How to Garden & Plant Tulips

Leave seed pods on stalks until they turn brown and crack open to expose the tiny, flat seeds. Put tulip seeds into plastic baggies with a small amount of damp vermiculite. Place the baggie in your refrigerator crisper for a period of 90 days. The seeds will not dry out and the seed's growth hormones will spring into action.

Remove the seeds from the fridge crisper. Place the tulip seeds in a pot of soil with peat in it. Cover the seed with about 1/4 inch of soil. Space the seeds about 1/2 inch apart in pots so as not to crowd them.

Water the seeds using warm water and keep at room temperature. Water as often as needed to keep the soil damp. You can use a seed starting mat if you wish. Increase the amount of sunlight they are exposed to over time until you place them in the sun directly. Eventually, you will notice tiny spears of green developing.

Feed the seeds house plant food that is one-quarter of its full strength. As they continue to grow, you will notice a second leaf. At this point, you may transplant the seedlings into their own individual pot if you wish, but it is not necessary.

Grow the seedlings until the leaves start to turn yellow. This is an indication that the bulb is going dormant. Once the leaves wither away, dig up the small bulb below. Transplant the bulb into your garden. If you don't find a bulb, then it has died unfortunately instead of going into dormancy. Water any bulbs you plant right away.