Growing Tulip Indoors

Tulips are one of the most sought after plants known for their exotic flowers and color. However they are not known to be grown as indoor plants . The reason is the plant’s bulb needs an extended period of chill before it is ready for full bloom. As house plant, the bulb needs to be chilled at least for a period of 12-16 weeks and taken out when it becomes sunnier outside. It warrants one week for the sprout to appear and another four weeks for reaching a stage of full bloom. This additional care and requirement make tulips bit more difficult and cumbersome to be grown indoors when compared to outdoor. This post brings you the issues encountered and care to be taken in growing tulip indoors.

Table of Contents

Tulip- Plant specification

Common Name : Tulip

Botanical Name : Tulipa spp

Plant Type : Perennial Flowering Bulb

USDA Hardline Zone : 3-8

Toxicity : Toxic to humans & pets

The best tulip types are

Triumph,
Single Early,
Double Early, and
Darwin Hybrids

Growing Tulip indoors – Can you?

You can, provided the 3 easy steps are sincerely followed.

Select Varieties that are “Good for Forcing” .
Bulbs to be kept in Pot, Water & Move to Cool Spot for 12 Weeks
Remove the bulbs from Cold When sprouts appear & Place in warmer surroundings.

Since tulips can be planted together in pots as a cluster , they make a great appeal for any home, and best suited for even apartments where space is very dear. Normally, tulips will bloom at around 17 weeks after chilling period on the bulbs is begun. The typical method is to pot the bulbs about October 1, then put the planted pots into chilled conditions for three or four months before bringing them out into warmer, sunnier conditions to sprout and bloom. Gardeners who blooms during Valentine’s Day when they are in great demand, begin chilling the bulbs in early October.

Growing Tulip Indoors – How ?

Sunlight :

Sunlight at appropriate time and level plays a vital role in growing tulip indoors . Always keep the potted tulips in dark during the chilling period, Also they should remain in dark even after out of chilling for at least four days till sprouts appear. Then, the pots to taken out into warmer & bright conditions until the plants begin to bloom. It takes around 4-5 weeks for blooming after sprouts appears. Once in full bloom, they are best moved to a place with indirect sunlight. This will help the bloom to be preserved for longer period of time,

Temperature and Humidity:

Proper and continuous control of temperature is very much essential for growing tulip indoors. This helps in getting tulip bulbs to bloom indoors. The potted bulbs are kept in chilling period at around 45 deg. F for around 12 – 16 weeks. The pots are moved out of their chill conditions at least 5 weeks before the anticipated bloom.

To avoid thermal shock, the plant needs to be kept initially in relatively cooler conditions. Once sprouts appear, they can be moved into a warmer, sunnier location until they begin to flower.
The ideal and best suited temperature for Tulips to flower is 65 deg F. In case of requirement to continue blooming in the next season, the bulb may be dug out
Should you want to save the bulbs and attempt to reuse them after blooming is complete, dig out the bulbs, brush off the soil, and store them in a relatively warm, dry location until outdoor planting time—which is normally the following fall.
Tulips prefer a well maintained indoor humidity (40-50%).
Since air can be dry during the winter, keep monitoring the home humidity. It’s better to have a hygrometer at hand to ensure zero fluctuation in humidity levels.

Watering :

Never allow bulbs to become bone dry after the blooms have faded. Always touch and feel the soil before deciding on whether to water or not. First watering to be done thoroughly immediately after planting.

Tulips are requires continuous and steady amount of water. Hence the soil needs to be watered often to remain slightly moist once bulbs are moved out of cold condition.
Water logging and soggy soil spoils and makes the roots rot. Though consistent, watering should never be in excess.

Fertilizer :

It is always better to give some fertilizer to restore energy to the bulbs. The tulip bulbs forced indoors usually do not require any feeding as they are discarded after blooming.

However one needs to add fertilizer in the outdoor garden if indoor forced blooms are done.

Pruning:

When the bulbs dry, dig them out and store dry location until the season is conducive for planting outside. Other than this, no special maintenance is necessary with these forced bulbs.

Potting – size & draining & Repotting:

The type and size of pot doesn’t matter really. Even an empty container of cereals with flat bottom works best for tulips.

Only requirement is that the container should not tip over when the tulips get top-heavy with blooms. The container can be around 8 inches deep.
Ensure some gravel lower portion of container to facilitate proper drainage and to avoid water-logging
Also see that the soil has equal parts of peat moss, potting soil and sand. This will definitely go a long way in helping the bulbs during the season of blooming.
One additional tray or saucer to catch water in a must. Even containers made of ceramic, clay, or metal will serve the purpose for growing indoor tulips.
For repotting , fill the container with 50% compost, then position the bulbs onto the soil in a position so that the pointed side is facing top.
Add potting soil almost till the rim and water thoroughly and place the pot in chill storage
There should be a gap of at least 2 inches between blubs.

Growing Tulip Indoors – Best varieties

Two varieties of are sought after ones for growing tulip indoors. Triumph tulips, well known for their larger size blooms and color variety.
Compact tulips are also need low maintenance in the sense that they do not need support stake.
In addition to the above following are other varieties suited to cold treatment.
Bright Gem (Tulipa batalinii)
Red Riding Hood (Tulipa greigii)
Stresa (Tulipa kaufmanniana)
White Emperor (Tulipa ‘Purissima‘)

How to grow Tulips in water?

We have seen various methodologies in growing tulip indoors. This essentially means growing tulip in a pot /container with soil. Many of us have doubts if Tulips can be grown in water. If we place a cut tulip stem in water, it will never see the light of the day. This is due to the fact that tulips does not elaborate roots.

The roots of tulips are confined to the bulbs and not to anywhere else. Though a rose will survive in water, the same doesn’t apply to tulip.
But don’t lose heart, you can still grow tulip bulbs in water and bloom tulips in water.

Growing tulip indoors without soil makes the work an exciting one as you can see the roots growing with your own eyes. Note that growing tulips in water is not difficult if properly followed .

6 tips for growing tulip in water

For the water growing to be successful, pick a big and healthy bulb which is hard as rock without any holes on its surface.
The best choice is glass vase as the height gives the tulip leaves and stems something to lean on as they grow. One can also opt for a forcing vase, which with its curvature will help the bulb to sit just above the water with only the roots in the moisture. This design will also help in avoiding root rot.
Preserve the tulip bulbs in the refrigerator for around 15 weeks. Once it reaches the time of plantation, select the glass vase of your choice and comfort and fill it with gravel /glass beads up to 2 inches. Fill the vase with water until it comes just 1 inch from the bottom of the bulb.
Relocate the vase along with the bulb to a dark location for around 4 weeks Keep changing the water every week and patiently wait for the sprouts to appear.
Ensure that only half of the bulb is submerged in water, Don’t forget to change the water periodically, else fungus will start forming on the bulb and the whole exercise will be futile.
Always make sure that the container/vase is in the dark at about 65 deg F. Do not place them near heat vents. In winter avoid excess water and in summer water regularly without waterlogging. Growing tulip indoors in water will surely be a success, if the above guidance is followed without flaw.

How to grow tulips in a vase?

To keep tulip fresh, it is advisable to use a clean vase, preferably previously boiled and cooled water.

This is to make the vase a sterile one, free of bacterial and fungal growth. Change the water daily, and keep the tulips in cool places avoiding direct exposure to the sun.
Use water of good quality . In case of well water, use the boiled and cooled water. Never use hot water.
Even in case of tap water, same may be filtered . If its boiled and cooled then best option as it will minimize the growth of bacteria on the surface of the glass vase
keep the vase in a cool environment and avoid prolonged exposure to the sun.
Once exposed to direct sunlight, both the vase and water gets heated up which is very much detrimental to the health of the bulb.
Due to unavoidable circumstances, if prolonged sun exposure has occurred, change the water in the vase for fresh, renewed water.
This will immediately help in not only lowering the temperature of the water in the vase but also help in replenishing part of the evaporated water if not whole.

FAQ :

Is growing Tulip indoors year round posible?

Yes, it is very much possible with some additional simple work. One needs to chill the bulbs indoor for around 12 weeks and then allow them to sprout.
Place the bulbs in sunshine so that we get bloom in another 4 -5 weeks’ time. One should maintain a temperature of 65 deg F during the chill period.

How long do Potted tulips last indoors?

Once planted indoors, they can take around 14-16 weeks to bloom.
Once in bloom, tulips last for a further 15-30 days. After that the foliage turns yellow and starts withering .

Can I reuse tulip bulbs that have been forced?

Most of the tulips that are forced into indoor bloom usually will not bloom again if planted outdoors.
Some species of tulips can be sued second time successfully such as garden tulips. After the foliage turns yellow and begins to dry up, dig up the bulbs and store them in a dry, warm location
Large bulbs that are still in good shape can be reused not the ones that are small and soft ,

Can I plant tulips with other bulbs?

Tulips can be mixed with other bulbs. Then they can be chilled to prepare the bulbs for blooming.
Tulips work well when planted with daffodils,

Can I chill tulips in the refrigerator?

Potted tulips can spend their chill period in a refrigerator set at a temperature above freezing but no higher than 45 deg. F.
At the same time, take care not to store fruits in open condition. Fruits emits ethylene gas which will spoil the embryonic flowers inside the bulbs.

conclusion :

Above post has brought out the salient features of growing TULIP indoors – in soil, in water and in glass vase. Kindly go through and offer your valuable comments which will go a long way in our improvement. ..cheers.