Expert: Long Island Gardener - 3/21/2008

Question
I purchased tulips in a container and the inital blooms are dropping, but there is quite a bit of foliage that I believe will bloom.  What do I do to encourage the continuing blooms and do I cut the whole stalk or just the bloom?

Answer
Years ago, I was standing in the Garden Center -- here, that's Hicks on Jericho Turnpike -- on the day Ralph Snodsmith was appearing to answer questions about plants.  One of the audience members asked, 'How can I keep my Tulips blooming?  Every year they come up and bloom and then they stop.  What am I doing wrong?'

Did I mention that this took place on a very hot July afternoon?

So 'tho it seems obvious to many of us, there are a great many people in the world who would like to get their Tulips to bloom all the time.  You can do that with Gardenias, and Hibiscus, and Everblooming Roses.  Why not Tulips?

Unfortunately, Tuips are Bulbs, and that means there is only going to be one, single, brief show before it gets taken down for the year and put into storage.  This is exactly what happens to Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinths and Bulbs that do not bloom in Spring like Amaryllis, Gladiolus, Tuberoses.

Bulbs are secret hiding places for next year's flowers.  Hard to believe, but true.  There is a bud deep down in the middle of every bulb that will turn into next year's flower.  Once it blooms, the show closes, and they start up work on next year's performance.

For that, your Tulips are going to need a lot of energy.  And as we all know, this is where the Sun comes in.  So you have to make sure the Tulips have plenty of light.  They will grow for months (leaves only -- don't hold your breath looking for another flower.  A small few are able to do that.  Don't overwater either; you don't want to damage the roots.  You can remove the stalk if you like; I have a friend who complains when I don't do that, calling it the 'Morticia' look after the Addams Family character.  Whatever.  Just make sure they have LOTS of Sunlight.

When the foliage begins to die back, possibly as long as late June or July, you can withhold water and just leave it in the Sun until it's dry and dormant as a doornail.  Put the pot in the basement or the garage and wait for Fall.  Then plant outdoors, 6 inches deep, and wait for Spring.  You will also need to cross your fingers all Winter as Tulips as a group are notoriously unreliable.  Good luck with this.

L.I.G.