When do you put tulip bulbs in the bed? Where and how to plant tulips correctly? And can you put tulip bulbs in a pot? We answer all your questions about planting tulips.
Hardly any other flower awakens spring fever in us as much as the tulip (Tulipa). It belongs to the lily family (Liliaceae) and makes a great, colorful accent to any garden. Originally it comes from the steppes of Southeast Europe and Asia, but nowadays it is also at home in our temperate latitudes and it is hard to imagine our gardens without it. It does not place high demands on its location and nevertheless rewards its gardeners with a lush display of flowers. However, if you want a particularly long and vigorous bloom, you should consider a few things when planting. In our article we will tell you when to plant tulips, in which location tulips feel most comfortable and how best to proceed when planting tulip bulbs.
The right planting time for tulip bulbs
When do you plant tulips? Many hobby gardeners ask themselves this question. There are two ways to plant tulip bulbs: either plant your tulips in the fall or you can plant them in the spring.
For most tulip bulbs, it is better if they are planted in autumn. You should put your favorite tulip varieties in the bed between the beginning of September and mid-November. So that the flower bulbs get an ideal start, it is important that the temperatures are permanently below 10 °C - but no night frosts should be expected in the next week. Later, winter frosts no longer bother the colorful ornamental plants, on the contrary: the frost kills germs and pests in the soil and the tulip bulbs are protected from rotting. Soil moisture also plays an important role in the ideal planting time for tulip bulbs. So choose a day when the soil is neither too dry nor too wet.
Who missedplanting your tulip bulbs in the fall need not despair. You can also plant your tulips in spring from mid-May. It is important that the onions have already sprouted. You can either buy pre-germinated tulip bulbs or pre-germinate them yourself.
The perfect planting time for tulip bulbs:
- Planting tulips in autumn: From September to mid-November
- Temperatures below 10 °C
- No night frosts
- Not too dry or too wet time
- Plant tulip bulbs in spring: from mid-May
The right location for tulips
Tulips are not very demanding when it comes to their location, but above all they like it as sunny and warm as possible. A lot of sun promotes growth and flowering, and it also makes it easier for the bulbs to ripen in summer so that they can bloom profusely again next year.
Tulips prefer to thrive in well-drained soil. If the soil in your garden does not correspond to this, you can simply mix in some sand when planting tulips. This loosens the soil and prevents waterlogging. The risk of the tulip bulbs rotting is then significantly lower. A pH between 6.5 and 7 is ideal for tulips.
An overview of the ideal location for tulips:
- Sunny and warm
- Permeable, airy floor
- Nutrient
- Avoid waterlogging
- Ideal pH: 6.5 to 7.0
Planting tulips in the bed: How to do it
Once you have found the perfect spot for your tulips in the garden, you can start planting. First prepare the bed by loosening the soil well and removing weeds and stones. If the soil is too firm and not permeable enough, it is better to lay down a drainage layer, for example made of gravel. Now enrich the soil with a fertilizer with an organic long-term effect. Our Plantura organic flower fertilizer, which provides all the important nutrients for the spring bloomers, is ideal for tulips. If your soil is too acidic, you should also apply lime before planting to raise the pH.
Then dig planting holes and stick the bulbs in. It is important here that the shoot axis always points upwards. Finally, the planted tulip bulbs are covered with soil and watered.
Planting Tulips: Step-by-Step Instructions
- Loosen soil
- if necessary drainagecreate
- Lime if the soil is too acidic
- Incorporate compost or a slow release organic fertilizer into the soil
- Dig Planting Hole
- Put the tulip bulb in the planting hole so that the stem of the tulip bulb is pointing upwards
- Cover with earth
- Cast on
Planting and plugging depth of tulip bulbs
An important question when planting tulips is how deep you should plant tulip bulbs. You can stick to a simple rule of thumb: always plant the tulip bulbs three times as deep as they are measured along the shoot axis. But that only applies to planting in the fall. This is different with pre-grown tulip bulbs that are planted in spring. Here you should note that the top one to two centimeters of the tulip bulb protrude from the ground. The diameter of the planting hole should always be twice as wide as the tulip bulb. As far as the planting distance is concerned, you should use the size of the tulip variety as a guide. For small varieties, a planting distance of ten centimeters is sufficient, for larger tulip varieties it can be up to 20 centimeters.
Rules of thumb for planting tulips:
- Width of the planting hole: twice as wide as the tulip bulb
- Planting depth: three times as deep as the bulb
- Planting distance: small tulip varieties approx. 10 cm, large tulips approx. 20 cm
Tip: Tulip bulbs planted in clumps later create a more luxuriant picture in the garden than scattered tulips.
Planting Tulips in Pots
Tulips can also be planted in pots without any problems. The procedure is the same as when planting tulips in the bed. Varieties with a relatively low growth height (maximum 30 centimeters) are particularly suitable for planting tulips in tubs. A well-known example is the multi-flowered wild tulip (Tulipa praestans) with a height of 15 to 20 centimeters. To plant tulip bulbs in pots, you should first create a drainage layer of potsherds or expanded clay in the pot. Then enrich the substrate with Plantura organic long-term flower fertilizer to create the best growing conditions for your tulips. Then the bulbs are planted in the pots as described above.
Planting tulip bulbs in pots at a glance:
- Choose small tulip varieties
- Create a drainage layer in the pot
- Enrich substrate with Plantura organic flower fertilizer
- Fill the pot two-thirds full with substrate
- Put the tulip bulbs in the pot with the stem pointing upwards
- Cover with substrate
- Cast on
Caring for tulips immediately after planting
Tulips are very frugal and require very little care. It is important to supply the flowers regularly with fertilizer and to water them regularly during longer dry periods. Tulips need the right fertilizer to bloom lushly. You can read about when, how and with what to fertilize your tulips in our special article.
Most tulip varieties are perennial. We give you tips on what to consider when storing and overwintering tulip bulbs.