Tulip Care After Blooming
In the spring, your garden is singing with color and it all looks so beautiful but soon the colors fade and start to look messy. Your tulips start losing their leaves and the stems start to dry up. Read on for tulip care after blooming.
After the tulips have finished flowering and start the drying process it is important to resist the urge to cut the stems and flowers back if you have the small perennial bulbs.
It is important for tulip care after blooming to allow them die and dry naturally to a brown coloring. The leaves and stems capture the sun’s energy through a process called photosynthesis which stores energy and transfers it to the bulb for healthy flowers next year.
If you simply must cut your tulips back, cut the stem down where it meets the leaves. At least leave your leaves to collect the energy needed.
If you do not allow nature’s process to take place, next year one of two things will happen. Either the tulips will not come up or you will have much smaller flowers.
Fertilizer
Tulips are pretty care free. They do not need fertilizer or plant food and only need to be checked for moisture.
Do Tulips Come Back Year After Year?
It is important to know that not all tulip bulbs come back year after year.
For a perennial bulb to come back the bulb would have to be planted in the right conditions and right climate zone.
Some bulbs will not winter over in some zones and need to be dug out. I just add extra layers of mulch and hope for the best. Works for me! Check to see if you need to do this for your bulb type.
Happy Gardening!
