I've just moved and now have a garden for the first time.
The garden was already full of plants when I moved, but the Tulips the were growing are now dying.They were erect then they started to fall over, the heads then started to grow upwards again although the stems were still laying almost flat.

Could this be caused by the fact it has been very wet lately with little sunshine, except for about 1 week of very good weather?

And what should I be doing to save the Tulips?

On 6/11/12 7:31 AM, skippysje wrote:
I've just moved and now have a garden for the first time.
The garden was already full of plants when I moved, but the Tulips the
were growing are now dying.They were erect then they started to fall
over, the heads then started to grow upwards again although the stems
were still laying almost flat.

Could this be caused by the fact it has been very wet lately with little
sunshine, except for about 1 week of very good weather?

And what should I be doing to save the Tulips?

Check the stems carefully. Do they look chewed? This could be snail
damage.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

On 6/11/2012 10:31 AM, skippysje wrote:
I've just moved and now have a garden for the first time.
The garden was already full of plants when I moved, but the Tulips the
were growing are now dying.They were erect then they started to fall
over, the heads then started to grow upwards again although the stems
were still laying almost flat.

Could this be caused by the fact it has been very wet lately with little
sunshine, except for about 1 week of very good weather?

And what should I be doing to save the Tulips?






If you are in the UK, I'd guess that tulips should be pretty much past
their sell-by date and heading toward dormancy at this late date. My
limited experience is that tulips would be at full bloom in April or early
May even in the north counties. They were blooming beautifully in Carlisle
in early May two years back and at roughly the same time in Inverness last
year. I guess that it could be that yours were beaten down by rain (you're
not in Wales are you?) or suffering from bad soil drainage but my guess
would still be that they are simply going through their normal life cycle.
Around my area of the US it often takes no more than a month to go from
blooming to brown.

I'm in the south UK. It has been very wet here lately, with about a week of good sunshine. How should I clear away the dead plants? If I cut the stems would they still grow back again next year?

Tulips live for 2 weeks. When the flowers die, cut off and take care of the foliage. Save the bulbs for planting in the Spring.

Thanks for the info. Where should I cut them? Should I leave the bulbs in the soil, or put them in pots in the greenhouse? (I really am new to all this!)

allen73 wrote:

Tulips live for 2 weeks. When the flowers die, cut off and take care of
the foliage. Save the bulbs for planting in the Spring.

not a good move,

trim off the flower, but leave the foliage until
it dies back naturally. otherwise you are removing
the energy which grows bulbs/flowers for the next
year. removing diseased foliage to prevent the
spread of the disease is about the only reason i
would consider removing green leaves from a tulip
or if i wanted to kill or make the plant smaller
next year.

2 weeks? that is just plain wrong. more like
2-3 months.


songbird

In article ,
songbird wrote:

allen73 wrote:

Tulips live for 2 weeks. When the flowers die, cut off and take care of
the foliage. Save the bulbs for planting in the Spring.

not a good move,

trim off the flower, but leave the foliage until
it dies back naturally. otherwise you are removing
the energy which grows bulbs/flowers for the next
year. removing diseased foliage to prevent the
spread of the disease is about the only reason i
would consider removing green leaves from a tulip
or if i wanted to kill or make the plant smaller
next year.

2 weeks? that is just plain wrong. more like
2-3 months.


songbird

Around here Tulips are short lived due to summer heat. Plant them deep
and they may make it more then 2 years.

--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden

http://marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/

allen73 wrote:
Tulips live for 2 weeks. When the flowers die, cut off and take care
of the foliage. Save the bulbs for planting in the Spring.

When will the bulb save energy for next year? When will it make more bulbs?
You have to allow them to go through their lifecycle. Don't cut the
folliage until it dies of its own accord.


David

Bill who putters wrote:
....
Around here Tulips are short lived due to summer heat. Plant them deep
and they may make it more then 2 years.

some varieties maybe, but the species
as a whole came about as an adaptation to
dry hot summers in combination with a cold
wet winter and spring.

i suspect that many trouble east coast
USoA tulip growers would have would be not
enough cold, or the tulips get too much
shade or the location isn't the best...

heat/drought in the summer is what they
are going dormant to avoid.


songbird

Keep watering the plants after they bloom. When the foliage yellows, cut the tulips back to the base of the plant with pruning shears or scissors. You may also be able to just pull up on the foliage to separate it from the bulb. Stop watering the plants and set the pots in a cool, dark location, such as a garage, until the spring. Take the bulbs out of the pots and replant them outdoors about 6 inches deep in a site that receives full sun. Water them well. They will come up the next spring.

On Jun 12, 1:02*am, allen73
wrote:
Tulips live for 2 weeks. When the flowers die, cut off and take care of
the foliage. Save the bulbs for planting in the Spring.

Save them how? My first bulbs are ready to be removed, but I don't
know optimum conditions for storing.

TIA

HB

On Jun 13, 2:04*am, allen73
wrote:
Keep watering the plants after they bloom. When the foliage yellows, cut
the tulips back to the base of the plant with pruning shears or
scissors. You may also be able to just pull up on the foliage to
separate it from the bulb. Stop watering the plants and set the pots in
a cool, dark location, such as a garage, until the spring. Take the
bulbs out of the pots and replant them outdoors about 6 inches deep in a
site that receives full sun. Water them well. They will come up the next
spring.

--
allen73

Oh, I think you just answered my question, above. I thought maybe
they should be in refrigerator, or?

Note, however, that this is a mild Mediterranean climate (So.
California coastal), Will planting the bulbs make them come up too
soon?

David Ross or David Hare-Scott, or somebody in/near my zone, how do
YOU store tulip bulbs?

TIA

HB

On 6/13/12 10:02 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Jun 13, 2:04 am, allen73
wrote:
Keep watering the plants after they bloom. When the foliage yellows, cut
the tulips back to the base of the plant with pruning shears or
scissors. You may also be able to just pull up on the foliage to
separate it from the bulb. Stop watering the plants and set the pots in
a cool, dark location, such as a garage, until the spring. Take the
bulbs out of the pots and replant them outdoors about 6 inches deep in a
site that receives full sun. Water them well. They will come up the next
spring.

--
allen73

Oh, I think you just answered my question, above. I thought maybe
they should be in refrigerator, or?

Note, however, that this is a mild Mediterranean climate (So.
California coastal), Will planting the bulbs make them come up too
soon?

David Ross or David Hare-Scott, or somebody in/near my zone, how do
YOU store tulip bulbs?

TIA

HB


I don't even try to grow tulips. I tried once and was very
disappointed. I had placed them in the vegetable bin of my refrigerator
for 6 weeks before planting. I don't remember how many bulbs I planted,
but I got only two to bloom.

My earlier comment in this thread about snails was based on my
experience with flowering bulbs that don't require winter chill. I have
seen bearded iris stalks growing horizontally and then turning vertical
near the end. They had been partially chewed at the base by snails.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Here's what I'm dealing with. What's my next step?