My Mother’s Tulips Were Never Removed After Blooming. Can I Still Remove Them And Then Replant Them Now?

Question

My mother is now 93 and has had a not so good year healthwise. I live in California and go back twice a year to visit for several weeks. I know very little about tulips and am now just learning about them as she cannot take care of them anymore. Another person was going to handle this but did not. The tulips were left in the ground through this summer and I am heading back there first week of November. Can I still remove the bulbs an prep them to go right back in the ground for this next springs flowering. I would like to do this for here as I know she loves them.

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Answer 1

If the same tulips were growing year after year, you don't need to dig them up and they should regrow. You could add some fertilizer though. If she was digging them up after they bloomed in the spring, then planting new tulip bulbs each fall (as I suspect she was), you can do that now. Just dig up the old ones and throw them out in the trash. Purchase new tulip bulbs and plant them in the same place.

Here is how to plant them:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/tulips/tulips-care-and-tulip-planting-tips.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/tulips/tulips-bloom-every-year.htm