With their iconic form and attention-grabbing color varieties, tulips simply could be my favorite spring flower—each within the floor and in a vase! It’s no marvel they’re one of the fashionable minimize flowers, and so they’re surprisingly straightforward to develop. The one catch is that these bulbs needs to be planted within the fall, so let’s get into my recommendation for rising slicing tulips.

What do most individuals love in regards to the tulips? You plant the bulbs as soon as and overlook about it. They return 12 months after 12 months, providing you with a much-needed burst of color after a snowy (or, in my case, gray) winter.

I hate to burst the tulip bubble, however that’s not at all times the case. Sure, there’s such a factor as perennial vs annual tulips.

Many individuals plant tulips with the intention that they’ll come again every year, however this can be a false impression, as nearly all of tulips we plant are annuals.

As soon as they bloom, they often don’t propagate very effectively until you’re a tulip farmer, yard farmer, or only a actually darn good tulip gardener. This takes cautious work to get them to develop again. For almost all of us, you received’t have tulips that naturalize very simply.

So right here’s what you are able to do. Plant no matter tulips you would like, however plant them as minimize flowers.

The worth of tulip bulbs is similar to that of different annuals you may discover on the backyard centre, but we’re A-okay with saying goodbye to these crops on the finish of the 12 months. Why not our tulip bulbs, too?

This releases the expectation that they’ll return 12 months after 12 months. You may plant them as soon as, minimize them within the spring, and put them within the vase. Subsequent fall, you do it once more.

With that stated, I believed now could be the right time to share some ideas for rising tulips for a slicing backyard so as to sit up for some lovely floral preparations subsequent 12 months.

Sponsored: I’m thrilled that this publish has been sponsored by Flowerbulb.eu. They’re an incredible useful resource for all issues bulbs and graciously supported the planting of my bulb garden final 12 months and the tulip slicing backyard this 12 months. Make sure you verify them out for extra rising data on spring and summer season flowering bulbs.

Unpackage all of your tulips first to make planting simpler.

Perennial vs Annual Tulips

I’ve written fairly a bit about each perennial and annual tulips. Perennials will naturalize in your backyard and are nice for a low-maintenance backyard. However they don’t often have as large of a “wow issue” as annuals.

Annual tulips are bred particularly for appears to be like. They arrive within the showiest colors and textures, which suggests they’re excellent for slicing. You may select precisely the look you’re going for, and their colors are typically bolder than their perennial counterparts.

Should you do resolve to go for perennial tulips as an alternative, you may additionally want to regulate your expectations. When you can definitely minimize perennial tulips, simply know that they might not return as simply the following 12 months. Be sure that to go away the leaves behind so the bulb can recharge and get sufficient power to return the next 12 months.

And hey, you may plant tulips anticipating them for one 12 months. Then, who is aware of, you may get fortunate and see them return for the next 12 months. Simply attempt to launch the expectation that your tulips will return every year to reduce the frustration once they don’t return and triple the enjoyment in the event that they do!

Cutting tulip bulbs and packages — Annual tulips have been bred to be showy, and for lengthy, sturdy slicing stems.

My Tulip Backyard Design

This fall, I planted my tulip slicing backyard in entrance of my herbs, so it sits between my entrance containers and dry river, and amongst my wildflower garden.

I included tulips in my bulb garden final 12 months, and I ended up slicing a ton of them to convey indoors. So, I’m excited to put aside part of my backyard particularly for slicing tulips this 12 months.

So as to add to my bulb garden, I planted 250 tulips with my energy planter. I needed to guarantee that I’ll have just a few completely different flowers to work with once I finally harvest my tulips, so I planted just a few varieties. I went with ‘Blue Diamond’ double late tulips, in addition to assorted double lates, triumph, fringed, and species tulips.

So as to add much more selection and color, I dotted some crocus flowers all through the garden on this space. I additionally pulled out any buttercup weed that was creating patches and made certain to fill in any naked areas with the tulip bulbs.

front lawn container and dry river — My entrance garden with my containers, dry river, and wildflower garden the place I planted my tulips.

Planting Reducing Tulips

I often get my tulips within the floor by mid-October, so now’s the right time to begin planting. Should you can, select a sunny spot in your backyard, though tulips aren’t too choosy and may deal with some shade as effectively.

Soil for tulips — After pulling some weeds, I had the right free soil prepared for planting tulips.

When you’ve chosen a spot, you can begin putting your bulbs in free soil with the roots down and the sharp finish going through up. An influence planter will come in useful right here, as tulips should be planted pretty deep if you would like their stems to be sturdy. Two to 3 instances the peak of the bulb is a normal rule of thumb.

Power planter digging into ground for cutting tulips — Should you’re planting many bulbs however spaced out, an influence planter will actually assist pace issues up.

The great factor about rising tulips for slicing functions is that they are often positioned fairly shut collectively.

Upon getting the bulbs deep within the floor (two to 3 instances the peak of the bulb), you may unfold a layer of mulch over them and provides them an excellent watering. After this, they received’t want any extra water or fertilizer till they sprout within the spring (until you’ve a chronic interval of drought.

Listed here are a number of the tulips I planted final 12 months.

Continental tulip — Continental (Darkish Burgundy)

Harvesting Your Tulips

As soon as your tulips have opened barely and a few color is displaying on the skin, it’s time for the thrilling half—slicing your lovely tulips so you may convey them inside!

To get the longest vase life attainable, you need to be sure you’re slicing them on the proper time. Don’t minimize them once they’re nonetheless tight and inexperienced. You need half of their color to indicate.

When the time comes for harvesting, I like to recommend doing so within the morning when it’s not too sizzling out and the tulips are essentially the most hydrated.

Like I discussed, I like to recommend treating all tulips as annuals if you happen to’re rising them for slicing. This implies you may pull your complete plant out of the bottom, together with the bulb. The great factor about this technique is that it offers you an extended stem.

Should you’re not planning on placing them in a vase instantly, you can too retailer them dry in a cooler for as much as two weeks. In any other case, simply minimize off the bulb and place it in water. I can often take pleasure in a vase of tulips for a few week and a half.

Should you’ve ever had tulips, you’ll know that the stems have a behavior of curving, which causes the flowers to look droopy. One trick I’ve realized is to wrap the stems in paper and depart them in a vase the evening earlier than you organize them. Whenever you take away the paper, they’ll stand straighter.

Whenever you’re arranging your tulips, additionally take into account that they do proceed to develop within the vase.

The Finest Tulips for Reduce Flowers

Triumph tulips are the biggest group of tulips, which suggests they arrive in all kinds of colors and shapes. Their tall, sturdy stems make them an excellent selection for slicing.
Rembrandt tulips are recognized for his or her distinct striped markings. I like that they add a phenomenal pop of uniqueness to any association.
Fringed tulips are recognizable by their serrated petals, which give them a fluffy look. They’re glorious for including a contrasting texture to a basic tulip bouquet.
Double late tulips are sometimes mistaken for peonies as they’ve lush, rounded petals. With a wide range of single and bi-colour choices, these look lovely in vases and gardens alike.

cutting tulips package — I like getting an assorted pack simply so I’ve the color selection, like these double late tulips.

FAQs About Reducing Tulips

How lengthy do contemporary minimize tulips final?

Whenever you harvest tulips contemporary out of your backyard, they’ll last as long as two weeks in a vase! Should you’ve ever had store-bought tulips, you’ll know that is fairly the development from the standard 4 to 5 days.

Do you trim tulips for a vase?

I at all times suggest giving your tulips an excellent trim earlier than putting them in your vase to keep away from placing the leaves in water. This helps the tulips last more and makes them simpler to rearrange.

When do I harvest tulips for minimize flowers?

Harvesting your flowers on the proper time actually is essential to utilizing tulips as minimize flowers. Wait till your tulips have opened barely, however ensure to chop them earlier than they’re in full bloom. You’ll comprehend it’s the best time when about half their color is seen.