Tulips Finished Flowering - Now What?
By Jos Van Hage
Saturday, June 12, 2010 03:42 AM
My tulips have finished blooming so now what should I do?
This is a good question as many gardeners want to cut down the foliage because the bulb was planted for the flower not the foliage.
The only thing that should be removed is the finished flower before it sets a seed pod as this takes energy away from the flower forming in the bulb. Cutting down the foliage or pulling it out would be the wrong thing to do if you want flowers again next year.
The foliage is an important step in a bulbs life in creating a new flower for next year. In order for next years flower to form in the bulb the foliage needs to die back naturally allowing the nutrients to go back into the bulb. If you pull out the foliage before it naturally dies back, you risk the chance of not having flowers next year as next years flowers are being formed after the bulb has finished blooming. It takes 4-6 weeks for the foliage to die back so the yellowing foliage can be tied up to make it neater in the flower bed, and bedding plants can be planted on and around the dying foliage to hide it. This is also why it is suggested to plant bulbs behind perennials because after the bulbs have finished blooming the perennials will grow in front of them.
Continue to water the bulbs and fertilize them with 4-14-8 bulb fertilizer as this will help ensure large healthy flowers for next spring. If you noticed that the tulip flowers were smaller this year than in previous years it may be time to dig up the bulbs, divide them, and replant them.
Every 2-4 years bulbs should be divided because they grow larger and when they have reached their maximum size they begin to form smaller bulblets that grow around the big bulbs. Dividing the bulbs is not done until early August so it is a good idea to get a stake and write down the variety name or the height and colour if you have more than one variety, and then mark where the bulbs are so that you can find them in August when it comes time to dig them up.
In early August carefully dig up the bulbs, gently shaking off any excess soil and then let them dry for a few days. After they have dried, remove the tiny bulblets from the main bulb. If the bulblets are 1 inch or larger they can be replanted. A 1 inch bulb could produce a small flower and the bigger the bulb the bigger the flower.
After separating the bulblets from the main bulb continue to dry the bulbs and in early September the bulbs can be replanted again.
When replanting the bulbs sprinkle a handful of bonemeal in the bottom of the hole before placing the bulbs in as the bonemeal will promote healthy root growth.
September is the time of year when all spring flowering bulbs become available in the garden centres and is when they are planted!
-Jos
Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Home and Garden Centres in Prince George:
- Highway 97 north at Northwood Pulpmill Road
- Highway 16 West at Kimball Road
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