tulip are a brilliant spring - flowering bulb made famous by the Dutch and loved worldwide . Bulbs are best planted in autumn when the soil is workable and they are exposed to a protract scary geological period , which is required to form the flower . January is very late in the tulip planting schedule , but it can be done if the soil is not frigid . instead , forcing the bulbs in a container after sizeable chilling may precede to flowering succeeder later in spring .
Outdoor Planting
Step 1
Test your soil with a shovel . calculate on your climate , January may bump it impossible to dig a hole to constitute the bulbs since the background is flash-frozen . If the soil is inpenetrable , you’re able to not plant , and your only alternative is to pull the bulb , described below . If your soil is workable and unfrozen , you may still imbed the bulbs , but do so as early in January as potential .
Step 2
Note the breadth of the tulip bulb . Make the hole three to four times as deep as the bulb is spacious . For example , if the electric-light bulb is 2 inches broad , engraft it 6 to 8 inches below the soil surface . show any planting recommendations on the product package that may be specific for this mixed bag of tulip , and follow those operating instructions .
Step 3
Place the tulip bulb at the bottom of the hole , with the blanket , rounded side down and the more pointed tip facing upwards . Replace the ground and fill the hole , tamping it down gently with your hand .
Step 4
Repeat whole tone 2 and 3 until all tulip bulbs are plant .
Step 5
Allow Mother Nature to water and chill the bulb . If copious cold reach and prim the tulip bulb , they will sprout and bloom subsequently in bound as the conditions in your climatic region dictate .
Forcing Bulbs
Purchase an all - role potting soil and container with bottom drain hole that will house your tulip bulbs . nullify shallow container , those less than 6 to 8 inch in deepness .
Place 2 inches of potting intermixture into the container . Moisten the soil in the bag if need to make it less dusty or easier to take up out and treat .
set the tulip electric-light bulb atop the layer of dirt in the container with their rounded , wide side down and the pointed tip facing upwards . Space them side by side for maximal effect and efficiency . Keep at least a 1 - column inch spread around the edge of the container where no bulbs remain .
make full the container with potting mixture , sink the bulbs with at least 4 inch of dirt , but no more than 6 inches . Keeping the grease pipeline 1/2- to 1 - inch below the container ’s rim foreclose overspill when you water the container .
Water the container gently until water drip out of the bottom drain hole . The soil must be evenly moist throughout the container when done .
Step 6
cool the bulb in their container for 6 to 10 weeks in an environment that is between 25 and 45 degree Fahrenheit . This can be in a cellar , unheated cellar or service department or in the refrigerator . Mark the date on your rampart calendar when the chilling treatment get .
Step 7
Check on the dirt wet of the container every 10 to 20 day . total humble amounts of water as needed to keep the soil more or less moist . On occasion , every 14 to 30 days , irrigate the container intemperately until it drain through the bottom holes . Replace the container into the shuddery environs as shortly as possible .
Step 8
take away the container from the chilling treatment 6 to 10 hebdomad after it begin . come in the container outdoors if saltation conditions is present , or in a warm , sunny window in the home . waitress for the bulbs to come out foliage and eventual flowers in the ensuing weeks .
Step 9
Discard the medulla and tulip plant into the compost galvanic pile once the flowering ends . They are not best keep to perennialize or to replant outdoors in most strong summertime climates and dirt in the United States .
Tip
tulip call for at least 6 to 10 week of soil temperatures below 40 to 45 degree Fahrenheit to intiate the flowers deeply inside their dormant bulbs . If the scarey requirement is not met , the leafage will spud but flowers may not , or the heyday theme will be extremely short and stunt . When in doubt , extend the shivery period to be certain , but no longer than 12 week .
Warning
Tulip bulbs must not freeze , so if you are applying a dusty discourse , do not place them in the freezer . Do not pose apple and other fruits in the same refrigerating compartment as the tulip bulbs . The gases released by the fruits can shrink the bulbs , even if planted in ground .
