Tulips are an essential for every garden however they can be unreliable, putting on a good show for a couple of years and then are never seen or heard from again. Often this is because the variety (usually the Hybrids) was really only bred to flower for 1 or 2 years at most. However there are plenty of reliable Tulips to choose from and so here are 10 reliable Tulips, including a couple earlier & later flowerers, that will be back again and again. Also I explain one of the other reasons why your tulips may not be returning and what can be done about it.

The Tulips

I have looked at a LOT of sources in order to come up with this selection, a few I have tried myself and they are indeed reliable so these should provide a good starting point when adding perennial (returning) tulips in your garden. These can be complimented by other hybrid tulips (colours, form etc.) to provide a really good show whether they are in the borders or in pots.

Note, those that have "RHS AGM" next to them means these have been awarded The RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) which is intended to help gardeners choose plants that are likely to perform well in all aspects from consistent form and colour to resistence to pests.

The Early Flowerers

The following are a couple of early flowering Tulips. You will note they are on the shorter side - this is to be expected as they will be flowering when the rain is likely to be heavier so being shorter means they are less likely to get pushed over.

The Later Flowerers

The aim is to keep some Tulips in the garden flowering for as long as possible to pass the baton over to the summer flowers so this pair should be up to the challenge.

Tulips and heavy soil

The most common other reason for Tulips failing to reappear is the bulbs have rotted. Tulips must be planted in well drained soil and in a sunny spot to maximise the likelihood of them returning.  

If you have a heavy or clay soil, that doesn't mean you can't plant Tulips, we just need to approach planting differently. So the planting options include:

1. Plant tulips in pots where you can adjust the soil to match their needs. Combining different colours and planting closely in a large pot can make the most magnificent display.
2. If you want tulips in the borders, either plant 3-5 bulbs in each pot and then place the pot in the borders behind other plants or sink the pots into the ground (remember if in pots they may need a bit more watering).
3. You can plant directly into a heavy/clay soil but make the hole a bit wider and half as deep again filling the bottom up to the planting depth with a mix of sand and compost, then the bulb and then more of the sand/compost mix. I would probably start with 1 part sand to 2 parts compost. They can probably be left in the ground if planted this way and should return more reliably.
4. Once the leaves have died down, lift the bulbs, let them dry in the sun before brushing off the soil, trimming off the roots and then store in paper bags in a cool, dark (frost free) place. Check each before storing to ensure they are not damaged and when stored check now and again, discarding any that may be rotting. Then replant next year.

Tulip Care

Finally, some Tulip care. We can also improve their return with the following bit of care both as they are growing and once they have flowered:

1. Once the shoots poke above the ground, give them a Tomato feed (around the base) and then ideally feed weekly until the petals drop.
2. Once flowering has finished, remove the seed heads but leave everything else as is.
3. Let the leaves turn yellow before removing them or lifting the bulbs.

I hope you found this article useful and I am planning to put my money down now and order all of the above and will report back... in a couple of years!