If a tulip is dying, it usually means that the plant’s life for that season has run its course and the bulb must be saved for next fall.
Even when the tulip looks as though it is dying, keep watering it regularly until the foliage turns yellow. When it has turned yellow, reduce the watering while waiting for the foliage to die and wither. At this point, you can remove the bulb from the soil.
Let the bulbs air dry for a few weeks; then you can go ahead and store them in a cool, dry place. The bulbs will be ready to replant the following fall season.
In this article, we discuss what you should do if your tulips are looking a little worse for wear.
What can I do to save a dying tulip?
1. Choose the right kind of tulips
There are tulip varieties that have been bred to prioritize quick blooming instead of long life. These varieties were designed for today’s cut-flower industry.
If you want your tulips to last longer, varieties like the Lady Jane, Sweetheart and Purissima varieties will be your best bet.
2. Do not remove foliage until the plant is dead
It may be very tempting to remove the dead foliage from your yellowing tulip, but try to control yourself because this is not best for your plant. Cutting off any foliage prematurely will have a bad effect on the tulip bulbs.
You may have heard that you can tie up the foliage; do not do this either, because although the foliage is dying, it still needs exposure to the sun.
3. Tulips need just the right amount of sun
Make sure the foliage on your tulip does not die before it should. If the plant dies due to too much sun during the spring, this can affect the bulbs so much that they may not flower the following year. Intense sun can also cause the tulips to become shriveled, so make sure you place them in a partly shaded area of your garden so they do not get full sun all the time.
Just because you cannot give the plant full sun, this does not mean you should deprive it of sun completely. As mentioned above, even dying foliage needs sunlight to feed it. The sun feeds the foliage, which in turn feeds the bulb, and the bulb will produce a flower if it is properly fed. Give the tulips enough sunlight to ensure their return the next year.
4. Foliar feeding
Use an organic foliar feed that helps promote the tulip’s bloom. Do this every week, or at least every 14 days, until the leaves on the plant are gone. It may even be that some bulbs you have kept for years have a better chance at blooming when given foliar feed.
Provide this feed throughout the growing season to help your tulips grow and bloom better.
5. Give the tulips calcium
Studies have shown that tulip bulbs grow well in rocky landscapes, in soil with a high mineral content. One of the essential minerals that is a great help for tulip growth, according to experts, is calcium. Rocky landscapes offer good drainage, and the calcium content will do wonders for the tulips. You can also provide calcium for your plants by including it in their weekly foliar feed.
6. Feed the tulips in the spring and fall
Use an organic fertilizer that contains phosphorus to give the tulips a boost in the spring and fall.
Fertilizing them in the spring will supply the foliage and the bulb with all that they need to grow well the following year.
Fertilizing the tulips in the fall, just as the bulbs wake up from dormancy, will greatly help with establishing roots in the ground as they seek out food and nutrients.
Because both spring and fall are quite rainy, the fertilizers will be able to seep much better and deeper into the soil, saving you both water and unnecessary work.
7. Give the tulips enough room to grow
When your tulips have begun to produce offsets, split them up so that they have enough room to grow. When these plants are kept too close to one another, they will not be able to mature properly. This is because the soil underneath them will become a battleground of roots competing for nutrients. The result, most of the time, will be that all the crowded plants will have a hard time thriving and maturing.
If you noticed that your tulips have a lot of blind bulbs, or if their foliage is smaller than normal, you may have to dig up the bulbs when they become dormant to check if the offsets are too close together. Take them out and split them apart so that they have enough room to grow. You can also choose to place the bulbs individually in small pots so that you do not lose track of them.
8. Refrain from watering in the summer
You will save money on water during the summer, because your tulips are a low-water plant. Compared to most plants, tulips do not actually like to be watered much, and do not reproduce well under such circumstances. They droop and rot in too much water.
When the weather starts to change and rain becomes more frequent, be sure to keep your tulips away from the rain until the fall, when they need to be fertilized.
If you want to plant your tulips in a plot in your garden, choose an area that is not too wet.
9. Avoid planting them in moist soil
As mentioned above, tulips do not like to be watered much, so planting them in soil that is constantly moist is a no-no. Do not plant them where rainwater from your roof is going to pool, because they will only rot and turn into mush. You can water the tulips with a little water during very hot weather or during a drought, but they should always be planted in a spot with good drainage.
10. Plant the tulip deeper in the soil
Ideally, plant the bulb as deep as a foot, or at least eight inches. Make sure the soil you are using has all the nutrients the plant will need, and make sure the soil is well-draining. The depth is so that the plant will be well anchored and that the roots will have plenty of room to grow into.
Yes, we mentioned that tulips are very capable of growing in rocky soil, as long as its mineral content is high. In your garden, provide your tulips with soil that is good, but not rich. Make sure the soil is loose and has nutrients that are easily available to your tulips.
Conclusion
When your tulip is dying, the most likely reason is that it has simply reached the end of its lifespan for the season. Make sure you allow the plant to die and the foliage to brown before you dig up the bulb to save it for the next fall season.
While the leaves have not yet turned yellow, use foliar feed with calcium and water the plant regularly. The moment the leaves have turned yellow, reduce the watering. Do not tie up the plant; rather allow the yellow leaves to get the sun they need.
When the plant dies, dig up the bulb and let it air dry for a few weeks before storing it in a cool, dry place.
Image: istockphoto.com / guppys