How to Preserve Tulip Bulbs
Tulips are a beautiful flower that can bloom year after year with proper care. They are planted in early to late fall, depending on your region, and bloom in early to late spring. After they have finished blooming, the foliage will remain green and vibrant for a while. Afterward the greenery will begin to die down. This is when you might, as many gardeners do, decide to dig the bulbs up until fall re-planting season. Or, perhaps you are moving to a new house and simply don't want to leave your tulips behind. No matter the case, if preserved properly the tulips should bloom beautifully the next year. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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How to Preserve Tulip Bulbs
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Carefully dig the bulbs up with a small spade during late spring or early summer after all the tulip foliage has died down.
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Take off all remaining dead blooms and leaves by gently plucking them off. This helps prevents fungus development from the decaying leaves.
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Spread a generous amount of newspaper, shredded or wadded, in the bottom of a cardboard box.
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Put the bulbs directly on the paper. You don't have to add soil or anything else to them.
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Place the container in a well-ventilated cool dry place. A dry fruit cellar or basement is ideal as long as it does not get too humid.
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Tips & Warnings
Some gardeners in many regions of the U.S. never dig their tulip bulbs up. If you are unsure whether tulip bulbs can do fine in the ground all year in your particular region, try leaving one bulb in to test this. If you are moving and taking tulip bulbs with you, transport them in the passenger area of the car instead of the trunk--the trunk may easily become too hot for the bulbs. Newspaper was suggested here for the box because newspaper is convenient but almost any kind of paper will work as well, including the brown paper from a paper bag.
Check the bulbs once in a while to make sure they are dry and aren't rotting. Keep bulbs up on a high shelf if you have curious pets who may decide these look like a nice snack.
