11 Pro Tips for Getting Your Tulips to Rebloom

Tulips, with their graceful cupped blooms, bring a wave of color to welcome spring. With early, mid, and late season varieties, they offer weeks of flowers. The easy-care bulbs are especially low maintenance when grown as annuals, but with a few care practices, you may have the good fortune of tulips reblooming for seasons to follow. 

Post-bloom care is key to getting tulips to flower for a few more years. The goal after the initial spring flowering season is to maximize energy storage for the bulb to withstand summer dormancy and overwintering.

With a few techniques to promote strong tulip bulbs post-bloom, the chances of naturalizing and perennializing improve. For many of us in variable climates, their annual grace of form and color are worth even a single season.

Tulip Overview

Hardy in USDA zones 3-8, tulips show the best performance in areas with cool, moist winters and warm, dry summers. They grow and flower in spring and enter dormancy during the summer, overwintering and reemerging the following spring. Flowering declines when soil temperatures rise above 70°F (21°C).

Tulips are short-lived and may bloom for a few years before fading in ideal situations. Their vigor is best in the first year, which is why we often grow them as annuals. They decline after each bloom season. While reblooming isn’t a guarantee, post-care techniques offer the best bet for a few more spring flowering seasons.

The Right Time to Plant

Tulips do best with fall planting to allow a necessary winter chill period. They benefit from 12 to 16 weeks of restorative chilling at temperatures near 35-45°F (2-7°C). Planting in the mild conditions of fall (with soils below 60°F or 16°C) gives bulbs a chance to settle in before winter, but they can go in the ground even in cold weather as long as the soil is workable.

In warm climates like zones 8 and 9, plant them through December and January and even in the spring. Opt for pre-cooled bulbs from the grower to ensure they’ve met the necessary chill time for flowering. Or, give them 14 weeks of refrigeration before they go in the ground.

The Most Likely to Perennialize

The first step to getting tulips to rebloom is to select varieties with strong naturalization or perennialization. Reliable reblooming varies among the species, with many modern hybrids less likely to last for successive seasons. Species tulips are true perennials and grow with wildflower characteristics, generally shorter with an earlier bloom time than contemporary hybrids.

For species with strong reblooming qualities, consider T. fosteriana, T. kaufmanniana, and Darwin hybrids.

Tulipa fosteriana

Fosteriana tulips grow wildly in the mountainous regions of Central Asia. The perennial species features elongated cupped blooms with slightly flared petals. Also known as emperor tulips, favorite varieties include ‘Orange Emperor’ in muted orange, ‘Purissima’ in fresh white, and ‘Madame Lefeber’ (or ‘Red Emperor’) in brilliant red.

Tulipa kaufmanniana

Kaufmanniana tulips, also called water lily tulips for their form, feature large blooms on short stalks. Cupped, trumpeted, and slightly open flowers with long stamens have a yellow eye. ‘Ancilla’ is a popular variety with creamy white petals and red centers. ‘Guiseppe Verdi’ has red and yellow streaked flowers.

Darwin Hybrids

Darwin hybrids show the most potential of the modern hybrids to perennialise. They also boast a long bloom time and have large flowers on tall, sturdy stems. Their floral form is simple and elegant, a true tulip in rich shades. Cultivars in an array of colors range from pure pink (‘Pink Impression’) to clear yellow (‘Golden Parade’), bright red (‘Parade’), and purple-black (‘Queen of Night’).

The Best Growing Location

The spring-flowering bulbs grow best in full sun (six or more hours of sunlight daily) to partial shade (four or more hours). They perform beautifully in an open border and in the dappled light of a deciduous tree canopy, where they receive winter sun and cooling summer shade. Sunlight promotes the best health and flowering.

Tulips rely on well-drained soils to thrive and rebloom, especially during their dormancy period. Prolonged saturation and soggy conditions in the summer or winter make them susceptible to bulb and root rot. Even moisture is best during the spring growing season, while drier conditions in the “off” season promote reblooming.

At planting, topdress with compost or mulch to regulate soil temperatures, retain moisture, add nutrition, and suppress weeds. Mulch keeps the soil cool during warm spells to keep leaves from emerging too early.

Fertilize in Spring

Healthy soils with fresh compost at fall planting provide good nutrition. Short-lived species benefit from an added fertilizer application in spring to help bulbs uptake and store energy for the seasons to come. 

Either as growth emerges or just after flowering, broadcast a low-grade organic fertilizer like a 5-10-5. Try not to get granules on the foliage, and give a cleansing rinse after dispersal. Fertilizer promotes weed growth, which becomes competition for nutrients for tulip bulbs. Hand weed to preserve the resources.

Deadhead

To extend the vigor of your plants, remove spent blooms to boost their energy reserves. Clipping off faded flowers prevents plants from producing seeds. The energy that would go into seed production goes instead into food storage for the bulb. 

When the flowers wilt and drop petals, cut off the flower head. Remove only the flower parts and stalk, leaving the foliage in place.

Let Leaves Linger

The pretty blue-green foliage begins to fade after flowering and with warming temperatures. Once the flowers decline. Leaves flop and droop. While they aren’t attractive after blooming, they still serve an essential role in bulb development.

The leaves continue to photosynthesize after the petals fall, absorbing sunlight and nutrients for the bulb. Clipping leaves too early hinders bulb growth, setting up weaker bulbs for subsequent seasons.

Wait to remove leaves (if at all) until they turn yellow and brown. They’ll separate easily from the top of the bulb when they’re finished performing. Yellow leaves mean they’re no longer supporting growth, and the bulb is entering dormancy. The eaves usually fade within six to eight weeks of flowering.

To conceal tulip foliage as it fades, plant them among perennials that emerge in spring to cover declining leaves. Hosta, astilbe, epimedium, coral bells, and ferns are a few that bring fresh growth to the display. These perennials also tolerate dryer conditions during the warm season, matching the requirements for bulbbs that need less moisture during their dormant season.

When to Move and Divide

Divide groups or transplant them to other areas right after flowering. You can also move and divide bulbs in the fall at the ideal planting time.

To move and divide tulips, dig about six inches away from the bulb or cluster. Insert the shovel, spade, or fork deep enough to lift the bulbs with a push. Separate any bulbs into singles or smaller clusters for transplanting.

Leaving Bulbs in Place

Leaving bulbs in place (as opposed to lifting and storing them) is often the best and easiest way to see if they’ll return. If leaving them in the ground, reduce watering after the bulbs bloom and foliage fades. Stop watering a few weeks after flowering. Spring-flowering bulbs need regular moisture during the spring growing season but don’t uptake water during dormancy.

When you have a season of large leaves but no blooms, the life cycle is complete. The average lifespan is two to five years. Pull them up and add them to the compost pile. Start with fresh bulbs in the fall.

Lifting and Storing

In some cases, digging or “lifting” tulip bulbs preserves them for replanting in the fall. Lifting spares them from extreme summer temperatures, overly wet conditions, and foraging wildlife like squirrels and raccoons. But it doesn’t guarantee reblooming. Lifting is helpful if your climate is hot and rainy and the soil doesn’t drain quickly. Or, if you’ll be irrigating the site often and don’t want to risk leaving bulbs in place, pull them up for storing.

Since tulips require cool winters for a period of chill time to promote flowering, lifting is a method for warm climates without cold enough winters. Storing them and then giving a refrigerated chill time is an option in trying to regrow tulip bulbs.

The best time to dig bulbs for summer storage is after the foliage fades. Dig bulbs and remove any remaining foliage (when it’s limp, yellow, and easily pulled free). Shake off any excess soil and lay bulbs in a ventilated area away from direct sunlight to dry for one to three weeks.

After drying, the bulbs are ready for storage in a cool, shaded, ventilated space like a garage or basement. Tulips don’t need to be chilled at this point. In cool climates, replant them in the fall. In areas with warm winters, give a refrigerated cooling period (at least 12 weeks) prior to planting in the spring.

Lifting bulbs yields variable results for getting tulips to rebloom. Since they used most of their energy in the first season, they may show less vigor after preservation. Consider replanting them in a less prominent garden location and adding fresh bulbs to focal displays.

Bulbs in Containers

Tulips are beautiful in containers. After blooming, treat the bulbs the same way you would in-ground plantings by stopping watering and lifting them for storage or transplanting them to the garden. 

At planting, use a well-draining potting media and partially fill the pots to three-quarters full. Tuck the bulbs shoulder to shoulder and cover them with soil. Leave an inch or two of space beneath the pot’s rim before the soil level. Water well until it runs through the container and drainage holes. Make sure tulips in containers receive the appropriate winter chill time, or purchase them pre-cooled.

Mulch and Winter Protection

A three-inch layer of leaf litter, clean straw, or bark chips provides added insulation for dormant bulbs. The insulation protects against natural freeze/thaw cycles, which may cause frost heaving and disruption. In early spring, lighten the layer if it’s thick so the sun can warm the roots and new leaves can pop up.