How to plant tulip bulbs – Early flowering varieties of planting tulips include dwarf hybrids such as Scarlet Baby which are perfect for window boxes. The taller types of tulip like Estelle Rijnveld will explode with colour in May.
If you want to be able to establish your tulips so they come back year after year you will need a good free draining soil and a sunny south facing position where they can enjoy the sun.
Dig plenty of nutrient rich compost through the soil before starting to plant the bulbs.
How to plant tulip bulbs – You can plant Tulip bulbs in almost any sort of soil, but the bulb lift will be bigger if your soil is richer.
Plant your bulbs between October and December. Generally tulips should be planted 10-15cm deep depending on your soil type and 12-15cm apart.
If you are looking at a compact display, you can plant bulbs closer together. The root side of the bulb is rounded, while the part that opens and sprouts is pointed.
How to plant tulip bulbs?
– Slugs are a common problem. They love tulips and if you find you have lots of foliage but no flowers the most likely cause is slugs. Invest in some good slug repellent.
The stem should be snipped or the blooms should be deadheaded after tulips have flowered, at the end of the season. But you should let the leaves die naturally. The bulb, at this time, absorbs nutrients it requires for growth the following year. After discoloration, you can remove the foliage to prevent ‘tulip fire’, which poisons the soil.
How to plant tulip bulbs – In both range of colour and form tulip bulbs are the most astonishingly varied of all the spring bulbs. If you pick your varieties well you will have a succession of blooms for a full three months.