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Selecting and Planting Tulips



Selecting Healthy Bulbs
The key rule is, the bigger the tulip bulb the better the tulip. Look for large bulbs with no signs of mould - small nicks on the bulb are not important.

Planting
Plant your tulip bulbs as soon as possible upon arrival, but if you must store your bulbs, keep them cool and dry with plenty of ventilation.

Tulip bulb - appledoom. Click to enlargeFor best results, tulips need a fertile, well drained soil in a sunny location. Thoroughly loosen the soil under the bulbs for optimum drainage.  Tulip bulbs must be planted in in order to develop a root system and to satisfy the cold requirement of the bulbs.  It is best to wait until soil temperatures are below 60 degrees F before planting.

 

Plant the tulip bulb 4 to 5 inches deep and about the same distance apart. tulip_gordon_cooper.jpg (10284 bytes)A trowel is the ideal tool for planting tulips, and make sure they are planted deep enough - shallow planting is the main cause of failure with tulips.

Finally, add a sprinkling of bonemeal over the soil above the tulip bulbs.