Are you surprised that you have fewer and fewer tulips in your garden every year? This may be because you are leaving the tulip bulbs in the ground.
Tulips delight us with their bloom and ring in the garden year. But after just a few weeks, the colorful single or double flowers are history. The remaining foliage is more of a sad sight and gives way to the summer blooms. In the following we will tell you why the tulip bulbs should not be forgotten in the bed and how you can prevent many tulips from simply not wanting to bloom anymore with the right care.
Flowers and then?
Finally spring! Tulips, daffodils and hyacinths turn the dreary garden into an eye-catcher again. When tulips fade, the foliage appears unattractive and many home gardeners are tempted to reach for scissors. But you should refrain from doing this, because then there will be no flowering in the following year.
The foliage should dry out slowly instead. The onion gets its nutrients from the leaves and prepares itself for the new gardening season.
Tip: The faded flower stalks can be cut off.
If the faded flower stalks are cut off in time, the tulips will not be able to form seeds and all the energy will flow back into the bulb, which will benefit lush flowering the following year.
The tulips bunker the energy from the leaves and create an energy depot for the following season. This process takes some time, so do not intervene too quickly. Only cut off the foliage when there are no more green spots and the leaves are completely withered. Usually you don't need any scissors at this point, because the leaves can usually be easily plucked off.
Hint: Clearing the foliage is not to be missed. Leaves can begin to rot and attract pests.
Why should tulip bulbs be dug up?
The simplest answer to this question would be: So that withered leaves do not have to be tolerated. This is certainly an argument, but not the sole answer.
Tulip bulbs are locatednot too deep in the ground, staying in the ground can hamper spring planting work and it is not uncommon for tulip bulbs to be accidentally dug up or pierced by a spade.
The advantages at a glance:
- withered leaves disappear from the bed
- Garden picture is not disturbed
- Tulip bulbs should be stored dry
- Working in the bed is not hindered by the onions
Do you feel like you once owned a lot more tulips? If the blooms are dwindling year after year, it's probably because the bulbs haven't been dug up yet.
Tulip bulbs have the property of digging deeper and deeper into the ground over time. At some point they are just too deep in the ground to make their way to the sunlight and the hobby gardener waits in vain for the flowers they are hoping for.
Dig up tulip bulbs - step by step
1. Carefully dig up the tulip bulbs
2. Check the bulbs
3. Sort out the bulbs if necessary
4. Remove the leaves
5. Clean the tulip bulbs
6. Dry the tulip bulbs
7. Store the tulip bulbs
The tulip bulbs should be carefully lifted out of the ground using a digging fork. This is possible when the foliage has completely dried up.
Do not dig up and store tulip bulbs when the foliage is still green!
If you don't want to look at the unattractive foliage in the bed, you can take action while the foliage is still green. The onions should not be stored at this point, they should only be moved.
Look for an open spot in a low-traffic area of the garden. Dig a furrow here and plant the tulip bulbs side by side. Watering is sporadic until the leaves have completely dried up.
What do I do if the leaves have already dried up?
If the leaves have already dried up, the bulbs are freed from the leaves and cleaned. Tulip bulbs must be completely dry before storage. This can be achieved by wicking the bulbs into a coarse mesh net and hanging them in a dry, sunny spot.
» Attention: Only he althy, firm onions are kept.
After being removed from the ground, the tulip bulbs are checked. Only the he althy, firm tulip bulbs are stored. Muddy, moldy or rotting bulbs are sorted out and overdisposed of the residual waste.
If you put the sorted tulip bulbs in the compost, you risk spreading fungi and bacteria.
How to store tulip bulbs correctly
The onions that have been dried and cleared of leaves must now be stored until they can be planted again in autumn. This is not without risk, because onions evaporate a lot of water and there is therefore a risk of drying out. If the humidity in the storage area is too high, there is a risk of mold.
In order to keep the risk of fungi and pathogens as low as possible, the onions must be checked carefully before storage. Since you usually always leave some soil on the tulip bulbs, damaged areas are not always immediately visible.
Tip: If you remove the soil with a brush, you will be able to see damaged areas better.
The tulip bulbs can be placed in a flat tray. This should be lined with paper and sand. Storage should be in a dry, cool and airy place. An unheated basement room is ideal.
To better protect the onions, a tight-meshed net can be stretched over the fruit tray. Then small rodents and insects cannot get hold of the tulip bulbs.
Tip: The tulip bulbs should be checked regularly. Remove rotten and moldy onions.
What happens if the tulip bulbs stay in the ground?
Taking the tulip bulbs out of the ground sounds exotic to you? In fact, this approach has been somewhat forgotten in recent years. Nonetheless, it is an old gardening tradition, and there are benefits to revisiting it.
Of course you can also leave the tulip bulbs in the ground. You will then have to live with some consequences. Tulip bulbs are comparatively heavy and sink more and more into the ground over the years.
Danger of less flowering in the following year
So there will probably be fewer and fewer tulips in your garden, because the bulbs are fighting in vain with the masses of earth. Heavy soils also have the disadvantage that irrigation water cannot drain off and accumulates. Waterlogging is not tolerated by the onions and causes them to rot.
Voles can damage onions
Voles can also be dangerous to the tulip bulbs that survive in the ground. This can be prevented by using a plant basket. The small wire baskets are commercially available andcan also be made by yourself in just a few simple steps.
Replant every 3 years
In dry locations, the bulbs can also be left in the ground and multiply naturally there. So that the tulip bulbs do not sink too deep into the ground, they should be transplanted about every three years.
Dig up the tulip bulbs vs leave them in the ground
| Dig out | leave in the ground | |
|---|---|---|
| Advantages | ✔ No hindrance during planting work ✔ Protection against waterlogging ✔ Prevention from disappearing into the ground ✔ Garden image is not disturbed by withered leaves | ✔ Reduced workload ✔ Natural propagation ✔ Protection against dehydration |
| Cons | ✘ Onions can be injured ✘ Labor required ✘ Mold formation due to moisture ✘ Drying out due to evaporation | ✘ Lowering into the ground ✘ Danger of rotting from waterlogging ✘ Danger from voles |
Dig up and propagate tulip bulbs
Digging up the bulbs can be used to separate the bulbs and thus propagate the tulips. After digging up the onion, the onions on the underside become visible.
The onions are carefully removed and stored as described. After the summer they are transplanted separately and usually flower the following year.
When should the tulip bulbs be put back in the ground?
In autumn it's time to put the tulip bulbs back in the ground. The stored onions are checked again in advance. Only he althy and firm bulbs are planted.
Planting should take place in mid-September to early October. By late autumn the ground may already be frozen and the bulbs can no longer be planted.
Warning poisonous!
Gloves should be worn when digging up, cleaning and replanting the tulip bulbs. The tulip is poisonous in all parts of the plant. The bulb, leaves, flowers and stems contain tulposides. These toxins can cause eczema and inflammation upon skin contact. After eating parts of the plant, stomach cramps and circulatory disorders can occur. After digging up the tulip bulbs, care should be taken that children and pets do not come into contact with them.
» Caution: Tulip bulbs can easily be confused with onions!