Answers From the Tulip Garden Expert
Spring 2015
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Special thanks to University of Minnesota Professor Mary Meyer for providing her time and expertise to respond to your tulip garden questions. This page contains questions and answers from 2015.
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Agoura Hills, California
Q: We noticed that out of 50 bulbs, only about 6 sprouts have emerged with no signs of tulips. There had been some sprouts, but then they disappeared. We decided to dig up a couple of bulbs, and found out they were rotted. We had a fair amount of rain in southern California, and then it dried up fairly quickly. The mulch feels dry at the top, but moist, not too wet, underneath? Why did our bulbs rot?
A: It is good you dug up some bulbs to see how they looked. I am assuming that when you planted the bulbs last fall, they were firm and good when you planted them. If they were small and shriveled or in poor quality to begin with, that may be the problem. But if they were new, firm and in good quality, the soil may have held too much water and not drained properly, causing the bulbs to decay and rot. Tulips can tolerate rain in the winter, but like dry soil around the bulb IN THE SUMMER. If the bulbs were in soil that held the water and it did not drain away, that could be why they rotted.
Q: Do you think the sprouts that are approximately 4 inches tall may survive?
A: Yes, they may survive, waiting is the best thing to do here. Hopefully some of your bulbs will flower! I will add here that all we have heard (in Minnesota and the rest of the US, I think as well) is how terrible the drought is in California. We feel badly for you and realize this may be a sign of the changes we will all face in the future as our climate changes. IF the weather was so dry that the bulbs did not get ENOUGH rain to grow roots and develop leaves and flowers normally, they it really could be the drought that is causing your lack of flowers and normal tulip growth.
You described the bulbs as "rotten" which I assume means soft and smelly, with a lot of moisture (could happen in poorly drained soil) . If the bulbs did not grow from lack of rain, you would find papery, shrunken bulbs, with the outer papery covering and nothing inside but a dried up bulb.
Q: Since we saw worms in our rotted out bulbs, many of us were wondering if those red worms were poisonous?
A: Worms makes me think they were there because of the moisture and the worms may have been living off the stored food that was left in the bulbs. It is unlikely these worms are poisonous or that they killed the tulip. I think the worms are there as a secondary pathogen; the primary abiotic pathogen being the wet soil that caused the rotting.
Washington
Q: My new landscapers mistook all my growing tulips, alliums, and daffodils for weeds. They chopped them all down before they had a chance to bloom. I'm afraid all of these flowers may never come back and I easily had near 100 of them planted all around the front and back yard. I'm so disappointed. Is there a chance they can still grow back this season? Will they come back the next year or should I start replacing them in the fall so I can ensure I will have some growing next Spring?
A: Wow!!! Please talk to the landscapers and let them know how disappointed you are. It is important that people working to care for plants can identify plants properly, especially 100 new bulbs! Now to your question: the daffodils and allium will likely come up again, some may flower this year. It depends how much of their food reserve was depleted and how tall the green foliage was. The taller the foliage when it was cut off, the more likely they will NOT come back. Tulips will likely be hit the hardest, especially hybrid tulips are not tough plants. If they were mine, I would wait and see if you get any more foliage this spring. I would consider replanting the tulips and wait and see on the others. Good luck!
Q: This year my tulips bloomed with almost no flower stalk. Some of them bloomed inside the leaves. What happened?
A: Red Emperor tulips are known for being short. This year, with the warmer spring temperatures, some of the tulip stems did not lengthen at all before flowering. It’s as if the tulips felt the warm weather and ‘hurried their flowering’. Cooler temperatures, 40 and 50 would mean the stems would elongate before the flowers formed.
Orchard View Elementary School, Indiana
Q: We're having a debate in our classroom! We have been discussing what has probably happened to our tulip bulbs that are underground. We know what they looked like before we planted them. Some of us think they have gotten bigger. Some of us think they have gotten smaller. What do you think? Should we dig up one of our tulips to find out?
A: YES, I would dig up one or two of the bulbs to see who is right. Use a large shovel and remember you want to go BELOW the bulb to get some roots and try not to cut the bulb off from the stem. Dig DEEP.
You might want to estimate the size of the bulbs you planted. Maybe have this discussion before you dig up anything. How many inches around or across were the bulbs you planted ? Then dig a couple and see what the measurements are of the bulbs you dig up. I would be interested in your results! Let me know! thanks :)
Q: Our tulips were covered with a pile of dead leaves all winter under another layer of snow. When the snow melted, we moved away the dead leaves and found the tulips had emerged, but the stems were yellow. Do you think this is because they had not received any direct sunlight? Now that they have been in the sun, the stems have turned red. What do you think will happen next?
A: Yes, the covered-with-leaves stems had no light and could not produce chlorophyll. With the light now they can make their normal pigments. The red is anthocyanin, a normal pigment or coloring in some plants. Red Emperor tulips have a lot of anthocyanin, especially in their red flowers. There is more chlorophyll in most plants than anthocyanin and the green chlorophyll covers up the red coloring. Chlorophyll shows up in plants as green to us and it is the chemical that uses sunlight with carbon dioxide and water to make oxygen ( for us) and food for the plant. I think your tulips will get greener and more normal looking the longer they are in normal sunlight. It is good you removed the leaves as soon as you did!
P.S. Our class wanted you to know that we love that your name is Mary! We have a student named Mary in our class too!
Dr. Mary Meyer Replies:
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope your Mary likes her name as I do! When I was your age, there were other Mary's in my class, but today it is an uncommon name for young people. Thank you for saying you like Mary! It made my day!
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