Even after this record breaking winter, you know it’s time for spring when the Tulips are out!

Central Square Florist has a you covered too! Bring the joy of tulips into your home, or give someone else that joy with the gift of an Enchanting Tulip Bouquet, and choose from a mixed-color bouquet of 40, 50 or 60 stems. If you prefer something smaller, the Cube of Mixed Tulips will give you that bright spring color through a bouquet of 20, 25 or 30 stems.

We carry tulips all year-round! We get our tulips from Holland/Canada during Nov-May and during the months that aren’t Nov – May we get our tulips fresh from California.

Cut tulips are extremely popular in all sorts of flower arrangements, bouquets, wedding floral arrangements and in containers or baskets where they are often planted with other spring bulbs that have been forced into bloom.

Farmer’s Almanac has an excellent trick to extend the life of cut tulips. Start by cutting each stem on the diagonal once you get them. Create a funnel out of newspaper. Wrap the funnel around the upper two-thirds of your tulip stems, including the flower heads. Stick the bottom third of the stems into a glass or vase of cool water. Let them sit there for two hours.

Then remove the stems from the water, remove the newspaper funnel and cut the stems on the diagonal again. Put them back into a vase of fresh water. To maintain freshness, re-cut the stems every day or two and refresh the water.

Caring for Tulips in Dirt

If you want a spectacular display of spring tulip blooms, you need to plant your bulbs in fall. Time your planting so that the bulbs go into the ground about 6 to 8 weeks before your first hard freeze. Doing this gives them time to set roots.

The roots will absorb nutrients from the soil and moist soil above, helping the bulb swell while it’s underground. Once the weather warms enough, the live plant within the bulb will break through the ground. Once this happens, your tulips will grow fast.

Plant your tulips in a sunny spot with excellent drainage. Excessive wetness will lead to fungal diseases or bulb rot, both of which are death sentences to any bulbs. Water bulbs immediately after planting and fertilize with a water-soluble fertilizer.

If you’re growing perennial tulips, fertilize them regularly starting when the bulbs emerge from the ground. Also make a point of improving the growing bed by organic matter like well-rotted leaf mold or compost at least once a year.

Tulips are divided into three groups, depending on when they bloom. If you want to create a fabulous tulip display, choose varieties that bloom at different times during the spring. Early flowering tulips bloom from March into Early April. Greigii, Red Emperor and Waterlily are examples of early blooming varieties.

Mid-season blooming tulips start flowering when the early blooming varieties stop. They typically flower in April through early May. Examples of mid-season varieties include Darwin, Parrot and Wings. Late blooming tulips will bloom during May. Examples of late blooming varieties include Fringed Tulips and Rembrandt.