What to do with tulips after flowering

The tulips have finished, and the border looks a bit sad. What you do in the next six weeks decides whether they flower again next spring. The good news: it's easy.

4 min read · Updated 5 November 2026

1. April–May
Flowering
2. Right after
Cut off the flower
3. About 6 weeks
Leaves die back
4. June
Leave or lift
5. Summer
Dry and cool
6. October
Plant again

Remove the flower — not the leaves

When the petals start to fall, the tulip begins making seed. That costs energy that should go to the bulb instead. So remove the flower — or the green seed pod — just below the head.

Cut hereJust below the flower or seed pod.
Leave stem and leavesUntil they turn yellow — about 6 weeks.
The bulb rechargesFor next year's flower.

Use sharp scissors, or pinch the flower off with your fingers. Leave the rest of the stem — it also feeds the bulb.

Let the leaves die back completely

The leaves are the bulb's solar panels. In the weeks after flowering they store nutrients in the bulb for next year. Remove them too early and the bulb gets smaller — and may not flower.

Wait until the leaves are yellow or brown and collapse — usually 6 weeks after flowering, in June.
Don't tie the leaves together or fold them. It reduces how well they work.
Don't mow over tulips in the lawn until the leaves have withered.

A little feed and water

Straight after flowering you can give a handful of potassium-rich fertiliser — such as tomato feed or a dedicated bulb fertiliser. Potassium helps the bulb store nutrients.

If spring is dry, water the bed once a week as long as the leaves are green. Stop when the leaves turn yellow — now the bulb needs a dry rest.

Leave the bulbs in or lift them?

	Leave them in	Lift them
Choose it when	The soil drains well, it's sunny, and they're perennial types (Darwin hybrids, species)	The soil is heavy and wet, the bed is watered in summer, or you need the space
Upside	No work — they look after themselves	The bulbs don't rot and can be sorted
Downside	May dwindle year by year in wet soil	A little work in June and October

Most people leave the bulbs in the ground and add new ones every autumn. That's perfectly fine.

How to lift and store the bulbs

Dig up the bulbs when the leaves have completely withered (June). Use a fork so you don't cut the bulbs.
Brush off the soil and remove dead leaves and old roots.
Dry the bulbs somewhere airy and shady for 1–2 weeks, e.g. on newspaper in the shed.
Sort: keep the large, firm bulbs. Small offsets can be planted in a corner of the garden to grow on — they won't flower for the first few years.
Store the bulbs dry, cool and dark in a net or paper bag — never in a plastic bag.
Replant them in October–November.

Tulips in pots after flowering

Tulips in pots work hard, and the bulbs rarely get big enough to flower well in a pot again.

Let the leaves die back in the pot somewhere out of sight.
Then plant the bulbs out in the garden — or lift them and plant them in the border in autumn.
Plant new bulbs in the pot every autumn — e.g. bulbs tagged “Perfect for pots”. That way you're sure of a great display.

Sick tulips: watch out for this

If you see brown spots on the leaves, twisted and “scorched” shoots or grey mould on the flowers, it may be the fungal disease Botrytis tulipae (“tulip fire”).

Dig up the sick plants with their bulbs and put them in the bin — not on the compost.
Don't plant tulips in the same spot for the next 3 years.
Lift the healthy bulbs and plant them somewhere new in autumn.

Bulbs from this guide

See all →

Tulips that come back →Naturalising bulbs →Tulips in pots →