation
Step 1. Prepare to plant the bulbs in the fall
When summer wears off and the nights get cold, it's time to bury them. You have to move before the frosts which make the ground hard and difficult to work. The ideal soil temperature should be 15 ° C.
- Arrange to plant the bulbs within a week of their purchase, they shouldn't stay out of the ground for very long.
- Do not bury them too early, otherwise they will begin to bloom and die in the first cold weather. They should lie dormant all winter and bloom in spring.
Step 2. Choose the bulbs
You can buy them in a nursery, supermarkets or even online. Tulips are hardy flowers that adapt to a little bit of all climates. Depending on the variety you buy, each bulb will produce 1-4 flowers.
- Choose firm bulbs, with a brownish skin, like that of onions.
- Do not plant soft or shriveled bulbs, they may be rotten or dead.
Step 3. Decide where to plant them
Many people plant them along fences, walkways or surrounding walls, to add some color to the house. Imagine your garden with blooming tulips to decide where to plant them.
- These flowers grow best in sunny areas with little shade, without too much water.
- There are tulips of many colors, so it is not difficult to organize them in more or less precise color spots. You can alternate shades, or make a multi-colored flower bed. Find the layout that best suits your garden.
Part 2 of 2: Plant the Bulbs
Step 1. Prepare the ground
Tulips don't have many needs; however, if the soil is very hard and dry, you must wait for it to rain before burying the bulbs. Remove all the weeds and stones, and use a shovel to loosen the soil to aerate it.
Step 2. Drill the holes
Space the holes about 10-15cm apart. The bulbs must be covered with about 20 cm of soil; therefore, if the bulb is 4 cm high, you will need to drill a 24 cm hole. The larger the bulb, the deeper the hole must be.
- As you make the holes, remove the roots and rocks inside that could affect the growth of the tulips.
- You can also put a light layer of cat litter, gravel, holly leaves, or acacia sprigs as a deterrent for mice and other rodents.
Step 3. Plant the bulbs
Place them in the holes with the tip facing up (otherwise they will try to sprout downwards). Close the hole with soil and compact it with your hands. Be careful that the bulb does not tilt.
Bulbs are perennial, meaning they can bloom more than once. In many climates, however, the type of soil does not allow more than one flowering per year and the bulbs contain the nutrients only to form a flower. If you want the tulips to bloom again, put some fertilizer in the holes before closing them
Step 4. Lightly wet the bulbs
Immediately after planting them, wet them with some water which will help the growth process. Don't overdo it though, or the bulb will rot.
Do not water the bulbs a second time, unless the weather is really very dry. In fact, they don't need a lot of water, and freshly planted bulbs can rot if the soil is very wet. In autumn and winter it rains enough for their needs
Step 5. Enjoy the tulips that bloom and bloom in spring
Between March and April in the Northern Hemisphere, or September and October in the Southern Hemisphere, the bulbs will turn into beautiful tulips.
Advice
- If you need to water the bulbs, use a watering can, so that the water flow is more gentle than that of the pump.
- You can put a golf green tee in the ground to indicate where you planted the bulbs and avoid cutting them with the shovel. Green tees blend in with the grass, but are easy to spot when you are nearby.
- Tulips need cold water to take root. This means that, in colder areas, you have to wait until the end of autumn to bury them, while in warmer areas you have to wait beyond the beginning of winter. If you live in a very mild climate, you should cool your bulbs by refrigerating them for 8-12 weeks before planting them.
