In zone 6 you should not have to dig up tulip bulbs. That being said, I treat most tulips like annuals because they do not return well for me. I don't know if digging and storing properly would increase the chances of having them return any better... interesting thought....

"Storing properly" would be the key term here - although I don't know what exactly that would be, lol! But they would need some kind of dormancy/cold period. When to dig and how to store, perhaps someone else could chime in. (But I still don't think you would need to.)

:)
Dee

I don't think that there is anything you can do to get Angelique to come back - doubles don't tend to be perennials to the best of my experience. If you dig her and dry her and replant, she probably won't be large enough (have enough energy stored) to rebloom next year - you'd just get leaves. There are some tulips that have a tendency to perennialize some, but Angelique isn't one of them. I used to think that no tulip was worth the money when some many other bulbs will return, but I now read the bulb catalogues carefully for references to perennializing and have planted tulips that at least have the potential to return, though some get eaten by the rodents. This year I had a good number of tulips among the early spring perennials and other bulbs even though I haven't planted tulips for maybe three years.

If you want to try for the tulips to rebloom in the future plant them about two inches lower than the instructions states. Leave in soil and do not cut foliage off. Plant something to hide it.

For the ones I have that return every year it takes about 3-4 years after they bloom to bloom again. During that time the bulbs are dividing and gaining strength to bloom. I have both white and purple rescues from an old office building that I was at over 10 years ago that bloomed very nicely this spring.

I have a few red tulips that have been coming up and blooming for over 20 years. I am not sure, but I think these are red impression tulips. The darwin hybrids are suppsedly more perennial than some. But even with the D.H.'s, some keep coming up for me and some don't. I planted a bed of Apricot Impressions and about 1/3 still return, 5 yrs later. I think if conditions are to their liking, they will come back again. I've read that if you plant them deeper, and keep them on the dry side, they are more likely to be perennial. But, I've never had a double, or a parrot type come back, sadly. I use them strictly as annuals, and I know its probably not cost effective, but I love my doubles and parrots, so its worth it to me to plant them every year.

Angelique has been coming back every year for me for at least five years and blooms every year. It is not multiplying as quicky as some but they hold their own. I planted them at the usual 6" depth. Tulips have retractile roots and will find their own right depth if they were planted a little bit too shallow. I think it is winter cold that makes the biggest difference in whether they return or not. They need winter cold.

I've also had my Angelique tulips return and bloom for at least five years. I do deadhead after bloom and feed them.