Growing Tulips in Water
Every spring I get a lot of questions about growing tulips in water - or more precisely what to do with them once they finish flowering.
Here's the deal.
A tulip in water is a "forced" tulip but it can be grown if you have the climate for growing tulips. In other words, if you can grow and flower tulips outside, then you can do something with this plant.
Southern Gardeners
Unfortunately, if you live in the South, ( where you can't grow tulips outdoors and get them to reflower year after year) then your options to grow this plant are severely restricted. The bulb is pre-chilled before it goes to the greenhouse to be forced into bloom and then you're given it as a present.
A tulip requires 16 weeks of cold temperatures before it will bloom so if you're climate doesn't go to 35-45F for that length of time, you're going to have to grow it in soil (potted up) and keep it in a refrigerator for that length of time.
But that's only after you repot the tulip (carefully) into a pot of soil so the roots can develop and absorb nutrients. And the leaves need full sunshine until they can produce enough energy for the roots and bulb. Without that nutrition and sunshine, the bulb will not store enough energy to bloom again.
After the leaves go yellow/dormant - about 8 weeks after you pot it up. You allow the soil to do quite dry (overwatering at this point will kill the bulb) and let it sit until the end of October in this dormant state. Then you water it thoroughly, put it in the refrigerator and wait 16 weeks.
At 16 weeks, you take out the pot, put it in a fully sunny windowsill and keep the soil damp. In around 21 days (give or take a few) you'll have new blooms. This is, of course, always assuming you've done everything right.
Or you can toss the bulb when it finishes off and purchased "pre-chilled" bulbs next spring 21-30 days before you want blooms.
Northern Gardeners
If you can grow tulips outside with no problems, then the trick is to keep the builb alive until all danger of frost has disappeared. The odds are the leaves will ge long, leggy and quite ugly (not to mention easily damaged by frost).
So keep it alive (either by growing the tulips in water as they are) or repotting carefully and growing as a houseplant.
In the spring after all danger of frost, transplant the tulip bulb to your garden.
And that's the deal ong growing tulips in water.
Click here to ask a questions about growing tulips in water
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