Growing Tulips

These used to be mine.....
After the deer kept eating them off, I plowed them under - goodbye! Tulips are a fall planted bulb and easy to grow. Here are some tips:

1. Plant deep enough, 6" with the point up!
2. Water in and cover with winter mulch in November
3. Pull off the mulch in late March early April
4. Protect from rabbits if possible - deer....impossible
5. Few if any insects pest 
6. Worst pest is rabbits eating tops or squirrel  digging up bulbs
7. When blooms start to fade, snip off the flower head before it develops a seed pod. Developing seed heads in any plant uses up a tremendous amount of energy.
8. Allow foliage to die back, DO NOT remove or cut back! The foliage makes food for the bulb for the next year. When you cut them back, you cut off there food source and the ability to create energy to grow and bloom next year. When folks ask me why their tulips dissappered, I ask them "did you cut the foliage back last year?" Step away from the pruners! =) 
9. Cutting stems also leads to plant decline for the next year. Becuase of how the leaves are organized on the stems, it's difficult to cut a stem without taking leaves with you. So either plant lots and re-plant every few years (so it won't matter), or don't cut and have better results, or cut them with a really short stem, leaving the leaves with the stem. Got it?  whew!