Expert: Kenneth Joergensen - 4/27/2005

Question
I live in Santa Cruz California, I'm not certain what zone this is but the weather is very mild year round. The tulips I purchased this season were planted in pots on a sunny deck. Can the bulbs be saved so they bloom again next year? Do they have to be dug up and refrigerated? From reading answers to previous questions I know to cut off the seed pod but leave the remaining foliage until it dies back naturally but what then?  

Answer
If you grow the tulips in pots, start to withhold water when the foliage dies back (turn yellow and wither). After the pots are dry, store them out of direct sun until early fall. Start to water for a few weeks to allow the bulbs to root, and then transfer the moist pot in late fall to a a fridge (beer fridge etc) where temperatures are consistently below 40F (ideal 35 F) and keep the tulips planted and cool for atleast 15-18 weeks. When growth starts, take the planter out of the fridge and move to a cool, sunny place. avoid hot afternoon sun.

During storage in fridge the pot should be barely moist, but never allowed to dry out. Check frequently for moisture and for growth.

The above is really the only way to handle tulips in your gardening zone. I normally recommend that residents of southern California treat tulips as annuals because the bulbs are, comparably, inexpensive, and it is probably not worth the hassel to go through the above.

even if you do, the tulips recharge the bulbs from year to year by retaining green foliage for a few weeks to a few months during which the sun energy is converted into plant (bulb) energy. In your zone, the warmer temperatures will cause the bulb foliage to disintegrate quickly making it almost impossible for the bulbs to recharge properly whereas the cooler temperatures of early spring experienced in cooler areas are ideal conditions for the tulips.

I mention this because you do risk going through storing tulip bulbs planted in planters in your fridge only to have no flowers..

I recommend buying new pre-cooled bulbs from specialty growers every year and store bulbs in fridge until planting in january. This is the best bet for happy, no frils tulips in your area.

Happy Spring
Kenneth