How to Plant Tulips

Select tulip varieties and types by flower color and form, local adaptation and bloom time. Keep in mind that hybrid tulips look beautiful for the first year, but in the second season the bulbs produce smaller flowers, and after about three years, no flowers at all. Species tulips, including Tulipa greigii and T. kaufmanniana, flower for years, multiply, and sometimes produce more than one flower per bulb.

Purchase high-quality bulbs, free of bruises or soft spots. Good sources are local nurseries, as well as websites and mail-order catalogs.

Arrange for delivery, or make your purchase, so you have the bulbs about six weeks prior to planting. Plant in early fall in cold-winter climates and in late fall to early winter in mild-winter climates.

If you garden in USDA Hardiness Zones 8-10, you will need to chill the bulbs for eight to ten weeks prior to planting by placing them in a paper bag and keeping them in the refrigerator. This provides the bulbs with the amount of cold necessary to trigger top performance. You can also purchase pre-chilled bulbs. Keep in mind that tulips should be treated as annuals in this climate, because they will not rebloom unless you dig them up and chill the bulbs the following fall.

Select a sunny planting location with good drainage. Dig in 1 to 2 inches of compost prior to planting.

Dig holes 3 to 4 times as deep as the bulb is wide, usually about 6 to 8 inches deep. Leave 4 to 6 inches between bulbs. The bulbs look best clustered together rather than planted in a line. Save time by digging one large hole or trench rather than several individual holes. Special bulb planters are available, but if you don't want to clutter your tool shed with tools that have only one purpose, a trowel or shovel works just fine.

Add rock phosphate to the bottom of the hole and roughly mix it into the soil. Avoid bulb fertilizers that contain bone or fish bone meal as this can attract squirrels and other critters. Then, place the tulip bulb in the hole, pointed side up, root side down. The base of the bulb should rest firmly on the bottom of the hole.

If squirrels and other critters have snacked on your bulbs in the past consider planting bulbs that repel pests, such as narcissus among the tulips. You can also place chicken wire around the bulb prior to backfilling the hole with soil.

Water the bulbs thoroughly.