How To Handle Tulips After The Blooms Fade?

Tulips are a popular flowering plant that can be deadheaded once they have finished flowering. Fertilizers should be applied in early fall, long after the plants have died but before new growth starts to appear. Compost or commercial fertilizers are excellent options for powering tulip bulbs. Once the blooms have faded, remove the seed heads of the tulips and carefully dig the bulbs up and out of the ground.

Potted tulips still need attention after the petals fall, so deadheading them is the first task. After the tulips bloom, use pruning shears to snip off the dead flower heads, leaving the stems until they turn yellow. If you don’t have a lawn or place to plant your “dead” tulip, consider giving it to a friend who grows flowers.

To encourage tulips to bloom again next year, remove the seed heads once the blooms have faded and allow the foliage to die back naturally. Gently ease the bulbs out of the ground with a garden fork or hand trowel, cutting off the spent flowers. Once the blooms die, pot them in dirt with a shallow container and keep them in a sunny area. Keep the soil moist but not transplanted.

After tulips have finished blooming, deadhead them by removing the spent flowers, as the bulb is putting stored energy into creating the seed pod forming where the bloom occurs. Removing spent tulips from the ground and opting for new fresh bulbs every year is recommended. Cut off the seed pods and any dead foliage, and they should be fine for next year.