Tulip Bulb Forcing

Question

I live in zone 5, and I have a question about tulip bulbs. I would like to mass plant them in my garden, but I didn’t plant them last fall as I should have. I noticed last spring that a large hotel here in my area had planted tulips in 6″ pots, then planted the pot and all in the dirt, then when the tulips were spent, they removed the pot and bulbs to replace with annuals. I am wondering if I can do the same thing at home. If I place bulbs now in 6″ pots with good soil and kept them in our barn where they would be out of the elements, but cold, would this work? If I take them out of the barn in April and place them in my greenhouse, would they force? Then I could plant them, pot and all, in the garden. Please let me know your thoughts.

Answer 1

Yes, you can certainly do this. Here is an article for wintering your tulips that you may find helpful: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/tulips/care-of-tulip-bulbs-in-containers-in-the-winter.htm