Tulip Estella Rynveld

Large white flowers of contrasting white and thick raspberry red veins. Estella Rynveld is a very ornate tulip; a great example of the figured parrot tulip.

When do I plant Tulip bulbs?

Tulip bulbs will be shipped to you from the middle of September once we have received the bulbs. The optimum time to plant tulips is in Autumn, when the soil has cooled down from October to December, but you can plant as late as January. To get the best results, plant them in moist soil during autumn, this will activate the growth of the roots before winter. Tulip bulbs need a spell of 6 weeks of cold weather to activate them into flowering in spring.

How do I plant Tulip bulbs?

Tulip bulbs start with a good source of moisture and nutrients stored within the bulb, so you don’t need to feed, soak, or prepare them in any way.

The sun will make the tulip flowers open very wide, but they close again overnight. Tulip bulbs can be planted in full sun to see the full effect of them opening up or in semi shade to prolong the flowering time, with well-drained slightly acidic or neutral soil. Parrot Tulips are quite top heavy, so should be sheltered from the wind to avoid damage.

Plant tulip bulbs 10-15cm deep in well-draining soil. Place 5-10cm apart to stop the roots competing and the foliage getting cramped. Tulip bulbs produce a lot of roots that don’t like to sit in water, but once they start growing make sure they don’t dry out. If planting in pots, make sure they have good drainage and lots of room for the roots to develop. Pots can dry out quite quickly so a loam soil is often best.

How do I store tulip bulbs?

Once your Tulips are finished, you can deadhead them but do not remove the leaves, the bulbs need these to gather and store the energy needed to flower again the following year.

Tulip bulbs can be kept in the ground all year round, but you may find that they don’t put on as much of a display as the previous year.

Once the foliage has yellowed and died back, it can be removed, then carefully dig the tulip bulbs up. Clean the soil off and let the bulbs dry. Discard any damaged ones. Store tulip bulbs in nets or paper bags, but make sure you label them. Keep in a cool dark place ready to replant in the Autumn. You can read more about why and how you should lift tulip bulbs.