What to Do with Those Easter Bulb Plants After Easter!

Ever wonder what to do with those Easter bulb plants after they finish flowering? They are hardy perennials and will bloom every spring in the outside garden. These plants, tulips, daffodils, crocus, iris and the mini tete-a-tetes are hardy and can blossom every year in your garden if you know what to do after they finish flowering.

These plants have a bulb below the soil that holds the nutrients to build the flowers and leaves of the top part of the plant. They have a growing cycle where they flower in the spring when planted in the fall. They set their roots as soon as they are planed, then the roots and bulbs freeze through the winter. Once the soil warms, the new growth begins. All the nutrients to grow all this was stored in the bulb through the winter.

The bulb plants that are in the stores now have been pre-forced to flower earlier. Their cycle was changed to make them available in stores for the Easter plant market. The bulbs are put into pots in the fall and cooled, usually in large coolers that keep the temperatures just above freezing for so many months. The Easter date (that changes yearly) determines when the growers plant their crops of potted bulbs. Each type of plant has its own cooling period so the different species, tulips, daffodils, etc. require different cold time before they will flower. The timing has to be just right or they will flower too early or too late for the Easter market. As soon as the new growth appears above the soil, the plants are taken out and sold to retailers.

To keep the flowers lasting a bit longer in the house where the temperatures are nice and warm, keep the plant in a cooler location and away from full sun. You can even put the plant into the 'frig at night and bring it back out in the morning. The more light and heat the plants receive, the faster the flowers will go by.
Once all the flowers have died, you need to keep the foliage alive and photosynthesizing until it dies on its own. This is the time to put the plant in the most sun you can and keep the soil moist. Use a fertilizer once a week at full strength to allow the roots to fill the bulb with nutrients to make the new leaves and flowers for the next season. I usually recommend a chemical fertilizer during this phase because it is quick releasing and ready for the plant to take up very quickly. This is very important if you want to see those flowers that let us know spring is here.

The bulb with roots and soil attached should be planted outside as soon as possible in a spot where they will get at least 6 hours of full sun daily. If you live in the northern states, the plants should remain inside until all the leaves die back, then plant as soon as you can work the ground. Be sure to sprinkle organic fertilizer in the soil where you plant the bulbs because nutrients will be available when the plant needs them after flowering next spring. The plants will not flower again this year; they need the rest to build new flowers for next season.

Those bulb plants already in the outside gardens need to be fertilized after they finish flowering with a chemical fertilizer because it is quick releasing and available for the plant to take as soon as it is in the soil. This is the time when the roots are searching for nutrients to refill the bulb. When all the foliage dies back, then it can be cut off and you can plant some annuals to fill in the space.

I have worked in greenhouses for over 30 years and have taken home many of these bulb plants that did not sell before the flowers died. Most of the bulb plants I have in my gardens are from those plants. It takes them a few seasons to really show their stuff, but once established, they can multiply and develop large areas of spring color.