Don't worry if you bought the bulbs early in the season and need to store them for several months before planting. Keep them chilling -- even up to 16 weeks if necessary, until it is time to plant. Optimally, the bulbs should be put in the ground in December or early January. Plant tulips about six to eight inches deep, water well and protect with a layer of mulch to retain moisture and protect from heat. When bulbs do not receive sufficient weeks of cold treatment, they bloom too close to the ground, on too-short stems.
Q. What should I do after tulips fade in spring? What about daffodils?
A. After tulip flowers have faded, "dead-head" them by clipping off the faded blooms so that they won't go to seed. Narcissi (daffodils) do not require dead-heading,just leave as is. The main requirement for bulb flowers in the post-bloom period is to leave the leaves alone so the plant can put its energy into "recharging" its bulb for next spring's performance. This "energy charge" is gained through photosynthesis as the plant uses the sun's energy to turn basic elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium into food. This food is stored in the bulb's "scales," the white fleshy part of the bulb, for use next spring. It is necessary to leave the green foliage exposed to the sun until it turns brown or six weeks have elapsed since blooming. Fight the urge to trim back or constrain the leaves during their die-back phase after looming. Don't bunch, tie, braid or cut bulb plant leaves during this period. Dealing with the fading foliage is basically one of those things that lovers of spring bulbs must deal with. The only management tip is camouflage.
Try interplanting bulbs with annuals or perennials, or planting them strategically nearby so that the latter mask the declining bulb foliage as best as possible. As a planting strategy, plant clumps of bulbs instead of full beds. This way you will have a lovely spring show, and plenty of room to plant camouflaging companions.
Avoid fertilizing the annuals planted in the same bed until the bulbs have died back. Bulbs in spring, if they're fertilized at all, should only get a dose of fast-release nitrogen about six weeks before flowering (normally bulbs want a low nitrogen mix, but in spring it is the green-encouraging nitrogen that is called for). Fertilizing bulbs too close to flowering time, when the bulbs can't metabolize the food, only encourages fusarium and other nasty things.
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