When Is the Right Time to Plant Tulips?

Planting Times

• Plant tulips in the fall for spring blooming, from September until the ground freezes. In USDA hardiness zones 4 and 5, plant the bulbs by late September or early October. In zone 6, plant before mid-October and in zone 7, by early November. The planting time for summer-flowering tulips is in late spring.

Planting the Bulbs

• Select tulip bulbs that are large and are free of damage and visible diseases. Avoid any bulbs that are soft or bruised. Plant the bulbs in a well-drained area that will receive the sun in the spring. Space the bulbs about 6 inches apart or cluster them closer together for a mass of color. Position the tulips in the soil an inch or so deeper than the package recommends, with the pointed end facing upwards. Add bulb food or aged manure into the bottom of the hole with the bulb, cover with soil and water it thoroughly. Cover the site with a 2-inch layer of mulch.

Successful Growing

• To encourage the long life of tulips, allows the flower stems to dry after the flowers have bloomed, and then cut then back to the ground. Allow the leaves just to dry. At the first sign of the plants in the spring of their first growing season, sprinkle around them with bulb food.

Growing Indoors

• Growing tulips indoors in pots and containers allows you to force them to bloom as early as January. Plant the bulbs when they become available in the fall. Plant the bulbs in potting soil in a pot that has drainage holes in the bottom. Do not completely cover the bulb with potting soil but allow its tip to show. Store the pot in a cold place for 12 to 16 weeks and water the soil regularly. The flowers will appear about four weeks after removing the pot from its cold storage.