How to care for tulips

Tulip care

After roses, tulips are one of the most recognizable flowers out there. They are both beautiful and easy to care for. If you're interested in tulip care, look no further. This article will explain how to care for tulips both in a vase and in soil.

When the appropriate steps are taken to care for tulips, they will make your garden (or your house!) more colorful and attractive. Continue reading to learn everything you need to know about how to care for tulips.

Tulips in the vase

Tulips keep growing when they are in a vase with water, but will last for less than eight days. Cut the stem bases with a knife before putting the flowers in a vase, and remember to frequently monitor how much water they have left.

They will grow in the direction of the nearest light source, but shouldn't be placed directly within sunlight. Avoid putting them next to or on top of heat-producing appliances and fixtures.

Soil care

Heavy wind
If you have a type of tulip flowers which grow to a significant height (12" or taller), try to locate them in a protected area or otherwise shield them from heavy wind.

Place about two inches of compost on the flower bed once each year, to supply them with sufficient nutrition. After the period of flowering comes to an end, let the green tulip leaves stay in place so that they can help energize the bulbs for next year's flowers. Optionally, a slow release type of fertilizer can be applied to the soil immediately after the bulbs are planted, and again when the first signs of growth appear in the Spring.

Tulips should be watered immediately after they are put in the ground. The soil for tulips should always be kept moist. Don't allow it to dry out. Generally, tulips should be watered weekly. However, this depends on your climate.

Replanting

Rodents and bulbs
If rodents start eating your tulip bulbs, consider putting an underground cage made of wire around the bulbs when they are being planted, so the rodents will be unable to keep doing this. Don’t put tulip flowers next to bird feeders, which often attract rodents.

Some large kinds of tulips might have to be re-planted after each three years. This is generally unnecessary for tulip plants which are small in size, unless they get destroyed by flooding or bulb-eating rodents. Removing the stems and leaves prematurely will increase how likely it is that they will need to be re-planted.

Keeping in mind these tips on how to care for tulips should help you enhance their lifespan and growth. This will enable you to produce a more beautiful and long-lasting result every Spring in the years to come.