How to Replant Live Tulips Bought in the Winter

Tulips grow in a range of colors and sizes, and bloom in early spring, mid-spring and early summer, depending on cultivar. As bulb perennials, tulips live and bloom for many years in the right situations. If you bought potted tulips during the winter and want to transfer them to the outdoor garden, choose the right sites, prepare the soil and transplant the plants in spring for continued growth and blooming.

Hand fork
Organic compost
Bulb fertilizer
Mulch

Instructions

- 1
  Transplant the tulips in mid-spring when the frost lifts and the soil warms. Warmer soil prevents plant shock during the transplant. Start the process early in the morning and move the plants before mid-day. Cooler transplant times protect the roots from drying.
- 2
  Prepare planting sites for the tulips in beds that get full sunshine for six to eight hours every day and quick year-round drainage. Tulips don't grow or flower in shade, and they rot in standing water. Dig into the top 10 inches of soil to aerate and mix it, and incorporate 5 to 6 inches of organic compost. The amendment loosens and nourishes the soil for drainage and bulb development. Add bulb fertilizer to help the tulip roots establish in the new sites.
- 3
  Turn the tulip pots on their sides and tap them firmly to loosen the soil. Pull the tulips gently from their pots, separate them and brush away old potting soil.
- 4
  Replant the tulips at every 4 to 6 inches in the prepared beds. Plant the tulips at their established depths to avoid shock. Water each tulip with 4 inches of water to establish the plantings and mulch the soil between the plantings with 1 inch of organic mulch.

How to Repot a Tulip

How to Get Potted Tulips to Bloom

Growing Tulips