Tulips cut too early

by Tanya
(Lubbock, Texs)

My mother always grew tulips (and other bulbs) but I never saw her do anything (ever) with them. I suppose it might have been the climate (North-Central New Mexico). When my husband and I bought our home (West Texas) I was so excited to have a bed full of bulbs. So I invested plenty of time and money and filled my beds with wonderful blends. The fist year was magnificent but when they began to wither, since I didn't know better, I cut the plants to the ground. The following year (this spring) very few bloomed. In fat, when I analyzed which bloomed and which didn't, I realized that it was the early bloomers that re-bloomed, leading me to believe that they must have been further gone by the time I cut them. When I asked my mother why my bulbs weren't blooming, she said I must have cut them too early last year. I went ahead and let everything grow out and as unsightly as it was, I didn't trim until the entire plant was yellow and wilted. I did not garden over them either year besides a few shrubs that remain in the flower bed (and frankly require very little water) and our summers are pretty dry. The soil id awfully red and hard so i have mixed in some OM I think twice before.
So, after all that, my question is: will they ever bloom again? Or is it hopeless and I should dig up and replant new bulbs this fall? I have heard suggestions about "bulb food" but have never found any.

The map in the bulb catalog says I live at the cusp of zones 6 & 7. I hope this is informative enough to help you help me.

I love to garden but admit I'm not well-trained. Would you please guide me in what to do with the bulbs that are in the ground and also tell me, What is best to do each year to have beautiful bulb flowers each spring?

Thanks so much!!!


Doug says that if you let your bulbs grow out to yellowing foliage this year, they should bloom for you next year. This is indeed the key to getting a bulb enough energy to form a flower bud.

The soil is a concern - heavy clay is not the best for bulbs as they tend to like it drier. But as long as the bulbs are producing leaves, you should be fine.

Bulb food - I toss compost on top of them in the fall or after they've finished blooming, whenever I have the time. Or you can water them in with a fish emulsion fertilizer of some kind (or spread any other organic fertilizer in the very early spring).

Bulbs don't need a lot of food but they do better if you provide them with some. So do feed an organic fertilizer - preferably one with a smaller first number on the bag (lower nitrogen) so you don't encourage lots of leaf growth at the expense of flower production.

Good luck with them.