Tulips

Q. I received a gift of potted tulips. They were in bloom and now have died. Can I save the bulbs for next year? How do I save them and when and how do I plant them again if it is at all feasible. Right now I have them in my refrigerator in a plastic bag.

A. No you do not want them in the fridge. Take them out [I assume you have removed them from the pot and brushed off the soil but it is not necessary] and when the soil in your gardening zone is warm enough to work it easily dig a bed for them in a sunny location.

You may need additives to your soil. Clay is the worst for bulbs as their roots have a difficult time growing through it. Add peat moss dried steer manure bloodmeal bonemeal compost and/or leaf mold to aerate and enrich the soil.

Plant them about 5" deep with the tips upward about 8-10" apart. Many people like to plant them closer in clumps for flowering effect!

Encourage them to grow all season providing plenty of water and fertilizer. All bulbous plants produce food in the foliage and store it in the bulbs through winter. Then the stalks will come up and bloom again for you.

Q. I received two pots of tulip plants. The flowers are gone and the leaves are turning yellow. What is your suggestion to do with them now? Do I keep watering them or can I plant them in the garden now even though you usually plant tulip bulbs in the fall?

A. Tulips are peculiar in this way. Yes you are right that they should be planted in the fall in order to get flowers for the following spring. But in your case the bulbs were forced to bloom for sale and are finished for the year.

That is not to say that your job is also finished! If you [and you do] want them to bloom again for you take them outside now and knock out of the pot. Plant them in a bright garden bed maintaining the same soil level as before. Water in well.

You can also break apart the soil ball and space the bulbs out 6-12" apart. But tulips are also very pretty growing and blooming in clumps. Fertilize them once a month and trim off any dead foliage but try to keep the plants growing as you are building up the food storage in the bulbs and will then have bigger and more flowers next spring!

Same advice goes for other forced spring bulbs as hyacinth daffodil narcissus and later any lilies that you purchase in bloom.

Q. I received some potted tulips as a gift; 2 of the flowers were starting to bloom. I watered them and put them in my southern window woke up in the morning to find the heads all shriveled up and some of the smaller shoots limp and yellow. What can I do now with the dead heads and to save what's left? What did I do wrong?

A. Sorry to hear of your misfortune. There is nothing that you can do for the dead heads now. They are beyond repair. But I want you to check the following thoughts and see if one or more apply to you as I can only guess with just a bit to go on:

Did you have AM sun shining right onto it that first day? They are used to cool temps and low light coming from a nursery or store. The shock alone could cause this.

Were they near a furnace heating draft? If so move them to a protected site.

Why did you water them right away? Were they dry or was it just human nature? If tulips or other flowering pots are brought home they need a rest period