Tulip Care After Blossoms Die

Tulip bulbs can be expensive and time consuming to plant each year, however tulips can regrow next year, if you treat them right. That will save you extra money in the fall, as well as the time and effort to replant a new tulip garden. If you want to regrow your tulips, the best gardening practice is to "deadhead" those wilted tulip flowers. Deadheading has nothing to do with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. Deadheading is pruning -- removing spent flowers (the remainder of the tulip blossom) from the stem of the tulip plant. Why is this important?

When the tulip petals fall from the flower, a seed pod is left on the stem. The tulip plant will continue to feed the seed pod by extracting nutrients from the soil. Since the flower won't bloom again, the seed pod robs the tulip bulb of the energy it needs to regenerate.

Tulip bulbs are different from regular flower seeds. Tulip bulbs contain the nutrients that support the new tulip plants in the spring time. Once the flower forms, the tulip bulb has spent its nutrients and needs to collect more for next year. When the seed pod is attached to the tulip plant, the pod takes the nutrients that the tulip bulb would receive. When the pod is removed, the plant draws energy from the environment and stores it in the tulip bulb. So, if you remove the seed pod, you give the tulip bulb the chance to renew itself.

Deadheading a tulip flower is easy to do. Simply take a pair of garden shears and snip off the seed pod about one inch below the pod on the tulip stem. So when do you deadhead tulips? First, if all of the tulip petals have fallen off, go ahead and cut off the seed pod. Second, when the tulip petals begin to wilt, droop or curl up, test them. Tap the tulip petals lightly with your finger. If you gently push on the petal and it falls off, it is okay to deadhead the tulip. Don't cut the flowers off too soon. Since tulips bloom for such a short time, don't short change yourself. Enjoy the flowers while they are still colorful. You may even want to take photos of your tulips to remember their beauty all-year-round.

Once you've cut the blossom from the stem, don't cut the rest of the tulip foliage. Let the leaves and the tulip plant alone. Let the plant wither, dry up and turn brown naturally. You don't have to water the plant. When the leaves turn yellow and brown, you can cut the vegetation down to the dirt. You can leave the tulip bulbs in the ground where they will remain dormant until the fall months and begin to grow roots to bloom again next year. Or, in mid-summer, you can dig the bulbs up, shave off the roots, and dry them. Then, place the bulbs in a plastic bag and keep them in the freezer until fall planting season. Allow the tulip bulbs to warm up to room temperature and then replant them.

Remember, despite the best care, tulip bulbs do not always grow back again the following year. Many bulbs will reblossom for one-to-two years; however the flowers will be smaller and have less vibrant colors. You should replenish your garden by buying and planting new bulbs in the fall. Most gardening services recommend that you plant five (5) bulbs for every square foot of garden space. A farmer doesn't plant just one kernel of corn and expect an acre of corn plants.

You can get the best prices on BloomingBulb.com - Great bulbs, low prices tulip bulbs by pre-ordering them in late Spring and summer when nurseries have a bulb sale. Also, if you want a specific tulip flower, you have a better chance of getting it, if you pre-order. Most garden centers will guarantee your order and hold your shipment until the planting season in September. If you wait to the fall to order your bulbs, you may pay more and the flowers you want may not be available.

Practice good tulip care by deadheading your tulip plants at the right time. You can save time and money for next year's tulip flowers in your garden.