Most modern tulip cultivars have a lifespan of three to five years of blooming ability. A lot of tulip bulbs lose their vigor very fast. The leaves of weak bulbs are large and floppy, but they produce no flowers.
Tulips need at least six hours of direct sunlight each day and well-drained soils to bloom for as long as possible. After the tulips have finished blooming, remove any spent flowers as soon as possible. In the process of seedpod formation, the bulbs lose much of the food produced by the foliage. To finish, let the tulip foliage wither and die on its own before removing it from the garden. Tulips can’t bloom if their bulbs aren’t large enough to store enough food.
Tulips that are no longer blooming should be dug up and discarded. Small, weak tulip bulbs are unlikely to produce any flowers in the future. Fall is the best time to plant new tulip bulbs.
Unlike most modern tulip cultivars, which only bloom for three to five years, some tulip types (classes) bloom for up to ten years or even more. Tulips crossed by Darwin are known for their long bloom times. In addition, Fosteriana tulips (also known as Emperor tulips) are known for their long-lasting blooms.
Perennial or annual tulips: which are they?
It’s called a perennial when a bulb comes back year after year, often with more blooms than the year before. Daffodils and crocuses are excellent examples of this. It is necessary to replant annual bulbs every year because they only live for one growing season.
But if tulips are perennials as described in books and websites, why don’t they bloom again the following year? My head is spinning.
But only in the right places can it thrive.
Tulips, despite their regal appearance, are also a little rebellious. As long as they’re in the right place and the right climate, they are indeed perennials. If you live in a village in the foothills of Nepal or a town on the steppes of Armenia and Northern Iran, your tulip will happily return year after year. Tulips thrive in these climates, which feature long, cold winters and hot, dry summers.
The soil and engineering are both Dutch.
But…if these places are so great for tulips, then why do all the best tulips come from Holland? Engineers and inventors are needed here. Because of our sandy soil and the century-old tradition of controlling water, we have an advantage over other tulip growers in the Netherlands.
We can grow bulbs that will come back year after year thanks to this combination of soil and know-how.
This tulip trick also has a more complicated second part: in order to sell new bulbs each year, you must get your original bulb to multiply over time.
For this reason, we treat our tulip bulbs with a series of heat and humidity treatments before planting them in the fall, in an attempt to mimic their native habitat as closely as possible, despite the fact that the tulip’s native habitat is nearly 5000 miles away. We give the bulbs the impression that they have survived an arctic winter and a hot, dry summer. In order to accomplish this, you’ll need a lot of money and expertise.
Take steps to ensure that your tulips will return next year.
You should buy new bulbs every year if you don’t live in Eastern Persia or Himachal Pradesh. That way, you’ll have a spring full of your favorite tulip’s vibrant colors and velvety blooms.
There are a few things you can do to nudge some of those perennially depressed tulips out of their doldrums this year:
- The first thing to think about is the variety of tulips. Those tulips sold by DutchGrown are made specifically to be naturalized or perennialized. Botanical tulips and their hybridized variants are the best options because they haven’t been cross-bred too much.
- Tulips should always be planted in an area that drains well. Make sure water can drain away easily if the soil is too wet; the sooner the bulbs succumb to fungus, disease, and rot, the sooner they will die.
- Tulips need to be planted at least 8 inches deep in the ground in order for them to thrive in the spring.
- Tulips need watering immediately after planting in order to get their root systems established.
- Cutting off the flower heads at the right time is essential if you want your bulbs to be as strong as possible for their second or third round. Don’t, however, remove the lush greenery! Allow it to decompose and rot away on its own. As a result, the bulb will benefit from the stored energy in the foliage, making it more potent in the spring.
- Lastly, fall and spring fertilization is an effective way to encourage your hesitant perennials. You won’t need to fertilize DutchGrown bulbs in their first season because they have enough food and energy to produce a stunning display. In order to get a second act, low-nitrogen fertilizer, such as bulb fertilizer, is required. A high-nitrogen, fast-release fertilizer is a great way to give your returning favorites the final boost they need, even if they are so far away from ‘home’ in the spring when the first shoots appear.
Perennializers are a must have.
Tulip hybrids, such as Darwin Hybrids in a variety of colors such as red and orange, yellow, apricot, pink, and two-toned, are excellent examples of returning tulips. Emperor Tulips, Triumph Tulips, and Miniature Tulips will all respond well to your perennializing efforts. If you buy them now and plant them in the fall, you will enjoy the best blooms next spring.
