How to Plant Tulip Bulbs Late

Tulips are difficult to give up on, but sometimes, the bulbs will reward your persistence.

It's not uncommon to forget to plant tulip bulbs at the right time. Some resources suggest that tulips should be treated as annuals and given up on after a single bloom cycle, but historically, tulip bulbs were good for at least a few years of blooms. If the unplanted bulbs are discovered before the end of January, they may be forced to an indoor start and transplanted to the garden.

Things You'll Need

• Flower pot
• Potting soil
• Tulip bulbs
• Water
• Plastic bag
• Refrigerator
• Shovel

Instructions

1. Pot the bulb or bulbs in fresh potting soil with good drainage, with just the tip of the bulb showing above the surface. Use a pot at least twice as tall as the tallest tulip bulb, to allow room for root growth.

2. Water the soil and place a plastic bag with air holes punched in it over the top. Place the pot of tulips in the back of a refrigerator, or in another dark, 35 to 40 degree location for at least three months. Keep the soil moist while it sits.

3. Take the pot out of its cool, dry place in late March or early April, remove the plastic bag, and water it well. Put the pot in a cool but sunny location for a week or two, keeping the soil damp but not soaked.

4. Move any bulbs that sprout into a well-drained, full sun location in the garden once the plant's leaves show above the soile and there is no longer any risk of frost.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to feed the bulbs in fall, to help them recover from the additional stress of having been forced.

• If bulbs are discovered too late to be forced to start in this manner, it's worth planting them on the usual fall cycle, though it is unlikely that every one of them will bloom.

• Tulips can also be forced indoors all the way to bloom before they are transplanted into the garden. They will not bloom when the rest of the garden tulips blossom, but will spend the spring, summer and fall preparing for blooming the following year.

• Expect at least a couple of bulbs to fail to grow. This process is not a part of their natural growth cycle.

References

• University of Minnesota Extension Service: Forcing Tulips for Indoor Bloom