The tulip flower is known throughout the world for its spectacular beauty, both in form and color. Over the years, gardening lovers have been developing new varieties and types of tulips that are more and more colorful and with very diverse morphologies. However, most people do not have a patio or garden where they can grow this magnificent flower directly in the ground.
That is why, in this EcologíaVerde article, we explain how to care for potted tulips and keep them well, to enjoy them in your home without the need to have a soil suitable for their cultivation.
How to prepare tulip bulbs for potting
Some aspects must be taken into account before proceeding to plant the tulip.
- First of all, being a plant native to temperate placesnecessary subject the bulbs to a period of cold, to simulate autumn weather. To do this, it is only necessary to put them in the refrigerator for about a couple of months before planting them.
- On the other hand, we must take into account the measurements of the pot, and the substrate that we will put inside. The recommended size for about 3 or 4 tulip bulbs it is between 20 cm and 25 cm in diameter and between 30 cm and 40 cm deep. The flower pot It must have holes in the bottom to facilitate drainage, otherwise fungi could affect the bulb. Regarding the substrate, first some stones or gravel are placed on the bottom to improve drainage. And secondly, you have to choose a very porous substrate that allows moisture to be retained but that drains the water completely.
- They are recommended prepared substrates for pots based on perlite or vermiculite, which are mineral materials that retain water easily, in addition to favoring aeration. With this substrate, we will fill approximately a little more than half of the pot, and we will reserve a part to later cover the bulbs. If we take into account everything mentioned above, we will already have everything we need ready to plant our tulips.
In addition, we recommend you read this other article on How to preserve tulip bulbs and below you can see our video on this subject.
How to plant tulip bulbs in a pot step by step
Tulip bulbs do not require any planting in particular, other than that characteristic for the vast majority of bulbs. That is, you just have to follow these steps to plant tulip bulbs in potafter having allowed the recommended time to pass in the cold.
- Place the bulb in such a way that the base or flattest part, which is where the roots will grow from, is facing down, tucked into the soil or substrate.
- The separation between bulbs should not be less than 2 cm, otherwise they will not be able to grow normally and flowering will be weak.
- When you have them all placed in the pot, cover the bulbs with the rest of the substrate, in such a way that they are buried about 5 cm and water abundantly so that the substrate is well moist.
- Now all that remains is to wait for the bulbs to develop roots and the stem to emerge from the ground, to continue growing and blooming.
In this other article we explain more details about How to plant tulips in pots and Plant tulips: when and how to do it. In the following sections you will see each of the caring for potted tulipsonce the bulbs are planted or the plant is already grown.
light and temperature
If we keep the bulbs inside the house, it is necessary place the pot near a window or, in a place with good lighting. For tulips to develop correctly, temperatures must range between 15 ºC and 20 ºC and never drop below 5 ºC or the plant will get sick and it will be difficult to recover.
Are tulips sunny or shaded?
Tulips are sunny plants, as they need a lot of light to be healthy and they withstand direct sun very well. However, they can also thrive in semi-shade locations as long as there is good ambient light nearby, and will not thrive in full shade locations. For this reason, it is better to have them outside the house in full sun and, on the other hand, if we are in a place with a lot of cold and little natural light, it will be better to bring the pot into the house.
If you like plants of this type, we recommend this other post about 16 garden plants with sun-resistant flowers.
watering the tulips
The frequency of irrigation will depend on whether we keep our bulbs inside our house, or in a window or balcony. If it is the first case, it will be necessary water 2 or 3 times a week. And if the bulbs are outside, watering will not be necessary, as long as the rains are more or less regular.
Tulip flowering and pruning
The duration of the tulip flower, will depend largely on the variety of tulip that we have planted. But sooner or later, the petals will wither and the leaves, along with the stem, will begin to turn yellow. When this happens, we must wait about 5 or 6 weeks until the entire plant is yellow, and at this point, we have two options.
In the first place, we can remove the withered part of the plant and dig up the bulbs, to keep them in a cool and dry place until planting them again the following year. Or we can keep the bulbs in the pot, as long as we change the substrate to provide new nutrients to our tulips. But if we keep them in the ground, it will be necessary to take the pot outside to provide that cold period that we mentioned earlier.
If we follow these simple steps, and take into account the aforementioned aspects, we will be able to successfully grow potted tulips, a magnificent plant with very showy flowers, and improve the decoration inside our home.
If you liked this potted tulip care guide and you like this type of plants, do not miss this other guide in which you will discover 15 bulb plants. In addition, you can discover more about potted tulips in this video on our YouTube channel that we leave below.
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