How to Transfer a Tulip Bulb From Soil to a Water Vase

Dig around the base of the tulip plant that you want to transfer to the water base, roughly 4 to 5 inches away from the base of the plant. Get at least 6 inches down into the soil, and slide the spade beneath the tulip plant to break the soil apart beneath it. If you get a lot of resistance, dig down an inch further and try to slide the spade beneath the plant again until you finally free it.

Grasp the base of the tulip just above the soil, and pull the tulip directly up out of the ground. If the tulip is container-planted, work the edges of the soil free from the container with the spade and then tilt the container to free the tulip.

Pick the soil around the base of the tulip off by hand. Take off the large clumps that you are able to until you reveal the roots. Brush through the roots with your fingertips to remove the remaining loose soil.

Place the tulip into a bucket with just enough water to keep the roots wet until you are ready to replant the tulip. Take the tulip to a sink. Run water gently over the bulb and the roots to remove the remaining soil from the plant.

Leave the roots of the tulip in water if you need to prepare the vase. If you do not have a hydroponic vase with a built-in ledge for the tulip bulb, create a top for the vase out of wire mesh by cutting a hole in the mesh large enough for the end of the tulip bulb to pass through but not large enough for the center of the bulb to pass through. Bend the edges of the wire mesh around the top of the vase to keep it from moving.

Fill the vase with water from midway up the vase to roughly 1-inch beneath the wire mesh top. Feed the roots of the tulip through the hole in the wire mesh. Place the tulip bulb into the mesh top so that it sits upright while the roots dangle into the water below.