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When to plant the Tulip Bulbs?

BrandNewHouseWife

18 years ago

I have purchased hundreds of Tulip Bulbs from COSCO. I lived in Oakville, Ontario. Zone 5. Should I plant them now?

I got about 50 Iris bulbs from the neighbourhood garden centre for free at the end of August, and they told me to plant them any time I want. I planted them at the beginning of September. Now, the leaves start to come out. What should I do? Cut down the leaves for winter?

Please advise. Thank you.

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Comments (14)

bluebonsai101
18 years ago
Hi, Plant the tulips now and let nature take its course on the Iris. If you get Iris from a nursery spcializing in Iris they always ship mid summer so you can plant them and let them get roots established before winter sets in. Sounds to me like everything is in order.....I hope you do not have too many deer as they just LOVE tulips...You'll never see a bloom. Trust me, I found out the hard way :o) Dan
BrandNewHouseWife
Original Author
18 years ago
Hi Dan,
Thank you for your input! Although I live in suburban area, I don't have deer, I think my hubby would wish we had deer in my backyard so he can hunt them down. According to the books (sorry I know nothing about gardening, so I rely heavily on books and internet website), the best time to plant is after first frost, that will be the end of October. And yet, all my neighbours started planting their spring bulbs already. Not too many people just have tulips like me. I have only tulips and Fritillaria. The temperture during the day time is around 20 degree celcius.
I am thinking to start my first batch after Thanksgiving (Oct. 10). Should I plant the Fritillaria first? Then the tulips at the end of October?
Vivian
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You don't necessarily have to move them. It depends on what kind of tulips you got. If you got Emperors, Darwins or Triumphs and especially species tulips, they could come back happily next year and bloom again so just leave them in place. If they're one of the fancy hybrids, chances are they wouldn't flower again (although you might get a second year), so you might just as well dig them up and throw them in the compost when they're finished blooming. If you want to keep them, but absolutely want them out of the bed because you can't live with the leaves, you can use the rather labour-intensive method of heeling in, which involves carefully digging up the bulbs without damaging leaves or bulbs and settling them into a shallow trench in an out-of-the-way place (lining it with chicken wire will make it easier to lift them later), and letting them complete their life cycle there. Once the leaves have completely dried, dig up the bulbs, clean and dry them, and store them in a cool, dry place for planting in the fall. If you decide to leave them in place, don't cut the leaves back until they've lost all of their green colour. The leaves are feeding the bulbs for next year's flowers. Hope this helps some. Janet's Garden Blog
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If it were me: I'd remove the weed cloth now. I've not seen it do anything good for the development of a good soil structure in clay. Gravel: I'd be thinking a mix of sizes rather than a single screen size. My preference would be for 2,5,7mm which can be useful when it gets dug through the soil/clay. As I'm using it as a mulch I wouldn't put it on any thicker than 2". Less could be better.(Sand is a no-no. It's like uncreamed butter and sugar in an angel cake...). As I'm planting into clay, and if I didn't have too many bulbs, I'd dig out circular shapes for my patches of colour to the depth for my zone and a little extra. Into the extra I'd put a layer of about an inch of the 2mm grit so the roots can get started into a better-drained area. If I could, I'd get a grit that stood out in colour from my soil. Later, when I come to lift the bulbs, I'd be able to see when I've 'hit bedrock' and I'd know to move carefully so I didn't harm my bulbs. Because I'm wanting to improve my soil over time, I'd add some agricultural lime - about an ounce to the square yard. Once I'd covered my bulbs I'd ensure that I stayed off that ground to prevent it from compacting. That's particularly important over times in the year when it's wet. The sad-looking bulbs: I'd plant them up in containers and I'd plant them quite shallowly. Barely covered, and in a free-draining mix - even 50:50 small grit and potting mix with no peat. I wouldn't want the water to stay close to them and I'd want whatever roots they can produce to have lots of encouragement to forage. (I'd even rescue the ones I tossed and give them a go, too.) Those containers I'd put where they get not much more than a couple of degrees of frost, moderate water, and good sunlight. A bit later on, when I see green noses above the soil/gravel (yes they DO come up through gravel) I'd feed them at the prescribed amount with either some potato or tomato food - powdered so it slowly breaks down, and lightly stir it in to the surface of the soil/gravel. Just once. With the damaged bulbs - some might flower. Some will die. Some might only put up leaves and split into smaller bulbs. Which is fine, because I can grow on those daughter bulbs for a year or two to give me 'free bulbs'. Any with streaky leaves I'd dig up and burn because they might have a virus and I'd rather be safe than sorry. All it needs is one travelling aphid and it could spread. No thanks. And next year, when the bulbs are finished for the year, I'd be putting my grass clippings onto the garden strip with a light sprinkling of lime, followed by as many autumn leaves as I could scrounge. Welcome mats for the earthworms. As an aside - if you do use the smaller grit sizes you can plant into it. The small 'johnny-jump-up' pansies, florists' anemones, verbascum, dianthus-pinks, linaria, eschscholzia, and a good range of other annuals will grow there - especially if you can provide some water over the summer. They may not be huge/lush but they will be sturdy and colourful. When it comes to weeding over the gravel (yes you DO have to weed...:-( ) use a two-tine hand fork or weed hook rather than anything conventional. If you use a knife, that will work, too. Forget spades - and rotary tillers. They're often not good for the health of the soil structure on clay.
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I agree with oil painter. many of our techniques actually have the same results. The difference is simply the approach. The potted tulip method is something of convenience. the tulips are already potted and it a simple matter of removing the pot. This is a technique promoted by Alan Titschmarch (spelling?) the fellow behind BBC gardens show. John's techniques have a similar effect, only you dig up the tulips and pot them up. Oilpainter, BTW although I do mix up early, mid and late tulips and cap it off with daffodils, I also do plant annuals in that one spot, which does hide the dying foliage. I just choose annuals I start off from seed so these start growing as the foliage begin dying. However because I do use late season tulips the awkward gap between flowering is very minimal, in fact the emergence of my allium purple sensations begin very shortly after, followed closely by the sages and the delphiniums. In anycase, the result is that the dying foliage no longer becomes apparent and the eyes are diverted to the other blooms. Anyhow, sorry for the prolonged discussion. it's a very simple thing and so do enjoy the process.
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Pete, I have tried the pots in the refrigerator method and it works just fine if you have the space. After potting the bulbs and watering, I let them sit out for a day so there is a little less moisture in the pot. Then I slip each pot into an old bread bag (to catch any drips and crumbs of soil), twist tie the top shut, and set them in the back of the frig. Starting in early Feb. I take them out at 2 - 3 week intervals so the blooming time is spread out, although as I recall, those that stay in the frig longer grow a little faster because of ? ? ? ? But they do. They'll get very leggy if they are indoors where it's room temp, so a bright cool place like an enclosed back porch is better once they start to grow. If it's going to be below freezing on the porch, I let them spend the night indoors in a cool place. After they bloom, you can plant the bulbs outside in late spring and they will do their thing outdoors the next year. I've heard, but never tried it, that they don't have enough food left in the bulb to bloom again in a pot. I checked over at the bulb forum - maybe you found this already - and it has some additional methods and thoughts. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Forcing Bulbs in the frig
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pitimpinai
18 years ago
Ideally bulbs should be planted when the ground has cooled off to 60F or about 15-16C and before it is frozen. That said, I always plant bulbs when they arrive from the suppliers - which is right now--- this weekend. :-) If I wait, I'll never fininsh planting them all. The weather in the Midwest is so changeable I cannot predict what it will be like next weekend. Therefore, I plant them when I have time and when it is not raining.
bluebonsai101
18 years ago
I would imagine that the ground 8" down is easily the right temp and so I would go ahead and plant. The Frits. I already planted a few weeks ago. When they arrived in Aug. they had root nubs which means they were more than ready!! I bought some more standard Frit. imperialis (yellow and red) a couple weeks back at the local nursery...couldn't resist....they were as big as my fist and I've got a reasonable size hand....they already had roots emerging as well. Lucky you no deer :o) Dan
BrandNewHouseWife
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you all for your input! I will go out and start planting my Frits. The tulips will wait to next weekend. According to the weather forcast, the next four days is going to be warm as well.
Hollywog
18 years ago
I am in zone 6 like you and I started planting my tulips today. I have been planting iris and grape hyacinth for weeks. I think it is safe to go ahead and start planting now if you'd like.
BrandNewHouseWife
Original Author
18 years ago
All my Irises which planted in early September have leaves. What am I supposed to do? Cut it down for winter?
susanlynne48
18 years ago
They're fine. My iris have leaves year round. They are usually smaller and less prolific this time of year, but it won't impair your spring blooms or anything. Iris is a very tough plant.

Susan
undercover_owl
16 years ago
How about zone 8? Can I plant tulip bulbs yet?
hopflower
16 years ago
It is best to plant bulbs when the ground cools to about 60 or so, but even if it has not in some areas, autumn is here and soon the colder weather will set in. The idea is to get the bulb in the ground and established before a winter freeze. You have plenty of time in most areas, but should get the ground ready now. If your bulbs are starting to sprout, they need to go in right away. Bulbs are living things even in dormancy; and must be cared for properly.

Never cut the foliage off. This is what feeds the bulb. Go ahead and plant, foliage and all, about 6 inches deep in mild weather areas; and even a bit deeper in very cold weather areas.
alpiner
16 years ago
Sometimes gardeners confuse the growing habits of bulbed Irises and those that grow from rhizomes. Most of the dependable and familiar larger Iris grow from rhizomes (exposed on surface).

In contrast irises that grow from bulbs vary quite a bit from each other depending on the species, etc. Some will last only one year, some bloom every second year, some indestructable and bloom every year, etc. All you can really do is just plant them and leave them alone. If they put up greenery or not in the Fall often depends on the species or variety. If they don't flower next spring, be patient and they will probably flower the following year.
gibvey_rogers_com
13 years ago
Is it too late to plant tulip bulbs now? Zone 6
vpridgen_ec_rr_com
13 years ago
My garden is on the Azalia garden tour in Mid April. When should I plant my tulip bulbs? The bulbs have been in the refrigerator since October, which is what we do here in Zone 8 to prepare them for spring blooms. Thank you for your help! Sincerly Victoria
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
13 years ago
I looked back over my records and to be in full bloom in the middle of April, after months in the refrigerator, not planted but just kept in the nursery bags, you would need to plant them NOW. This is in California where the weather in Feb. and March may be warmer than yours. Al

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