Faded tulips – can you cut them or not?

In general, it is said that the hobby gardener should always cut off faded tulips quickly. The flower, withered leaves and stem should be removed. Other advisors, however, insist that, like all plants, the tulip needs time to develop seeds and should not be pruned. Whether or not the flowers should be cut depends on what you plan to do with the tulip.

Onion plants reproduce in two different ways

Tulips belong to the group of bulbous plants. These plants reproduce in two different ways:

  • Flowers and seeds are formed
  • Brood bulbs are trained

The formation of seeds costs the plant a lot of energy, so it has to put other tasks on hold. The plant, like all bulbous plants, forms the brood onions underground. The small bulbs can be used to create new tulips next spring, which will bloom beautifully. The formation of bulbs is faster and is the more efficient way of propagating tulips.

The formation of seeds costs energy

If you let the plant develop seeds instead of cutting the withered flowers, it costs the plant a lot of energy. The tulip cannot then use this energy to develop the bulbs. A tulip that is still developing seeds and allowing them to ripen after the flowering period will therefore develop fewer and, above all, less powerful bulbs than a tulip that is cut. And regular watering and good fertilization do not change this fact.

Pruning too early will damage the plant

The tulip still needs its green parts even after it has faded. Because thanks to photosynthesis, sunlight and carbon dioxide are converted into oxygen and energy via the green parts of the plant. The plant needs energy. Even withered tulips still need their leaves in order to recharge their batteries with enough energy for the formation of bulbs and the flowering next spring. So you shouldn’t cut off green leaves.

Withered flowers in the bed are no joy

A flower garden is usually created so that it is green and blooming. The more colorful and diverse the garden, the more proud the hobby gardener is. Interfere with dead plants. Nevertheless, tulips should be given the necessary time to gather strength for the bulbs to grow after flowering. If you do not want to have the withered flowers with a few leaves in your bed, you should carefully dig up the tulip bulbs and plant them in pots and boxes. There the plants can recharge their batteries in peace and prepare for the next spring.

Anyway, the bulbous plants withdraw into their bulbs shortly after the flowering period and put all their energy into the formation of brood bulbs. When these are fully developed, a lot of energy is stored in each bulb that is needed for the next flowering period. Many hobby gardeners have a whole arsenal of pots and boxes in which the plants wait to be used. They are often only in the bed when they are in bloom and thus ensure a blaze of colors.

Onion plants show themselves when they should be cut

When the flowers wilt, the tulips will do even more. Not only do they form ovaries, but they also slowly wilt the stalk. The leaves sink limp to the ground and turn yellow. This is a slow process that does not take place equally quickly with every tulip. Even the plants that cannot or are not allowed to develop seeds, which may have been cut, simply let the leaves hang at some point. The plant begins to retreat into the bulb. At some point the leaves become slightly mushy or very hard and dry. The stem and leaves will now detach themselves from the onion. Now is the time to really remove the leaves and stem. Now the plant wants to have its peace and quiet and withdraw completely underground. And that’s something what all bulbous plants have in common. Not only tulips react this way.

Tulips can be released into the wild in the bed

Some cultivated plants are traded as annuals in specialist shops. This usually means that they will die off after a year and won’t sprout again the next year. This can also happen with extremely badly avoided types of tulips. However, most species of tulips are perennial, and this requires care:

  • the plant forms new flowers every year
  • sometimes only one-sided bulbs
  • Bulbs can be dug up and replanted
  • The colors and shapes of the flowers change
  • Onions continue to dig into the ground
  • therefore: excavate every few years
  • also water and fertilize in wild beds

With a little care, the tulips will come back all the more beautiful next year.
Faded tulips always look a bit bleak. But the plant doesn’t need pity. Rather, the onion should be watered and fertilized regularly even after cutting and after shedding the leaves. Some hobby gardeners also dig up the bulbs and roughly clean them of soil in order to dry them in a net. In this way, the bulbs take up less space and can still be planted again in autumn to bloom next spring. In this case, care should be taken to ensure that the onions really dry out completely and that no moisture remains.

Because if moist onions are stored, putrefaction forms. If you notice a disease or parasite on your tulip bulbs, you should not store this bulb with the others, but should dispose of it. This is best done with household rubbish. On the compost there is a risk that the pathogens will spread and other plants will also become infected.

Why cut off when the tulips can be propagated from seeds?

Propagation via seeds costs the plants a lot of strength and takes a very, very long time. Brood bulbs are trained with less effort and in a much shorter period of time. They can simply be carefully separated from the original plant and can be planted alone or in small groups in order to develop colorful flowers as early as the next year. This is why you should cut off dead tulips before they can seed.

Kira Bellingham

I'm a homes writer and editor with more than 20 years' experience in publishing. I have worked across many titles, including Ideal Home and, of course, Homes & Gardens. My day job is as Chief Group Sub Editor across the homes and interiors titles in the group. This has given me broad experience in interiors advice on just about every subject. I'm obsessed with interiors and delighted to be part of the Homes & Gardens team.

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