Marianne's Response

Can daffodils and tulips will come back year after year?

Hi! Marianne,

I purchased daffodils, allium, and tulips bulbs last year from Costco. They all did a wonderful job of blooming. I am not sure if they will come back again since the package didn’t mention that.

My another question is that I am trying to dig them out to save space in order to plant my hydrangeas. If they are coming back every year, can I dig them out now even the leaves are still green, and temporarily put them in the container with some top soils and plant them in the ground in fall?

Thank you so much for your time. Hope you can understand my writing because English is not my first language.
Looking forward to hear from you.

Sincerely,
Teresa

Posted by Teresa Tsai on May 26, 2020

Marianne's Response

Your English is perfect and welcome to gardening in America. Tulips do not come back or act like a perennial unless they are allowed to sit in dry soil all summer. They need to go dormant and lack of water keeps them asleep so they can make a flower for next year. Daffodils and alliums are more likely to bloom again next year but only if you allow the green leaves to turn yellow and go dormant once the flowers are done blooming. The foliage of all three bulbs needs to ripen or turn yellow immediately after they bloom and so it is best if you not move or disturb them until after the leaves all turn yellow or brown. Once the reach the point that  you can gently tug the leaves and they come off easily then you can remove the dead foliage, dig the bulbs and store them in dry soil in a pot over the summer and repot in the fall. You can also leave the bulbs in place and they will die back naturally after blooming and resprout in the spring to flower again. If you must move the bulbs to plant your hydrangea just try to dig up the roots and green leaves and place in a container of potting soil so the green foliage can continue to ripen and turn yellow. Then you can replant in the fall. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti