Tulips which have been allowed to grow in soil and have had time to recharge energy will bloom the following year. If the bulb split into two (which often happens naturally with tulips) the smaller bulbs will not be blooming size and it will take several years for blooms to come. I would say the advice you go was very poor.

If there is green leaves on the bulbs, plant them temporarily and fertilize allowing the bulbs to recharge energy to best extend possible. If not, you can still try to store the bulbs and replant next fall.

However, best result is had if the bulbs have been growing in soil. If the bulbs have been forced into bloom in soil and the bulbs have been allowed to grow after blooming, the results should be good. If bulbs are vernalized (forced cooled) and not planted, then it can be difficult to get them to bloom again.

If the bulbs are of a decent size, they typically bloom next year, though, and it is worth giving it a try.

Thanks for the confirmation that the girl was mis-informed as to this so called splitting the bulb. Everything I knew and had read was telling me the opposite of what she had told me. Go figure, I was RIGHT :)

Sadly, many of the tulips were chopped right off at the base, leaving little time for the bulb to gather energy. The bulbs were forced in soil and when the bloom was nearly fully open, but not completely blown, that was when the folks in the design department would clip for arrangements.

Hey, free is free... worth every penny it cost me!

Thanks,
Shannon

Don't bother with the plants missing more than one or two leaves. They're less likely to be useful. If you've got a reasonable complete plant, fertilze it, water it (not soggy, don't let it dry out), and try to keep it from getting over 80F or so. Try to keep them green for as long as possible. With luck, you might get 10-20% of them to produce blooming size bulbs, depending on the cultivar.

I force hundreds of tulips every year, and I put the biggest plants (14cm+ pink impressions this year) in the greenhouse after blooming. This year, I managed to get perhaps one 12cm+ blooming-sized bulb out of every three original bulbs.

Part of the problem is that tulip bulbs need to be planted deeply to keep them from splitting too much. Shallower plantings results in more, smaller bulblets. Forced bulbs are invariably planted too shallow.

Still, it's a useful experiment to try. When the foliage dies back, dig out the bulbs, take off the outer skin (the flabby stuff that's not stuck to the bulb), separate the bulblets, and measure them. Let us know what you get.