How Does a Tulip Get Food?

About Tulips

• Tulips are a bulb plant native to Turkey and the foothills around the Himalayan Mountains. They thrive in cold winters and hot, dry summers. Do not plant bulbs too deep. Plant small bulbs, those about 1 inch in diameter, about 1 to 4 inches deep. Plant bulbs of 2 inches or more at 8 inches deep. Set bulbs with the pointy side up, replace soil and tamp down firmly. Water thoroughly Cover with a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic mulch, like hay or grass clippings. Varieties of tulip can be planted to bloom successively from early April to mid-May.

How Tulips Get Food

• Tulips grow out of a small bulb that is a sophisticated, underground food storage system. The plant will grow out of this underground bulb, grow its foliage, bloom and form seed all from the carbohydrates that created through the photosynthesis performed by the leaves of the plant. After blooming, if you prevent the seeds from forming by snapping off the seed pod forming at the top of the stem, the energy will go instead back into the bulb to provide food for the plant over the winter and help produce new spring growth.

Fertilizing Tulips

• Tulips benefit from the additions of bone meal in the bottom of the hole in which they are planted, at about the rate of 1 oz. per each square foot, according to University of Kentucky horticulturist Bob Anderson. After plants emerge from the ground, fertilize with 10-10-10 fertilizer. This is fertilizer that contains 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus and 10 percent potassium. Apply at a rate of 1 to 2 lbs. for each 100 square feet.

Tulip Care and Food Production

• After tulips bloom in the spring, remove the dead flowers but leave the foliage. Foliage continues to process sunlight, creating "food" that the tulip bulb stores to fuel next season's growth. Foliage may be trimmed after it turns yellow. Good drainage is also important to tulips health and blooming. Tulips prefer not to be moved, but if necessary, dig them up after foliage has died and store the bulbs in a dry, well-ventilated area until planting time.