How to Plant Tulips in Ohio and What to Plant with Tulips
Our 2nd Annual Tulip Festival is coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean that your tulip fun needs to end. You can still enjoy tulips in your garden, and you can even bring home some genuine Timbuk Farms tulips from the Tulip Festival. See below for more details.
First though, how do you plant tulips in Ohio and what companion plants can you plant with tulips? Let us give you a guide to planting these easy-to-grow spring flowers.
When to Plant Tulips in Ohio
Plant tulip bulbs in Ohio in October and November. This should give the tulip bulb enough time to establish roots before Ohio’s deep freeze in the winter. Oddly enough, tulip bulbs need winter’s cold temperatures to eventually grow in the spring.
How to Plant Tulips
Plant tulip bulbs about six inches deep or about three times as deep as the bulb is long. Space your tulip bulbs about two to five inches away from each other.
Place the bulb’s pointy end up toward the sky, ensure that it stays in place, and then cover it with dirt ensuring to remove any air pockets. You want that tulip bulb as snug as a bug in a rug. Water the area to help the bulb settle into place.
Plant the bulbs in well-draining soil that is acidic or neutral in pH. Avoid places that are prone to being waterlogged so that your tulips don’t get root rot.
Tulips like sun, so place your tulips in garden beds or borders that receive enough sunlight. However, keep in mind that tulips bloom during the early spring before many trees and shrubs grow leaves. So, you can plant your tulips in areas that are shady during the summer but are sunny in the spring, such as under trees or around bushes.
How to Care for Tulips
Consider adding bulb fertilizer to your dirt if you want to give your tulip bulbs a head start. Also, add a layer of mulch to regulate soil temperatures, provide a protective covering, and retain moisture. Do not water the area again until the flowers bloom unless you have a prolonged dry period that is longer than two weeks.
Once your tulips bloom in April to May in Ohio, water the tulips one to two times per week. If the surface soil looks dry, then you should water your tulips. Also, fertilize your Ohio tulips when they sprout in the spring with granular fertilizer, compost, or bone meal.
Prune your tulips by removing any spent flowers, but leave the foliage and only remove it when it turns yellow during the summer. This helps the bulbs to replenish their energy so that your tulips can be perennial flowers and can regrow year after year in your Ohio garden.
Companion Plants for Tulips
If you want your tulips to be perennials, then you have to leave their foliage alone until it yellows in the summer. Yet, most people don’t like seeing yellowing foliage in their garden. So, plant some companion plants around your tulips to hide the yellowing foliage. Some companion plants for tulips include:
Allium
Crocus
Daffodil
Daisy
Daylily
Dianthus
Grape Hyacinth
Hosta
Marsh Marigold (native to Ohio and great for Ohio pollinators)
Nasturtium
Pansy
Sedum
Snapdragon
Sweet Alyssum
Viola
Zinnia
How to Get Timbuk Farms Tulips
We invite you to join us for Dig Days! Come with your shovels and dig up our tulip bulbs to take home with you. You can plant them in your garden and be greeted by their beautiful colors next spring. Limit 2 grocery bags of tulip bulbs per customer. Dig Days start April 24th, 2024 and go to the end of the Tulip Festival (April 30th, 2024).
While you’re here, make sure to enjoy other fun activities at the Tulip Festival and be sure to visit our Ohio garden center to check out our locally-grown plants, flower specials, and gardening supplies.
