When the summer gardening season really gets going, tulips have long since ended their blossoming. In order for the blossom festival to be repeated next year, we recommend returning to a historical gardening tradition. Dig up the tulip bulbs to skilfully oversummer them. We will tell you here what advantages this brings and how it works.
Tulip bulbs can be dug up after flowering to protect them from damage
Take out the tulip bulbs - it's worth the effort
When the tulip season is coming to an end, the appearance leaves a lot to be desired. If the tulip bulbs remain in the soil, we have to tolerate stunted stems and yellowed, brown leaves for a long time so that the nutrients that are left inside can be stored. As if that wasn't enough, the flower bulbs are a major hindrance to planting in May. These are the advantages of removing tulip bulbs:
- In the summer quarters, the leaves can move in without spoiling the garden
- Planting work in the perennial bed is possible without any restrictions, without the risk of digging up flower bulbs
- The tulip bulbs are safe from the risk of waterlogging when watering the garden in summer
Furthermore, you prevent the unwanted property of drilling deeper into the ground from year to year. If tulip bulbs are not dug up, they will grow so deep in the ground over time that they can no longer find their way into the sunlight and will disappear, never to be seen again.
Excavate, drive in and store - How to do it right
Use a digging fork to get the tulip bulbs out of the ground. If the leaves are still green or only slightly yellowed, the storage process is not yet complete. Put the bulbs in a box of potting soil. If there is still a corner free in the garden, dig a furrow there and plant the tulips close together. Water from time to time until the leaves are completely dead.
At the end, cut off the leaves and store the tulip bulbs. In the cool, dark cellar they oversummer dry in a box in the sand or peat moss.
tips
The following applies to tulips to be left natural: taking out is prohibited. The flower bulbs only develop into a picturesque carpet of flowers if they are given the opportunity to multiply. After the flowering period, small breeding bulbs thrive underground on the mother bulbs, which later become independent and develop their own flowers.