How to Grow Tulips from Seeds? – Easy Step-by-Step Guide
Do you guys know about the flower tulip? Are you aware of growing tulips from seeds? We know that Tulips ( Tulip spp.) were mostly grown from bulbs, but you can start experimenting to grow tulips from seeds. It takes a while. You can take seeds from the showy hybrids in your garden, they may occasionally sprout but almost grow rarely true to the parent plant. Do you guys know about one species of tulips, known as ‘Tarda’ ( Tulipa ‘ Tarda’), which produces viable seeds which will grow true to the variety?
What is Tulips ?
Tulips, vibrant cheerful flowers. They range in various colours but some varieties can also be multicoloured. Tulips are used for making elegant casual bouquets. Tulips can range its height from 4 to 30 inches tall. It always grows upright having a single flower which occurs at the end of a hardy stem.
Grow tulips from seeds
Do you remember the introduction of this article, we started with a question, Can you grow tulips from seed? The answer is definitely Yes. Let’s learn about how to grow tulips from seeds.Now , we are more focused about growing tulip from seed.
Steps to grow tulips from seeds:
- Preparing the Tulip Seed Pod
Firstly, you want to give time for the tulip seed to develop completely, and then, you must harvest the seeds from the dried pod. It has to finish the drying step in a warm condition for a week at least before you store it in a refrigerator for 90 days.
You have to clearly label the bags with the specifications like species, cultivar name and date. As you know, it’s a native plant to the arid regions of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, seeds and bulbs need a chilling period between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit to develop into plants.
- Prepare the Soil
To plant tulip seeds outdoors, you have to prepare a cold frame by filling it with a mixture of 3 parts potting soil and 1 part coarse sand or fill by using light sandy soil. This is the way you have to grow tulips from seeds outdoors. I hope there is a question that arises in your mind, how to grow tulips from seeds indoors?
So, if you are growing to plant the tulip seedlings indoors, firstly you have to fill flowerpots with a sterile seed starting mix. In the case of outdoors, firstly you have to moist the soil fully with water before the stage of adding the seeds.
Mostly tulip seeds germinate at temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. If the outdoor temperatures are maintained cold, then, the tulip seeds will sprout only after the weather warms in the spring season. This is another step for how to grow tulips from seeds.So, now you are more exciting towards how to propagate tulips from seeds.
- Planting the seeds
To grow tulips from seeds, you have to understand how to plant the tulip seeds. Mostly you have to plant the tulip seeds in February. Firstly you have to scatter the tulip seeds over the soil, which you have to place at least 2 inches apart and cover again with ¼ inches of soil. If you are living in USDA zones 8 through 10, such as if you live in a mild winter area, you have to plant the seeds in the flower pots first, so, that you can move them into the refrigerator at the end of the growing season.
Watering should be done as soon as the soil gets dry. Based on the variety, the seeds will germinate within a month to a year. One of the species of tulips such as ‘ Tarda’ generally germinate within two to three months. So, now you learn another step of how to grow tulips from seeds.Be all the steps in mind before growing tulip from seed.
- After the seeds germinate
After the seeds germinate, you have to remove the top of the cold frame because when the temperature rises, this step will help to avoid the cooking of the seedlings. After eight weeks the seedlings appeared, and they began fertilizing weekly with half of the strength dose with a balanced condition of 10-10-10 fertilizer, you have to use ¾ teaspoon per square foot and then you have to water it thoroughly also. When the weather comes back to cold conditions, you have to cover the cold frame. If mild climates arise, in the period of growth of tulips from seeds, you have to move the flowerpots into a refrigerator for 90 days.
After the seedling first appears you do not have to transplant the new tulips for 18 months. Because at that time, they will have been developed into small bulbs. Tulip plants grown from seed may not produce spring flowers for four to seven years. You have to overseed the flower bed firstly with fast-growing annuals and until the tulip begins producing blossoms, you have to plant the shallow-rooted perennials. This is the last step for how to grow tulips from seeds.
Growing tulip bulbs from seed
Now, we are going to discuss how to grow tulip bulbs from seeds. So, now we can learn what the factors considered in how to grow tulip bulbs from seeds. Come, guys to learn about how to grow tulips from seeds.
When you are growing tulips from seeds, firstly the main factor you need is patience, because the plant may take a few years to flower, and when it blooms it will not look as much as like the parent plant. So, I hope you get the answer to how long it takes to grow tulips from seed.
Easily you can cultivate the tulip seeds by yourself by first allowing the existing plants’ flowers to go to seed. Then, after collecting the tulip seeds and drying after, you have to plant them in a cold frame in the autumn season and then by using the soil, you have to cover it.
Then, you can see the germination will be done in March or the April season, but for spring and summer, you have to place them on the cold frame itself, as they need more time to create the bulbs. Then, as the next step, you have to move them to the garden in the autumn season. Before you go to planting, you have to make sure that the bulbs are healthy. The bulbs should get a dark brown colour and feel hard. Then, you can see the blossoms on the next spring.This is the way for how to propagate tulips from seed.
Growing tulips from bulbs
Tulips will grow more healthy in direct sunlight and slightly moist, drained soil. You have to plant tulip bulbs mostly in excavated soil, having each bulb 5 inches apart and 6 to 8 inches deep, and make the pointed ends up. When we plant the bulbs in a group, you have to bury them at the same depth, then, only, they can sprout at the same time. Then, with the low-nitrogen fertiliser, you have to mix the excavated soil. Then, you have to pack the ground above the bulbs, and water the area thoroughly but don’t water them again, before they get sprouted, because so much moisture can rot them.
After the plants get flowered, you have to remove the dead head blooms but do not remove the leaves for about six weeks, because they will provide nutrients for next year’s tulip also. When the leaves become yellow, cut them. So, to maintain fertile soil and a healthy plant having vibrant future blossoms, you have to apply the compost to the garden once a year.
How to grow tulips from seeds indoors
Growing tulips in indoor pots is easy and we have to adopt only less planning, let’s discuss more about it:
Growing tulips indoors: forcing
To grow tulips indoors, you must force or chill them to make a successful display. So, for that, you have to buy them in early fall and then transfer them to paper sacks, and then you have to store them for 12-16 weeks in a cold place, such as you can store in the refrigerator.
Growing tulips indoors: planting
You have to choose a pot having drainage holes and fill it with half the compost. You have to place the chilled tulips having pointed ends in the upward direction and then cover them with compost, then, the tips of the bulbs will become just visible. You have to place them in a cool or dark place for a period of 6-8 weeks until the shoots appear, then bring them all to a bright warm room where the tulips will bloom in 2-3 weeks.So, we learnt about how to grow tulips from seeds.
Then, water your tulips using a hose with a gentle spray setting. Also, please be sure that you don’t overwater it because it will suffocate them.
Conclusion.
I hope you guys went to know about how to grow tulips from seeds. So, you got that with proper care and attention, you can plant the tulip seeds and can grow into a bunch of beautiful flowers. So, you have to be patient first, because it took almost 3 years to bloom from the seeds. So, guys enjoy the process and be happy to see that your garden is full of tulip flowers.
