Tulip Question

[eeyore25]

Hello,

I have a quick question. This fall I planted a few tulips in a planter, not the ground. My DH seems to think that I should bring the planter in the house and put it in the basement. He seems to think that the flowers will start to grow this way. My question - should I bring them in? They don't start to bloom until Spring, but he thinks that I need to trick them into growing. So what should I do???

Thanks in advance!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Have they been in the planter all winter outside? My worry is that they may have frozen if that is the case.

Go look up forcing tulips and I am sure you will find your info.

 

[eeyore25]

Yes they have been in the planter all winter.

Thanks for the info....I will do a search and see what I can find.

 

[Beth76]

I am by no means a gardner and the only flowers I have every planted were tulips last fall (2004). We planted some in planters and some in the ground. The ones in the ground and one of the planters bloomed just fine in the spring. For some reason one of the planters started blooming several weeks later. I have no idea what caused the difference. The two planters were on our covered front porch just a few feet from each other.

 

[Nicolepa]

I am by no means a gardner and the only flowers I have every planted were tulips last fall (2004). We planted some in planters and some in the ground. The ones in the ground and one of the planters bloomed just fine in the spring. For some reason one of the planters started blooming several weeks later. I have no idea what caused the difference. The two planters were on our covered front porch just a few feet from each other.

Were they all the same kind of tulips? There are early, mid, and late bloomers. Each will bloom w/in a couple of weeks of another. (The idea is that as the earlys die, the mid's start blooming etc.)

As for the tulips in the planters I have no idea. You are supposed to plant them in the fall for the spring, so I have no idea why you'd bring them in, unless you were trying to get them to bloom early.

 

[clarabelle]

They are supposed to get cold. Here in GA they don't do so well because they don't get cold enough.
Unless you want to "force them" (make them bloom out of season) leave them out.
Think about how cold it gets in Holland!

 

[Stitchfans]

I have no luck at all with bulbs, flowers, whatever. AS fast as I plant them some animal comes along digs them up and eats them. I will never have color and pretty flowers in my yard.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I lived in MN/WI until 2 years ago, and I always planted tulips in the fall in planters and the ground outside, and they got plenty cold and froze and all, then came up beautifully in the spring with no problems. Part of the fun of moving to a new place was waiting to see what tulips (or hyacinths, daffodils, or crocuses) came up in the spring. Now I live in CA, and if I want to grow tulips I have to put the bulbs in the fridge/freezer for a few weeks before I put them in the dirt, and as soon as I plant them they come up. More work...sigh...but they are so pretty!

I don't know for sure what your climate is like, but I'd guess you should just leave the bulbs alone and they'll probably come up just fine in a few months. If you want them to bloom soon, then bring them in and let them warm up.

 

[lindalinda]

Most bulbs need to be in the cold for 6 weeks or so before you can "force " them. If they have been, you can get them to bloom, if they havent, you can put them in the fridge and that will work. I have done this and its works. Its nice to have tulips in the winter, makes you realise spring is near.