Tulip Plants

Propagation

• A perennial, the tulip plant, continues to return year after year. Some cultivars naturalize easily. The tulip propagates by creating small bulblets off the parent bulb. A bulb will not produce flowers until it reaches the age of 2 to 3 years. The tulip plant does produce seeds, but the seeds do not produce replicas of the parent plant. Most tulips grown from seed do not resemble the parent plant. Naturalized tulips often bear dramatic, visual differences from each other due to seed production.

Planting Site

• The tulip plant requires a well-draining planting site. The bulb of the plant will not tolerate waterlogged soil conditions or the bulb will suffer rot. The plant prefers a soil pH of 6.0 to 7.0. It does grow well when planted within heavy clay soil, according to the University of Kentucky. The planting location should ideally receive full sunlight during the morning hours with light afternoon shade. Tulips grow well in full sunlight or partial shade.

Planting and Spacing

• The tulip plant requires a period of cold stratification to produce blossoms. Plant tulips in the fall months from October to the last of November. Tulip bulbs that measure 1 inch in diameter grow well when planted 5 inches deep and spaced up to 4 inches apart. Tulip bulbs that measure 2 inches in diameter grow best when planted a depth of 8 inches. Space the bulbs about 8 inches apart.

Care

• The tulip plant benefits from an application of general-purpose fertilizer in the early spring. Never cut away the plant's foliage after it ceases flowering. The leaves of the tulip plant help the bulb store adequate nutrients to make it through the winter and produce new bulblets. Allow the foliage to turn yellow and brown before clipping it. The gardener can relocate tulip bulbs to different areas of the garden during the summer months. Wait until the plants foliage has died back before digging up the bulbs.