Get our expert advice on how to care for tulips, including watering and planting the ones in your yard, plus how to make cut tulips last longer.
By Shelley Wigglesworth
Apr 28 2022
Learn how to care for tulips and make cut tulips last longer with these tips from our gardening expert.
A favorite easy-to-grow bulb flower, tulips are planted in the fall and bloom from early spring to early summer — offering a welcome burst of colors after a long New England winter. Once established, tulips will multiply annually, which allows gardeners to dig up the bulbs in the fall to separate and share with friends or to plant in another gardening area. To ensure good tulip growing and propagation for years to come, follow these “how to care for tulips” guidelines:
In the fall, tulips may be dug up and separated for sharing or replanting, or planted in containers and wintered over in a cold dry location.
How to Make Cut Tulips Last Longer: For long-lasting cut tulips, cut the stems diagonally before tulips have opened and place in a vase filled halfway with room-temperature water. Change the water when it begins to become cloudy. When changing the water, rinse the stems and recut at an angle before placing back into the vase of clean water.
Do you have additional tips on how to care for tulips or make cut tulips last longer? Let us know!
This post was first published in 2017 and has been updated.