Saving Tulip Bulbs

Hi Roberta, I hope this link works for you.......it seems pretty much how I'd go about it.
The only thing I'd say is to not remove the leaves until they are well and truly finished, as they pass their energy back to the bulb.
If the tulips are still flourishing at the moment, give them a little liquid plant food when you water them, as this also helps the bulb stock up for next years show.

Good luck!


http://m.wikihow.com/Store-Tulip-Bulbs

This steps you through the whole cycle for tulips in containers.

http://www.garden.org/howtos/index.php?q=show&id=1324

As does this one

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/tulips/care-of-tulip-bulbs-in-containers-in-the-winter.htm

When I moved into the house I'm currently living in there were tulips in the garden. They still bloom every year, as do the daffodils and bluebells.

Thanks, you guys. I'm gonna give it my best shot. But now the tulips and blooming and beautiful.

I just realised my post means nothing without a time frame. It was about 12 years ago I moved in.

never had good luck with any of that (tried it all). HOWEVER, did have really good luck by taking the entire pot of soil in which the plant was given you, and , just as the flowers are fading. PUT the entire pot into a BIGGER pot with new soil. ALLIUMS are voracious feeders in pots and will more often than not, die.

We often go to the town cemetary compost site . AFter Easter or other holidays where people dress up their family graves with flowers, the grounds crews give em a week and then haul them to their compost pile. We ask the guys whether we can have any daffodils and hyacinths (these are great for naturalizing).

We always buy flowers for the house and a few days after Easter, the whole soil mass goes into the garden. Weve got daffodils and masses of hyacinths that are 25 years old.

Remember that most all alliums need to be stratified (Chilled) between the seasons, so dont bring the pot in and just store it in the basement with no water, (Itll still give out). Id "overpot it" like I said an store it in the garage or in a shed. You want to have several days of frozen soil (Tulips dont do well in the south, clay soils AND not much chilling in the soil)

Daffodils cant be killed.

FM, Thanks for the info. I'm not sure that I have a bigger pot or more soil. And I don't have a garage or a storage shed. In fact, if I put the pot in a bigger pot, I'm not sure I have a place big enough to store it.

C'est la vie.

This is off the top of my head, don't trust it - put the bulbs in the refrigerator for x amount of time? (I'll look that up, I think I remember people doing that in southern California.)

Well, here's one link - I read a few - the consensus seems to be 8 weeks minimum refrigeration, though one place said 6 - 8.

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/news_archive/2006/december/get_it_growing/Get+It+Growing+Its+Time+To+Pull+Bulbs+Out+Of+Refrigerator+And+Plant+Tulips+Hyacinths.htm

Either this one or some other link said put them in the vegetable crisper.

Thanks, osso. It's planting time now? But I missed it. The flowers are already dying. Maybe the dogs will eat the bulbs. I don't think I was cut out for gardening.

Aside: I was visiting a friend in the suburbs. She was gardening. I asked if I could help. She suggested I do some weeding. OK, which are the weeds? I asked like a true city kid. She told me to work on the dandelions. Dandelions? Ain't they flowers? Like I said, maybe I'm not cut out for gardening.

put em out somewhere in the neighborhood. Isnt there a spare patch o dirt soewhere that couldnt use a little brightening up in spring?

Not in my neighborhood.

be really really sure this can't happen

actually don't let them near any part of the plant - tulips are toxic for dogs

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cut flowers off first, then cut the stems back - try to hang onto leaves as long as possible, til they're yellow, then cut them back . keep watering lightly as long as there are leaves

at that point stop watering

wrap loosely - put in fridge

repot with fresh soil in 4 - 6 months - water - put in sunny window

cross fingers

Thanks. That was my understanding, but wasn't sure if it was tulips or daffodils.

I've removed three plants from our yards as I read they were poisonous for dogs, scary stuff.

I've put tulip bulbs in the fridge and planted them later and IT WORKED , then I moved house and forgot to dig them up

daffs may be as well, but tulips are one of the no-no's that I always had to be mindful of when Miss Cleo was still alive as she was a plant sniffer and eater

Thanks for all the advice. The bulbs survived the winter (wrapped in paper, in a paper bag, in the closet) and now appear to be growing! I'll let you know if I have actual flowers.