Tulips in the Cold

[Tippman]

So how cold of temps can tulips take? I fugure pretty cold but looks like it's gonna be in the low teens tonight. They are already starting to shoot up stems and look a little wilted at this time.

[sparcebag]

I was hoping you were giving advice! ours are up 3" and we dont know what to do.Its probably too late by now.

[katoguy]

Yep, probably too late. I have parrot tulips that are usually gorgeous. I am just gonna cross my fingers.

Even if they die, you may get another growth, but they probably won't flower.

[katoguy]

mid-twenties.

[Duffman]

katoguy...

I've got a non-tulip question for you. It's a Minn-kota question. Could you send me an e-mail? Thanks

bret.duffy at fnf (Contact Us Please) com

[IFallsRon]

Tulips are pretty hardy. They're one of the first up in the spring and are designed to be your first color in the yard before the perennials sprout, especially if you have them on the south-facing side of your place. I noticed today that I have rhubarb sprouting. I don't worry about it and it doesn't worry about me.

[katoguy]

duffman, email sent.

The master gardener in this weekend's Mankato paper also said not to worry about the Tulips. They are hardy, but it is also out of our control.

[katoguy]

I have a few tulips with black stems now, but most that came up still look fine. (A few have been nippled on by those darn jacks.) I hope I get lucky with them!

[Tippman]

Well only about 20% of my tullips survived to flowering. Some of them that made it are still flowering as the cold really set them back. I'm guessing the rest are gone for good now, gonna be a pain to replant in the fall.

[katoguy]

I hit about 50%. The only reason it was this high was I have one bed with about 40 tulips that is quite protected. These came up fine. Some of the others didn't flower at all. Some had twisted up stems and leaves.

I don't think you will need to replant. They should come up fine next year. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

BTW - my hyacinths were terrible this year.

[Tippman]

I would be interested in knowing if I need to replant if anybody knows for sure? My hyacinths were at about 50% flowering but bloomed poorly. I should add that some of the tullip foliage did not even come up at all, I can't imagine these will come up next year?

[katoguy]

I googled this (so take it for what it is worth):

The plants that look the worst this year will not recover and will not be here next year, the food reserves from the bulbs are gone and with no green leaves the bulb cannot form again. Temperatures below 20 degrees can be fatal to tulips that popped. Any part that is frozen will turn white and not be able to make sugars for the bulb for next year, or for the flower to continue to form this year.

[Scott K]

I dont know what its worth or Im not saying anything, but I planted about 50 tulips around my moms house when I was a kid,(about 30 yrs ago) and they still all come up every year, havent ever given them a second thought when it freezes, they just pop up the next year.