Why aren't my tulips blooming?

My tulips come up every year but are just leaves, never flowers :-/
  7 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on May 18, 2017

    web.extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/homeowners/030510.html

  • Carol Ann Jones Carol Ann Jones on May 18, 2017

    Couldn't read the above comment but this is my experience. We replant tulips every year (300-400). We found even with hybrid tulips the display is paltry after the first year. Tulips need nourishment to help the bulbs rebloom. How much I can't say. From our experience we never put enough it seems. Also I think the type of bulb makes a difference because we have had some haphazard bulbs I've bought here and there that did show well the second year. My suggestion is just replant each fall there are places on line with good deals for large number of bulbs or just go to your local stores and buy them. Why be disappointed each year.

  • AHavlicek AHavlicek on May 18, 2017

    You can just copy and paste the url in the first window and get the answers (several of them). I have the same problem with many of my bulbs. I get leaves, but no flowers.

  • Jane Jane on May 18, 2017

    After they are finished blooming, just remove the spent flower and its stem. Leave all leaves alone until that die back. I have had the same tulips for at least twenty years.

  • LaurieAnn Lepoff LaurieAnn Lepoff on May 18, 2017

    where are you? Tulips need a frozen winter to bloom. When you buy the bulbs they come pre chilled, but unless you dig them up and put them in the fridge every winter and then replant, they won't bloom in mild winter areas.

    • See 1 previous
    • RhondaCordes RhondaCordes on May 18, 2017

      SE Oklahoma here. I've had the same tulips come up & bloom every year for at least 5. We rarely get more than a few days below freezing temps each winter so the ground never freezes. Guess I got some very tough bulbs!

  • J J on May 18, 2017

    If you plant any bulb too deep it will not bloom until the bulb gets big enough. Small bulbs, closer to the top of soil. Larger bulbs, deeper in soil. Also you must leave the foliage (leaves) on after the bloom fades. This feeds the flower for the next year. Do not remove it until it is totally dried up. I live in Tennessee and have had the same tulip beds for 15-20 years.

  • LaurieAnn Lepoff LaurieAnn Lepoff on May 18, 2017

    Maybe it's cold enough! I'm in California where we're lucky to get winter at all, so tulips (except for species tulips which are the exception) are a one time joy here!