Tulips are forgiving enough that most gardeners get a decent show in their first spring. Then, somehow, the second year is thinner: fewer blooms, a few blind stems, gaps where a bulb has simply vanished. Nine times out of ten it isn't bad luck. It's something that happened back at planting time — a bulb set too shallow, a wet corner that never drains, or a packet opened in September because the garden centre made it look urgent.

Mistake 1: Planting Too Shallow

The rule of thumb is simple: set each bulb three times its own height deep, measured from the base of the bulb to the soil surface. For a fat Darwin Hybrid that means roughly 15cm. For small species tulips, 8–10cm is plenty.

Shallow planting causes a specific set of problems. Bulbs heave out of the ground during frost, dry out in a mild spring, and split into clusters of tiny offsets that make leaves but no flowers. Stems flop just as they come into bud. On light, sandy soil you can go a couple of centimetres deeper than the rule. On heavy clay, plant at the shallower end and improve the soil around the bulb instead, or it will sit in a cold, wet pocket all winter.

Make depth easy to judge

For a whole bed, dig out a trench to the correct depth and set the bulbs in a grid rather than fiddling with individual holes. Among perennials or in grass, a long-handled bulb planter takes seconds per bulb and leaves a neat core of soil to drop back in. Either way, mark the area. Bulbs disappear completely once dormant, and February is a bad time to discover you've dug the bed over.

Mistake 2: Planting Too Early

Tulips are not daffodils. They want cold, and they want it before they want anything else. Planted into warm September soil, they may start into growth and then rot as autumn rain arrives. In a mild spell, bulbs can even push up tips before winter has properly begun.

The window most UK gardeners can rely on is late October through November, and into December in milder areas. Watch the soil rather than the calendar — once the ground has cooled properly, bulbs settle in and root without being tempted upwards. Tulips also need a decent stretch of cold to flower well, which is why a late planting usually outperforms an early one.

If you've bought bulbs in early September and can't plant yet, don't leave them in a sealed bag in a warm shed. Keep them cool, dark, dry and well ventilated — a garage shelf or a cardboard box in a spare room works fine.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Drainage

Tulips come from mountains and steppe, where water moves through the ground quickly. Soggy winter soil is the fastest way to lose a planting. You'll know it has happened when spring arrives and there are gaps in a block of bulbs; lift one and it will be soft, brown and hollow.

Any low corner is a risk: the base of a slope, the ground under a downpipe, the spot where the lawn always squelches. Three practical fixes:

• Plant on a slight ridge. Mound the soil 10cm or so above the surrounding level and plant into the top of it.
• Add grit to the planting hole. A handful of horticultural grit mixed into the soil beneath and around each bulb gives water somewhere to go.
• Use pots for awkward spots. A container with proper drainage holes, gritty compost and feet to lift it off the paving will outperform a wet border every time.

Don't water tulips after planting unless the soil is genuinely dust-dry, and never let pots stand in saucers of water through winter.

Mistake 4: The Wrong Spot and the Wrong Soil

Tulips in shade stretch towards the light and end up tall, pale and floppy, flowering a week or two later than the same variety in sun. Full sun is best, with enough shelter that stems don't snap in a spring gale.

Two soil problems catch people out. Fresh manure or a nitrogen-rich feed in the planting hole encourages soft leaves and increases the chance of rot, so keep feeding to a light dressing in early spring as the shoots appear. And planting tulips in the same patch year after year lets tulip fire — a botrytis disease that shows as mottled, twisted leaves with grey-brown fuzzy patches — build up in the soil. Move the planting to a fresh spot for a few years, or grow them in pots with fresh compost, which sidesteps the problem neatly.

Mistake 5: Crowding and Mixing

Bulbs need room. Space large tulips 10–15cm apart, roughly two to three bulb widths, and give smaller species types about 8cm. Packed together, they compete for water and nutrients, produce smaller flowers, and hold moisture around each other in exactly the way you don't want.

There's a design point here too. A packet of mixed colours planted at random rarely looks as good as it did on the label, because the varieties flower at different heights and times. Plant in blocks of one variety instead, or arrange a deliberate sequence from early to late so something is always open.

Mistake 6: Forgetting Wildlife and Aftercare

Squirrels dig up tulip bulbs with real enthusiasm, and mice will take them from pots and borders over winter. Lay a sheet of chicken wire just below the soil surface over the planting, or peg mesh over containers until the shoots appear. A gravel topdressing helps on pots, and pressing bulbs firmly into place removes the loose soil that invites digging.

Then there is the most common aftercare error of all: cutting the leaves too soon. Once flowers fade, deadhead them so the plant doesn't waste energy on seed, but leave the foliage for around six weeks, until it has gone yellow and papery. That's the period when the bulb recharges for next year. Tidy it away only when it pulls free easily.

One note if you have pets: tulip bulbs are toxic to cats and dogs if chewed or eaten. Store them out of reach, and if you suspect your pet has swallowed any, contact your vet promptly.

Getting It Right Next Time

1. Buy firm, unblemished bulbs and store them cool and dry until planting.
2. Wait until late October or November, when the soil has cooled.
3. Choose a sunny spot with sharp drainage, or plant in a gritty pot.
4. Set bulbs three times their height deep, 10–15cm apart, in blocks of one variety.
5. Cover with mesh if squirrels are about.
6. Deadhead after flowering, leave the leaves six weeks, and avoid replanting in the same soil year after year.

None of this is difficult, and most of it is done in a single afternoon. Get the depth, the timing and the drainage right and tulips will do the rest — returning larger and more generous for two or three springs before they finally need replacing.

Photo: Orkhan Sweden / Pexels