Tulip Bulbs

Cheerful perennials, producing a burst of dramatic colour in mid-late spring, Tulips are perfect flowers for growing in beds, borders and containers. Ever wondering how to grow them? Well you're in luck! Explore our full guide below.

Tulip Flowers

These classic flowers grow on sturdy stems and are generally resistant to wind and rain, with fabulous bouquets that makes them ideal for cutting.

Easy to grow, they thrive in rich, fertile, well-drained conditions, enjoying full or afternoon sun.

Receipt

Most Tulip bulbs you buy will be packed and delivered in perforated polythene bags, and some may come with sawdust in the bags, to keep condensation at bay. Once received, if you cannot plant them straight away, it is always best to keep them in a cool, dark, moisture-free place and that’ll make sure they keep for a few weeks.

Planting Tulip Bulbs

Tulips are Spring Flowering Bulbs so it is best to plant them in Autumn.

There is a simple rule of thumb when planting tulip bulbs but to give you a general idea, it is best to plant the bulbs at twice the depth of the height of the bulb and four times their width apart e.g. 5cm tall bulbs need to be planted 10cm below the surface of the ground and 20cm apart.

Please check the bag for any additional planting instructions.

They are fine to plant even if a little green growth is showing, they’ll just need a good watering when you plant them, and then only when the soil is dry. Leave them in the ground once they die back – they’ll come back bigger and better each year.

Whilst all the energy that a bulb needs in order to grow is stored in the bulb itself, they will do better if you feed them with fertiliser when in active green growth.

If you would like to give them a boost, then you can optionally add mycorrhizal fungi to the roots before planting to encourage faster and more reliable establishment.

Where to plant Tulip bulbs

Easy to grow, they thrive in rich, fertile, well-drained conditions, enjoying full or afternoon sun. So make sure the location you plant your tulip bulbs in gets some level of sun during the day. The more sun the better as the more colourful blooms you will get.

As they like well drained soil, it is a great idea to grow tulips in pots with drainage holes in the bottom. If you choose the container method, then it is a good idea to put a few small pieces of broken crockery, or gravel, in the bottom of the pot before the compost, to aid the drainage of water, which will prevent the bulbs from rotting.

Tulip Bulbs Aftercare/Re-planting

Tulips are not particularly needy, so will not require too much attention. Just make sure to keep them well-watered through the growing season. One of the few things worth doing is removing spent flower heads once they are no longer blooming fully.

Additionally, if you want to continue the life of your Tulips, leave foliage until it begins to go yellow and die back, then once this has happened throughout the plant, you can dig up the bulbs for storing. Clean the soil from the bulbs and discard any that appear damaged or diseased. Once cleaned and inspected, allow the bulbs to dry thoroughly, then store at 18-20°C (65-68°F), in a dark, well-ventilated place for replanting in the autumn.