You are here:
- Home
- Home/Garden
- Gardening
- Bulbs
- separating tulip bulbs
Bulbs/separating tulip bulbs
Advertisement
Question
How often should you dig and separate tulip bulbs if you live in Montana area 4.
Thank you for your time.
Connie
You don't have to dig them up unless you are growing Tulips in a Summer location that gets a lot of moisture. Flower beds for instance would get watered a lot; they are the worst place to grow Tulips because Tulips need to be kept dry in the Summer while dormant.
That said, if you see they are growing and sending up stems without flowers in the Sring, it could be because smaller bulbs are sapping their strongth. This varies with Soil type, and even more by Cultivar and a lot of other factors. So I can't give you a straight and simple answer. But it's not hard to see if a plant is declining. Yes, you lose a season with that system. But the only other way is to dig them up and look. I think you'll find each Bulb is different.
Your followups welcome.
L.I.G.
Related Articles
Long Island Gardener
Expertise
Growing Tulips? Dahlias? Daffodils? Gladiolus? It doesn't get easier than bulbs and tubers. Once in a while, something goes wrong: The dreaded Narcissus Bulb Fly, which resembles a honeybee. Mosaic virus, which can ignite a field of tulips in a single season. Nematodes, lurking underground. Here on the North Shore of Long Island, the garden is full of surprises. If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I can help you pick the right bulb for every season, indoors and out, and help you fertilize, bloom and harvest for home or work. How: I have degrees in related fields, but my best understanding is all learned from trial and error. For most of my 53 years I have been gardening somewhere. No matter what the problem, I've learned the best answers are always Organic -- Earth friendly, less expensive, healthier for people and pets, easier and cleaner than toxic liquids and powders that big chemical companies sell so smoothly.
Experience
Besides degrees in related fields, and a few favorite horticultural societies, I work as a docent at our local botanical gardens -- but it's the years of work in the garden that's the real test.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.