Planting Instructions

How to Plant your Tulip Bulbs

So you've got your specialty tulips bulbs and now what should you do?  Here are some easy steps for successfully planting your tulip bulbs this fall:

• Find a nice sunny spot to plant your bulbs. 
  • You want to make sure it gets at least 4 hours of sun a day.
• Loosen the soil and dig a hole about 6 inches deep
• Place the bulb in the hole, with the pointed side up
• Water well and cover with the dirt that you had dug out
• Leave until the spring and when you start to see green leave emerge, make sure to water when the soil is dry.  This will ensure they grow well and to full length.

Further Information/Tips for Success

• Plant in the Fall, before the ground freezes
• Tulip bulbs need a period of cold in the ground, before they bloom in Spring
• If you have challenges with pests digging up bulbs, consider covering the bulbs with chicken wire and then covering with the soil.  Or, you can put the chicken wire on the surface (after you've planted the bulbs) and remove in Spring once the leaves start to emerge
• If you are growing tulips for cut flower production, you can plant the bulbs very close together, just not touching.  Think like eggs in a carton.
• If you are growing tulips in the landscape, then you want to think about how they will look with the rest of your plants in the spring, so make sure to give them space to grow (2 or 3 inches).