Tulip flowers open and close in response to heat and light. When tulip petals fold in at night, or on a rainy day, the pollen stays dry and reproductive parts are protected. (From there it is moved to another flower.).
During the day, the tulip petals remain open for pollinating with the help of bees and butterflies. But they don’t roam about during the night, but some notorious pests do. When the tulips close up during the night, they protect their pollen and nectar, and other reproductive parts from these pests.
Stunted and disappearing tulips
Cold winters ; average of 15 weeks long
Dry summers; don’t water in the summer
Good Soil; great drainage, they hate to be kept wet
Full sun on leaves; let leaves rejuvenate bulbs for next year
Dead Head; cut seed pod off immediately after blooming.
Why do tulips need to protect their pollen and nectar?
As there is no photosynthesis, tulips will thus take some rest and sleep. Why do tulips need to protect their pollen and nectar? During the day, the tulip petals remain open for pollinating with the help of bees and butterflies. But they don’t roam about during the night, but some notorious pests do.
Another less likely possibility for non flowering tulips is a lack of nutrients. All flower bulbs, not just tulips, need phosphorus in order to form flower buds. If your soil is lacking phosphorus, your tulips will not bloom every year.
You should be thinking “What do you do with Tulip leaves when they die?”
Let the tulip leaves die back naturally. The leaves are how the plant stores enough energy to form the flower bulb. Since tulips have a hard enough time forming flower bulbs, they need all the energy they can get. It also helps to snip off faded tulip blossoms as soon as you can.
What happens if you cut off a tulip bulb?
In general, large, firm tulip bulbs are usually viable, whereas small, dry or shriveled bulbs are not. Once the blooms fade on your tulips and the leaves start to turn brown, you may be tempted to cut them off. If you do that, you may be preventing the flower from blooming again next year.
Although squirrels and moles are often blamed for damaged flower bulbs, the most common culprit is the field mouse, according to the University of Illinois Extension. If enough of the bulb is consumed, the tulip may leaf out but fail to bloom.
Why do some plants close their petals at the bottom?
Scientists know the mechanism behind the phenomenon: In cool air and darkness, the bottom-most petals of certain flowers grow at a faster rate than the upper-most petals, forcing the flowers shut. But scientists are not quite sure why some plants, particularly flowers, evolved this way. There are several theories, though.