Why Do My Tulips Bloom for Several Years & Then Go Away?

Out-lived

• Tulips will often bloom for a few years and then stop. This is normal for the most part, depending on the variety of tulips. When this happens, there is not a whole lot you can do, especially if you know that your tulips have bloomed already for three or four seasons. The only cure for this is to plant new tulip bulbs. If the entire bed of tulips is not blooming you may want to dig up the old bulbs first and then replant. Plant a few new bulbs each year to make sure that you have at least some tulips blooming every time.

Too Much Moisture

• Tulips do not like a lot of moisture. If the area where you live has been overly wet, this may be a cause of tulips not blooming. If this happens only occasionally, wait till next year to see if your tulips bloom. If this happens a lot, you may want to consider digging up your tulip bulbs and moving them a a new location where there is more drainage, such as along the bank of a hill.

Nutrients

• The tulips may not be blooming because they are not getting the necessary nutrients. Phosphorous is the main nutrient that tulips need to produce beautiful blooms. Fortunately phosphorous is available at most any garden shop. Look for fertilizer packaging with a greater middle number. The first number on fertilizer packaging is nitrogen, the second is phosphorous and the third is potassium.

Overcrowding

• Tulips grow from bulbs. These bulbs will create new baby bulbs each year. In time you will notice that you have more tulips than you actually planted. This is because the bulbs are multiplying. After a three or four years, depending on how much space you left between the bulbs when you planted them, the flowers may feel over crowded. Overcrowding is one of the things that will cause flowers to no longer bloom. There are too many bulbs vying for the nutrients in the soil. None of them are getting enough to produce the flowers. By separating your bulbs and planting some in another location, you should once again have blooms the following year.