Depth for Planting Tulip Bulbs

Tulip bulbs provide color in any flowerbed with little maintenance.

Simple to plant, tulip bulbs add color to a flower bed each spring with very little maintenance. Depending on the variety, tulips bloom from March until May. Tulips are often planted in flower beds and in borders but also make attractive container plants for decks or porches. Other commonly planted spring bulbs include daffodils, crocus, and amaryllis.

Types of Tulips

Hundreds of varieties of tulips are available through mail order catalogs, at garden stores and at home improvement stores. With so many varieties, it can be difficult to choose. Single Early and Double Early tulips are an early spring favorite producing red, yellow or white blooms. Darwin Hybrids are a traditional early red tulip. Mendel, Triumph and Darwin tulips bloom later and are available in a wide variety of colors, including white, pink, red, orange, yellow and purple. Another reliable favorite is the late-blooming Cottage tulip, which blooms in May and has long, narrow flowers. Another May blooming tulip is the Double Late, which has large, heavy blooms resembling peonies.

Planting Suggestions

Tulips require full sun for most of the day when they are blooming. Tulips which bloom in the shade will bend toward the sun. However, because they bloom early in the season before trees are fully leafed, tulips can be safely planted in flower beds under deciduous trees or next to other later-blooming perennials. Tulips can also be planted as a border along a sidewalk or driveway, in front of hedges, or in containers.

Planting Tulip Bulbs

Tulips should be planted about three times as deep as the diameter of the bulb. Tulips grow best in well-drained soil. If the soil in your flower bed contains clay, mix organic matter such as compost, shredded bark or sawdust. Fertilizer can also be added at the time of planting to support healthy bulb growth. Add about 1 tbsp. of a fertilizer that is high in phosphorus and potassium to the bottom of the planting hole, and cover with 2 inches of soil before planting the tulip bulb.

Dividing Tulip Bulbs

Tulips reproduce by growing a new bulb, or offset, complete with its own root system. These new bulbs can be separated from the main tulip bulb and replanted in your flower bed. Tulip division is best done in the fall before the first frost or in late spring after the tulip foliage has turned yellow and begun to wilt. Tulips bulbs should be divided every few years when flower size or quantity decreases.

Predators and Pests

Gophers, field mice and other rodents will eat tulip bulbs. If rodents are a problem in your flower beds, plant tulip bulbs in ¼-inch mesh baskets to minimize damage. When in bloom, aphids can be a problem. Routine spraying of an insecticide can reduce damage by aphids.

References

• Sunset Western Garden Book; 1988; Sunset staff

Resources

• Backyard Gardener: Planting Tulip Bulbs