Q.Tulips in Pots
After flowering, can I leave my tulips in pots, or do I have to take them up? Is it possible to keep them in the pots if they are undercover and denied water?
Certified GKH Gardening Expert
Yes, you can leave them in pots. If you plan on trying to get them to bloom again, I would recommend leaving the leaves on and placing it in an out of the way but sunny place until the leaves die. This way the bulbs can store enough energy to bloom again. After the leaves die back, then you can stop the water and place it is a cool place.
You may leave them in the pots. Don't water. Let the leaves turn yellow and die down and then remove those dead leaves. Set the bulbs out in your flower bed in the spring. They probably will not bloom the first year because they have been forced. The following year they will bloom. When you plant them in the ground this allows the bulb to take in nutrients from the surrounding soil. If you want to force some bulbs yourself to bloom indoors, you must plant the bulbs in soil in a pot. cover with saran or a lid so they don't dry out and keep in the fridge for 10-12 weeks. Take them out, water, set in a sunny window and in about 6 weeks they will bloom.
