How to Grow Tulip Bulbs in Water Indoors: 7 Easy Steps

Tulips are happy signs of spring with their graceful cupped blooms in a rainbow of colors. Enjoy their cheer indoors by forcing them in water (also a sweet gift!). Follow a few steps for easy success with garden expert Katherine Rowe to get your tulips growing in water.

A vibrant tulip blooms grow in a clear glass vase, with visible roots and bulb base submerged in water, slender green stems rising to hold bright, cup-shaped petals.

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Tulips are a spring-flowering favorite, beloved for their classic blooms from cupped to peony, fringed, parrot, and lily types. Elegant in the landscape and the vase, the easy-care bulbs add effortless grace and color. With spring in sight, growing tulip bulbs in water creates a happy display indoors. It allows us to choose our selections for a tailormade arrangement.

Growing tulips in water mimics spring’s conditions to awaken the bulbs. The ready moisture supply and warming temperatures initiate growth and flowering. With a few key steps, the process is simple. You’ll be enjoying bunches of sweet blooms as spring rounds the corner. Or, make the setup a lovely gift for a boost of floral cheer on lingering chilly days.

About Forcing in Water

Various flowering bulbous plants including tulips, daffodils, and amaryllis in glass vases filled with water on a light windowsill.
Water-rooted plants offer a clean, elegant indoor touch.

Many spring-flowering selections bloom indoors any time of year through forcing. “Forcing” indicates a natural warming spell and growing season like spring to initiate flowering. After a necessary rest period, the bulb awakens as conditions favor growth. Indoors, tulips force best between fall and spring. Forced bulbs root in a variety of unique vessels, from a shallow dish of pebbles and water to a vase to tureens and terrariums – the process lets us get creative.

In the fall and spring, bulbs are available for purchase, already potted, singly, or in bulk. Look for the indicators “pre-cooled” or “pre-chilled, where the grower provides necessary cooling and dormancy so that the tulips are ready to begin growing once in the water. The bulb’s roots need contact with water or moist soil to develop and then produce new leaves and blooms quickly. They usually flower within six to eight weeks in the right conditions.

Growing tulips in water gives the opportunity to observe their root development in action, plus the growth of budding stems and broad, strappy leaves. Water-rooted tulips lend a clean, elegant, minimalist look to the interior display.

Choose Pre-Cooled Bulbs

Close-up of a variety of rounded bulbs with smooth, brownish skin and slightly pointed tips, arranged in wooden boxes on the counters.
A 12-week chill ensures vibrant flowers when planted.

Essential to successfully growing tulips in water is to plant them pre-chilled. Tulips require a lengthy vernalization (chilling period) to flower. They need about 12 to 16 weeks of restorative chill at temperatures near 35-45°F (2-7°C).

In the landscape, the bulbs do best with a fall planting to allow the necessary winter chill period. For growers in cool climates, October and November are prime planting times. In warm climates like zones 8 and 9, you can plant through January and later

To plant tulips in February, whether in water or soil, opt for pre-cooled bulbs from the grower to ensure they’ve met the necessary chill time for flowering. Or, give them at least 12 weeks in the refrigerator or a cool, dim, dry space before awakening them for the season.

Select the Container

Red, white, and burgundy-purple goblet-shaped flowers bloom in a glass vase, their bulb roots submerged in water, with green leaves arching upwards towards the petals, creating a striking contrast on a white windowsill next to small decorative candles.
Clear containers let you watch roots develop beautifully.

Almost any container without drainage holes is suitable for forcing tulips in water. You can opt for a single bulb in a vase or group them for high color and form. Decide whether you’ll be rooting in water only or using pebbles or gravel as a base. The pebbles help stabilize the bulb and keep it in place. The stones can be decorative if visible through a clear jar or concealed a bit with moss.

In sizing the container, choose one with enough room for a single bulb to nestle or multiple to sit shoulder to shoulder. Choose a proportionate, sturdy vessel for tall stems and blooms that may become top-heavy.

Good options for forcing indoors include:

  • Bulb vases are tailor-made to hold them in place at the mouth of the vase. The roots reach into the water-filled base while leafy upper growth and blooms open above, and the bulb stays out of the water.
  • A clear glass jar or bowl lets us see the roots develop and monitor the water level for easy topping-off without submersion. It also allows light infiltration as foliage and stems begin to grow.
  • Any other vessel that holds water and roots (about three inches deep) without obscuring leafy growth (i.e., a shallow bowl rather than a deep, dark one that may shade developing stems).

Sanitize Materials

A woman uses a white brush to wash a glass vase in a steel sink in the kitchen.
Clean containers and stones ensure healthy root development.

The container and the bulbs are the main features, with accessories like gravel, glass, stones, shells, moss, or other fillers as decorative options.

Materials needed:

  • Glass vase, bowl, or other container
  • Pebbles, stones, or gravel to stabilize the bulb (optional)
  • Soap and water
  • Healthy bulbs

Forcing them to bloom takes a lot of the bulb’s energy. Begin with fresh, healthy bulbs for the best start. The larger the bulb, the stronger the growth. For dwarf or compact varieties, make sure the bulb is plump. A healthy specimen is firm under a gentle squeeze without soft or discolored spots. Pass over any dry, shriveled ones, as these lack hydration and face challenges in developing.

Give the container a wash in hot, soapy water to sterilize. The cleanse prevents bacteria, and new roots will be free to grow in a sanitized setting. Run the pebbles, stones, or gravel through a bath, too, especially if collected or being reused. Soaking reused pieces in one part bleach to nine parts water eliminates any carry-over problems.

Proper Bulb Placement

Bulbs with small sprouts growing in a glass vase filled with water and stones.
Do not submerge the bulbs completely.

With your creative container in hand, now to the fun of “planting” and arranging. Situating the tulip bulbs properly is the most important part of forcing bulbs in water. It’s essential to have only the very base of the bulb’s roots in contact with the water. Keeping the root base just above the water level but where the roots can reach it is optimal. If bulbs are submerged, they’re likely to rot.

Setting the base just at water level is where pebbles come in handy. And the clear container, too, for optimal visibility. Fill the transparent jar with at least three inches of pebbles. Add more if aesthetically pleasing to fit your container.

Place the bulbs on the pebble layer, and slowly fill around the stones until they barely meet the lowest point of the root zone. We’re talking about a one-millimeter separation between the bulb itself and the liquid.

Provide the Right Light and Temperature

Elegant flowers with vibrant white and pink petals rise from tall stems, framed by glossy leaves, with roots visibly growing from the bulbs in water, arranged in glass vases on a white windowsill.
Bright light and moderate temperatures encourage long-lasting blooms.

The pretty bloomers grow best in a bright spot near a light-filled window. A south-facing exposure gives the most late winter light, but east- or west-facing serve them well, too. As long as there is ample bright light or a sunny exposure, you can watch them unfurl.

Ideal temperatures to foster indoor blooms are near 65-70°F or 18-21°C (usually average household temperatures). When in flower, slightly cooler temperatures (60-65°F or 16-18°C) prolong bloom time. You might want to move the tulips to a cooler spot at night and back to their display location by day to provide cooling or situate them near a cool window.

Tending During Flowering

A woman in a pink shirt places flowering plants with pink and white flowers, elongated green leaves and roots emerging from the bulbs in a glass vase with water.
Rotate the vase for even light and straighter stems.

Once situated, check the liquid level regularly to account for uptake and evaporation. Add room temperature water slowly when the level needs topping off to just below the bulb’s base. Empty and refresh the water if it becomes cloudy, murky, or unpleasant from being stagnant. Fresh, oxygenated water helps healthy root development.

Stems respond quickly to surrounding light and will bend toward it. Rotate the vase every couple of days to maintain straighter stalks with even light exposure.

Once buds begin to open, you can move the vessel to its display spot to relish the flowering phase. To prolong the interior display, keep the blooms out of direct sunlight and away from drafts like heater vents, fireplaces, and chilly blasts from open doors.

After the Blooms

Close-up of round, pointed-tipped bulbs covered in brown husks, planted in loose, dark brown soil in a garden.
After fading, plant in full sun for next year’s surprise.

In the landscape or potted situations, tulips are short-lived spring-flowering bulbs, often grown as annuals for their strong display in their first growing year. In subsequent years, their vigor declines. Because their show is best and most reliable in the first season, many gardeners grow tulips as annuals or short-lived perennials.

In forced situations, energy use is intense, and restoring the needed carbohydrates and sugars to produce future flowers greatly reduces. It’s best to enjoy their floriferous beauty to the fullest and then toss the spent bulbs in the compost pile. A fresh round next season is easier and more productive than trying to carry over the existing selections, which are unlikely to produce.

If you just can’t part with them, clip off the blooms as petals fade to prevent them from going to seed (and using more energy). Allow stems and foliage to remain in place until they turn completely yellow and droop – they continue to photosynthesize and absorb energy for the bulb.

Once yellow or brown, cut off the foliage and remove the tulip bulb from its vessel. Transplant it to a garden corner that gets full sun or at least lots of morning sun exposure. Wait and see what happens next year! You may be able to dig them up and grow more tulip bulbs in water next season!

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