The magic of tulips unfolds in lavish splendor when your gardener is familiar with expert pruning care. The spring flowers clearly communicate the right time. This tutorial explains the perfect cut.
What is the best way to cut tulips?
Cut tulips correctly: Remove wilted flowers at the base, only cut off green leaves when they have yellowed, and shorten the stem ends of cut flowers before they go into the vase. For a wild tulip meadow, use a lawnmower with the highest blade bar setting.
Cut off wilted flowers
Widely opened flowers with wilted edges signal that a tulip has passed the zenith of its splendor. From now on, the flower pumps its reserves with all its strength into seed formation. This process does not go according to the gardener's wishes, because the tulip's primary aim is to produce numerous offspring and less to produce another flower festival. Reason enough to give the spring flowers the first stage of pruning care. How to cut tulips at the end of flowering:
- Clean up wilted tulip flowers as soon as possible
- Cut off at the base with a knife or scissors
- Do not cut stems and leaves at this stage
After cutting withered flowers, set the course for next year's tulip season with an organic nutrient supply. While the leaves gradually grow in, the flower bulbs will benefit from a portion of compost with horn shavings. By fall, hard-working soil organisms have processed the organic fertilizer so that it is available for tulips. This strengthens winter hardiness and optimizes vitality for another season full of flowers.
Excursus
Cleaning directs energy reserves to the onion
At exactly the time when the planting work in the garden is in full swing, faded tulips need to be cleaned out. Anyone who manages to integrate the simple cutting work into their work schedule will be rewarded for their effort next spring. By cutting off wilted flower heads, tulips change their minds and send the flow of sap toward their bulbs. As a result, daughter bulbs are formed from which additional tulip flowers form as if by magic the next spring or the spring after that. Excess energy is stored inside the bulb so that the mother bulb does not run out of floral steam next year.
Cut leaves precisely
Cleaning out wilted flowers is the first step in the professional care of tulips. In the second step, the leaves come into focus. Anyone who removes the leaves when they are lush and green robs the spring flowers of a valuable energy reserve. Long after the flowering period has ended, tulip leaves are still full of reserve substances that should not be wasted. This is how you complete the second cutting stage correctly:
- Do not cut off green tulip leaves
- Wait until the foliage has yellowed and died
- Using a sharp knife, cut off each inserted leaf close to the ground
Please do not wait until a tulip leaf can be plucked before cutting. In this condition there is a risk of rot formation because the plant tissue is softened. The precise time has come when the green leaf color has turned into a morbid yellowish-brown.
Ideal solution: summer and cut
Summer is the most delicate season for tulips. Instead of remaining deep in the ground, sensitive noble varieties should spend the summer above ground. A move to the summer quarters is also recommended if dying tulips affect the well-kept appearance of the bed or the flower bulbs could be damaged during planting work in May. Knives or scissors are only used at the end of the procedure. How to proceed correctly step by step:
- Take out tulip bulbs after flowering when the foliage wilts
- Stems and leavesdo not cut off
- Remove onions from the ground with a hand shovel or digging fork
- Place in a box with sand, peat or potting soil
- Store in a dark, cool and dry location until September
Tulip bulbs only appear to spend the summertime in a dormant state. In fact, there is a lot going on inside the plant. Nutrient reserves are continuously transferred from the leaves to the bulbs in order to create energy reserves for the next flowering period. For this reason, only cut off the stems and leaves when the planting time for oversummer tulip bulbs begins in autumn.
Tip
Tulip bulbs in summer quarters should be protected from light and heat. To ensure that the flower bulbs do not sprout prematurely, a dark basement room offers ideal conditions with temperatures of around 10 degrees Celsius. A close-meshed wire prevents voracious mice from grabbing the juicy onions.
Cutting tulips for the vase
Spring-fresh vase decorations for the home are a common reason to cut tulips. If you follow a few important aspects of the procedure, you can enjoy the charming symphony of flowers for up to ten days. Choose primarily strong stems with solidly colored and tightly sealed flowers. Have a sharp, clean knife ready or bypass scissors for a smooth cut of the stems. How to properly cut tulips for the vase:
- Best time is during the morning hours
- Tulips for vase cutting must not be wet or damp
- Cut the stem at the base
- Remove leaves that could come into contact with vase water
- Cut a piece off the end of the stem (either at an angle or straight)
The cut exposes the pathways so that the water can rise to the flowers. Regular water changes are important for squeaky freshness. Soft, low-lime water with a splash of lemon juice will please your tulips. Take this opportunity to trim the stems so that the supply lines do not become blocked.
Mowing wild tulip meadows instead of cutting
To create a lavish flower meadow, wild tulips are the first choice. Once the onions are in the ground, they want to reproduce undisturbed with the help of breeding bulbs and seeds. In this case, you can eliminate time-consuming cleaning of withered flowers from your care plan.
Wait patiently until all the leaves have yellowed and died. The lawn mower takes care of the pruning of a wild tulip meadow. Set the knife bar to the highest setting so that you don't accidentally pull the onions out of the ground.
Frequently asked questions
Are tulips hardy?
Tulips thrive with a frost-resistant bulb from which herbaceous stems with colorful flowers rise in spring. After the first frost at the latest, all parts of the plant above ground die off, unless they have already been cut off beforehand. Deep in the ground, tulip bulbs not only survive the cold season unscathed. Winter's cold stimulus is actually the main trigger for vital shoots and a magnificent flowering period.
Are tulips poisonous?
Tulip bulbs contain a toxin that, when consumed in large quantities, can cause typical symptoms of poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps. Tulipanin is also responsible for unpleasant eczema when the toxin comes into contact with the skin. Please do not store tulip bulbs near kitchen onions to avoid confusion. Wearing gardening gloves prevents allergic reactions during care and planting work.
When is the best time to cut tulips for the vase?
Cut tulips for the vase when the flower heads are fully colored and still tightly closed. Late morning is the best time, when morning dew has evaporated. Do not place the spring flowers in the vase until you have cut the bottom of each stem. Use a sharp knife to cut a 3 to 5 cm long piece either at an angle or straight to expose the cables.
Are the clippings suitable for propagation?
Withered tulip flowers should be cleaned out before seeds form. This makes sense because the waiting time from sowing the seeds to the first flowering period can take up to six years. Leaves and stems are cut when they are dead, so that propagation is not possible this way. However, if you take a look at a dug up tulip bulb in autumn, with a little luck you will discover several daughter bulbs. Manually separate the brood bulbs from the mother bulb to place them in the soil at the new location.
Do tulips and roses go together?
The growth habit and flower splendor of tulips and roses couldn't be more different. Nevertheless, the herbaceous signs of spring and shrub-like summer beauties harmonize wonderfully. The primary reason for the floral unanimity is that the root systems do not interfere with each other because tulips have shallow roots and roses have deep roots. It is important to note that there is a sufficient planting distance of 20 to 30 centimeters, as rose petals sprout when tulips are still in full bloom.
The 3 most common cutting mistakes
Tulips lose their magical radiance if withered flowers remain on the stems for far too long. If you cut off the green leaves when cleaning to save time, you will look in vain for colorful tulip blossoms next year. To ensure unrestricted tulip season indoors and outdoors, the following table draws attention to three common cutting errors and provides tips for prevention:
| Cutting errors | malicious image | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| withered flowers not cleaned out | uncontrolled self-sowing, declining flowering ability | Cut off wilted flowers at the base |
| green leaves cut off | no more blooming time | Let the leaves yellow and then cut them |
| Cut flowers not cut | short shelf life | Cut the stem ends first, then place them in the vase |
Tip
For a long-lasting tulip season, the right combination of varieties is important. The starting signal is given by wild tulips, whose flowers open from March. Mid-season varieties take the floral baton, like Triumph tulips or Darwin hybrids. Late-blooming tulip varieties, such as Viridiflora-Tulipa, are available for a furious season finale.