Tulip Bulbs
Tulipa spp.
Plant tulip bulbs in fall, get the depth and drainage right, and choose the groups that actually come back — here's how I do it on clay.
Sun
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Mature size
4–24 in tall depending on type, 4–6 in wide
Bloom
Spring
Growth
Moderate
Toxicity
Pets
Soil
Loam, Sandy
Tulips (Tulipa) are spring's headline act, and they all start as a bulb you put in the ground in autumn. There are over 75 species and thousands of cultivars sorted into fifteen groups, but for buying and planting purposes the thing to understand is that the bulb holds next spring's flower already formed inside it — your job is mostly not to ruin it. They are native to Central and Western Asia and parts of Europe, where they evolved with cold winters and hot, dry summers, which explains everything about how to grow them.