I have a few tulip bulbs that already bloomed and are spent now. What do I do to make sure that they grow and bloom well next year? Also, a few of them did not bloom at all this year. Are they spoilt or bad bulbs?
I've been told to lift them, store them dark and cool, and replant them again in autumn. I never do that, and most of them will come back and bloom, but some will split and won't bloom for another year or two. I break the seedpods off but leave the stem and leaves to die down. They do dwindle as the years pass, though, except for the mini ones that seem to do well every year.
After letting the green leaves go until they begin to discolour, you lift the bulbs, remove the leaves to down close to the bulb. Then let them dry for a week or so. Clean the dirt off them carefully, then place them in a paper bag or carboard box in dried wood shavings or sawdust and store dark. Just be sure that there is some ventilation to avoid mold colonies forming. There are probably several different ways to do it, but this one works fine.
I have several clumps that I just leave in the ground (let the leaves die back)and they just keep getting bigger and better every year. I'm not sure if that is an option in your area, but it works in zone 5. I have another garden that I dig up the bulbs as soon as the blooms are finished. I stuff them into a milk crate (holes allow for air circulation), foliage and all, and store them until fall in my gardenshed. In the fall I pull off the dead foliage and re-plant with a bit of bulb booster.
I, like Netty am in zone 5, and I leave my tulips in the ground and basically do nothing with them. They've come back for a few years now, but it seems as though I loose a few every year and this year I only had 4 or 5 (I started with 20). So I'll be busy in the fall. I never new about the bulb booster until just recently when a friend of mine told me about it. I may try that too!
I am in zone 5 as well and left bulbs in the ground with tulips coming back atleast for 3 to 5 years but slowly seems to eradicate with time although my parrot ones have done good with returning.
