Planting tulips: when, where & how?

When do you put tulip bulbs in the bed? Where and how do you plant tulips correctly? And can you also put tulip bulbs in a pot? We answer all your questions about planting tulips.

Hardly any other flower awakens the fever of spring in us as much as this one tulip (Tulipa). It belongs to the lily family (Liliaceae) and makes for great, colorful accents in every garden. Originally it comes from the steppes of Southeast Europe and Asia, but nowadays it is also at home in our temperate latitudes and it is hard to imagine our gardens without it. It does not place high demands on its location and nevertheless rewards its gardeners with a lush display of flowers. However, if you want to have a particularly long and vigorous bloom, you should already consider a few things when planting. In our article we will tell you when tulips are planted, where tulips are most comfortable and how you can best go about planting tulip bulbs.

The right time to plant tulip bulbs

When to plant tulips Many hobby gardeners ask themselves this question. There are two ways to plant tulip bulbs: either plant your tulips in the fall or you can plant them in the spring.

Most tulip bulbs are better off planted in autumn. Between the beginning of September and the middle of November, you should put your favorite tulip varieties in the bed. In order for the flower bulbs to get off to an ideal start, it is important that the temperatures are good are permanently below 10 ° C - but no night frosts should be expected in the next week be. Later, winter frosts no longer affect the colorful ornamental plants, on the contrary: the frost kills germs and pests in the soil and the tulip bulbs are protected from rotting. In addition, soil moisture plays an important role in the ideal planting time for tulip bulbs. So choose a day when the soil is neither too dry nor too damp.

Anyone who has neglected to plant their tulip bulbs in autumn needn't despair. You can also plant your tulips in spring from mid-May. It is important that the onions have already germinated. You can either buy tulip bulbs that have already sprouted or pre-germinate them yourself.

The perfect time to plant tulip bulbs:

• Planting tulips in autumn: From September to mid-November
• Temperatures below 10 ° C
• No night frosts
• Not a time that is too dry or too humid
• Planting tulip bulbs in spring: From mid-May

The right location for tulips

Tulips do not place great demands on their location, but above all they like it as sunny and warm as possible. Lots of sun promotes growth and flower formation, and it also makes it easier for the bulbs to ripen in summer, so that they can bloom again in the next year.

Tulips prefer to thrive in well-drained soils. If the soil in your garden does not correspond to this, you can simply mix in some sand with the tulip plants. This loosens the soil and prevents waterlogging. The risk that the tulip bulbs will rot is then significantly lower. A pH between 6.5 and 7 is ideal for tulips.

The ideal location for tulips at a glance:

• Sunny and warm
• Permeable, airy soil
• Nutrient-rich
• Avoid waterlogging
• Ideal pH: 6.5 to 7.0

Planting tulips in the bed: this is how you go about it

Once the perfect location for your tulips has been found in the garden, you can start planting. First, prepare the bed by loosening the soil well and removing weeds and stones. If the soil is too firm and not permeable enough, it is better to create a drainage layer, for example made of gravel. Now enrich the soil with a fertilizer with an organic long-term effect. Our is ideal for tulips Plantura organic flower fertilizer, which provides all the important nutrients for the spring bloomers. If your soil is too acidic, you should also apply lime before planting to raise the pH.

Then dig planting holes and put the bulbs in them. It is important that the stem axis always points upwards. The planted tulip bulbs are then covered with soil and watered.

Planting tulips: Step-by-step instructions

1. Loosen the soil
2. Possibly. Apply drainage
3. Limescale if the soil is too acidic
4. Work compost or a fertilizer with organic long-term effects into the soil
5. Dig the planting hole
6. Insert the tulip bulb into the planting hole so that the stem axis of the tulip bulb points upwards
7. Cover with earth
8. Pouring on

Planting depth of tulip bulbs

An important question when planting tulips is how deep you should plant tulip bulbs. You can stick to a simple rule of thumb: Always place the tulip bulbs three times as deep as they are measured along the stem axis. But this only applies to planting in autumn. This is different with early tulip bulbs that are planted in spring. Here you should note that the top one to two centimeters of the tulip bulb protrude from the ground. The diameter of the planting hole should always be twice as wide as the tulip bulb. As far as the planting distance is concerned, you should be guided by the size of the variety of tulips. For small varieties, a planting distance of ten centimeters is sufficient, for larger tulip varieties it can be up to 20 centimeters.

Rules of thumb for planting tulips:

• Width of the planting hole: twice as wide as the tulip bulb
• Planting depth: three times as deep as the bulb
• Plant spacing: small tulip varieties approx. 10 cm, large tulips approx. 20 cm

Tip: Tulip bulbs placed in clumps later create a more lush image in the garden than scattered tulips.

Planting tulips in a pot

Tulips can also be planted in pots without any problems. This is done in the same way as when planting tulips in the bed. For planting the tulips in the tub, varieties with a relatively low growth height (maximum 30 centimeters) are particularly suitable. A well-known example is the multi-flowered wild tulip (Tulipa praestans) with a height of 15 to 20 centimeters. To plant tulip bulbs in pots, you should first create a drainage layer of potsherds or expanded clay in the pot. Then enrich the substrate with Plantura Organic flower fertilizer with organic long-term effects to create the best growing conditions for your tulips. Then the onions are planted in the pots as described above.

Planting tulip bulbs in pots at a glance:

• Choose small varieties of tulips
• Lay a drainage layer in the pot
• Substrate with Plantura organic flower fertilizer enrich
• Fill the pot two-thirds full with substrate
• Place the tulip bulbs in the pot with the stem pointing upwards
• Cover with substrate
• Pouring on

Care for tulips immediately after planting

Tulips are very frugal and require little maintenance. It is important to provide the flowers with fertilizer on a regular basis and to water them regularly during longer periods of drought. For a profuse bloom, tulips need the right fertilizer. When, how and with what your Fertilize tulips, you can read in our special article.

Most varieties of tulips are perennial. We'll give you tips on what to do with Storage and overwintering of tulip bulbs must pay attention to.