Posted by Ben Rotteveel on Jun 07, 2022
It is almost guaranteed that a spring garden will have at least one variety of tulip on display, after all, tulips are the most common sign of spring. Although they are easy to grow, people often want to know if tulips will multiply like its fellow spring beauties such as the daffodil.
Most people associate tulips with The Netherlands, however wild tulips originate from the mountainous regions of Asia. This means their natural habitat has harsh, conflicting seasons. The winter months are cold with frequent snowfall whereas the summers are dry and very hot. So, we can conclude that the weather is very different to what we are used to in the UK. This means that although wild tulips do multiply, the tulips you are likely to buy will struggle to do so if not cared for or planted in the right environment.
Multiplying Tulips in the Garden
Tulips will need a full year’s growth in order to start multiplying and spreading. This means that the initial process will begin after their first bloom in spring. When this process begins baby bulbs will sprout from the main tulip root. This usually creates 2 to 5 more bulbs each cycle.
While tulips can multiply on their own in your garden, it is best to give them a helping hand after the initial growth of baby bulbs. You want to begin by removing the flower heads once the flowers start to wither, doing so will conserve the energy that developing seed heads need. Then you can leave the bulbs like you would with any other tulips while avoiding watering them as this can cause the bulbs to rot.
After the third season you will need to dig the bulbs out of the ground so that the clusters do not become overwhelming. Once you have done so, you can replant them in areas you like best and wait for the spring season to arrive.
What Tulips Do You Recommend for Multiplying?
For the best results we would recommend the following tulip varieties, especially species tulips:
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