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I grew a number of tulips this spring (planted last autumn). I believe I was too late with some of them and/or planted them too shallowly, and as a result many grew poorly and split into a large number of offsets. I've broken down the bulbs, thrown away the rotting mother bulbs and stored the offsets in trays. They seem to be perfectly fine with this with no mould or shrivelling. I'd like to replant them and grow them on this autumn.

I have checked a number of sources including RHS, Dutch Grown and those that specifically mention offsets suggest a planting depth of eight inches. Really? It seems surprising to me that a 1cm/.4" baby bulb could make it this far out of the ground in its first season. I'm well aware that this is recommended for mature tulips. Is it really the case that the best planting depth for very tiny offsets should be the same as this? I would intend to lift and move them again once grown on to a healthy size.

Tom W
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A general rule is to plant bulbs at a depth of two or three times the size of the bulb. You might want to grow the offsets in pots for the first one or two years, so they won't get forgotten about when planted in the garden.

I think you are worrying about nothing over the depth. In the wild, nobody digs up bulbs every year and replants them, so the offsets would be at the same depth as the parent bulb. Naturalized bulbs propagate and spread without any assistance.

alephzero
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