Planting Tulipas

[khaleesi]

hi guys. I've brought some fully grown tulipa's that came five steams to a plant pot. My question is, do i have to keep them all together in the soil they came in when i plant them, or can i carefully split them up? Many thanks and happy summer :-)

[Buenchico]

Read the 'lift and dry' section here and combine that with the information under 'Division':
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=684

i.e. (as I read it) you need to lift the bulbs (preferably after flowering), separating them out. Then dry them out over the summer and replant them individually in the autumn.

(Disclaimer: I'm the world's worst gardener. I'm simply trying to make sense of what the Royal Horticultural Society advises!)

[woofgang]

If you have got a well drained sunny spot for them then you can plant them out directly and can separate them if you wish al though if you’ve only got five I would leave them together as they don’t look nearly so good in ones and twos. If they are the big showy kind then I find they won’t do much anyway and are likely to just put up leaves for a few years before you get a flower again. The smaller species kind will flower annually on the right conditions.

[Prudie]

I'd also replant them out straight after flowering (only because you may be like me and never get round to replanting them in the autumn). Tulips like to go in early, I believe they like to sit in cold frosty ground for a long time- also agree leave them in clumps.

[khaleesi]

Chris, i'm definitely in the same boat as you. I brought a pack of seeds thinking I could just plant them and they would grow with a little bit of water and sun, but that just isn't the case. Thank you for your advice, I have kept them all together and they've added some much needed colour to my front garden which consists mainly of greenery