After a week or two, the remaining foliage will die back and slowly turn a yellowish / brown color. As it does, it is then safe to cut the tulips back completely to the ground. This gives the bulbs plenty of time to absorb the nutrients back from the decaying foliage, and gets the bulbs ready for next year’ blooms.
(You don’t want to do that with the larger tulips, because it takes years for a seed to produce a flower. Better to preserve the energy of the existing plant than try to grow new ones.) Let the foliage die back before removing it, which can take as much as eight weeks.
What happens when you Deadhead tulips?
Tulip blooms fade before the foliage dies back. After the flower wilts and dies, the tip of the stem swells as it begins to produce seeds. Tulips don’t generally reproduce well from seed so allowing it to form only drains energy from the bulb, which can have a negative impact on next year’s flowering.
Will tulips grow back if you cut them?
If you grow tulips in your cutting garden as an annual or a perennial, you should cut them when the flower is fully colored but unopened. Tulips continue to grow after they are cut and will open in the vase .
How to regrow tulips?
Pick a spot to grow tulips. Most tulips do best with full sun, or at least 6 hours of sun each day. Many people choose to plant tulips along fences, walls, walkways and buildings, as they provide a pleasant burst of color and it is easy to control their growing pattern. If you wish to plant tulips in a pot, see this article for more detailed instructions.
Why do tulips bloom year after year?
In a matter of weeks, their colorful blooms burst forth to signal the end of a colorless winter. And the beginning of nature’s re-emergence. But to keep those tulips blooming year after year, they need to be put to “bed” properly.