How to Split Tulip Bulbs
- 1). Plant large tulip bulbs two bulb-lengths deep in the desired place. Dig a hole with the trowel and set the bulbs inside. Cover with lightly packed soil.
- 2). Wait until the tulips decline in growth and flowering. This should be about four years after planting.
- 3). Remove foliage when it turns yellow and the plants go dormant about six weeks after summer blooming.
- 4). Gently dig up the bulbs by hand with gardening gloves. There should be many smaller bulbs now, so search around the original bulb site.
- 5). Discard very small, shriveled or otherwise damaged bulbs.
- 6). Divide the bulb bundles and replant separately. The larger bulbs should now be unhindered by crowding and the smaller bulbs should gain flowering ability in several years. Alternatively, store the bulbs for replanting in the fall. Hang in a paper bag in a cool, dark and dry place or store in sphagnum moss in the refrigerator crisper.
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