My tulips died only a few weeks after growing in so beautifully. The soil is hard, red dirt. What happened?

Question

While planting, I dug out a lot of bricks and stones that I am assuming were left behind during the building of the house. I planted marigolds next to my tulips, watered them, then by the end of that week, I noticed that my tulips were slowly diminishing.O also noticed that weeds were beginning to grow in with them. What can I do to kill the weeds without killing my flowers? The bulbs are all gone, but them stems are still green, but starting to yellow. Should I cut off the tops of the stems to preserve them or are they as good as dead? Is there any hope that they will grow back?

Answer 1

You have to just pull the weeds. Do not spray any week killer. The hard red dirt is not conducive to flowering plants unless they are drought resistant - which tulips are not. The bulbs are probably fine and if you live in the south you can leave them in the ground and they will come back next year, although I would recommend replanting them with a mixture of potting soil (do this in late fall or on a warm day in February). Do not cut the tops off yet - wait until late summer or fall. Tulips, by the way, do not flower as long as marigolds, so it may be too that their season is just over.

Check out the website below for specific planting tips for tulips.

Gardening is fun, but it also trial by error. Just have fun!

Answer 2

Okay...you have a few problems. The hard red dirt you described is clay and without a little work is not typically "plant friendly" tho as you noticed weeds seem to thrive in the stuff! You also mentioned that the bulbs are "gone?" First, tulips grow from the bulbs, so if there's no bulb left, no they will not grow back next year. Second, tulips are sold all over the country, but unless you're in a zone where you get a hard freezing winter, tulips probably will not grow. For some reason, freezing the bulbs is a requirement for the plant to survive (and I've tried with no success to put them in the freezer and replant them). Back to the bulbs...if they were there when you planted them and aren't now, then you may have a problem with gophers or squirrels (both of which wreak havoc on any type flowers with bulbs) so you will have to address that before planting.



As for the soil, you can either ammend it with compost and topsoil to prepare it for gardening, or create raised beds with topsoil (which would help alleviate your problem with weeds somewhat, as you could put some of the screening material found in the garden center over the clay before you add the dirt).



Good luck with your garden! You can still have tulips, you may just have to buy new ones each year to plant.

Answer 3

First remove the bulbs and preserve them for the next season.

Next, change the soil in the patch you want to grow the tulips. Bulbs dont grow too well when the soil gets hard. They need soft soil as the bulbs need to multiply underneath. When they have no space, they suffocate and die out. Growing marigold near by has nothing to do with it I should think.

Answer 4

Sounds like you need to cut off the tops and dig the bulbs and move them to another location of your yard or house. Otherwise you might dig the soil out and replace it with good rich potting soil and replant the bulbs.

The masonary like red, hard dirt is caused by the brick and stone in the soil. They will grow back next yr.

Good-Luck