How to grow and maintain tulips - The Pella Tulip Time way
The tulip beds in the Pella Historical Village and the Pella parks are replanted each year. You don't have to do that, but they need "perfection" for each spring's Tulip Festival. They suggest using a soil mix of 1/3 sand, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 black soil. They recommend bone meal or Bulb Booster at the time of planting. Tulips need well-drained soil and should be planted 6-8 inches deep. The tulip beds can be mulched in the fall, with the cover removed in March or April. After blooming, cut off the flower and allow the foliage to dry.
My suggestions
I personally do not recommend bone meal, as it encourages digging by "critters."
When looking to establish a long-lived tulip bed, select Darwin tulips, or perhaps, as I have, the "perennial" tulip collection sold by Breck's.
Enjoy your tulips!
Linking to Fertilizer Friday
