I found that too, last year. They were newly planted the fall before and here in Vermont it certainly got plenty cold over the winter. I just assumed that it was the variety that made them so short. I'm interested in finding out what the cause is in case there is a fix. Many flowers I grow end up as cuts and the short stems on these make it impossible.

Skibby, it's obviously a protective mechanism to prevent your cutting the flowers (lol).

I've had short flowering tulips a few times, too. I think it might be moisture related. We were very dry last summer and fall. We did get snow this winter, but maybe not in time for these. Don't give up on them and try watering them in the fall this year.

Thanks, all. It’s just strange, because this is the bed right across from them, with the same moisture, cold, etc. I’ll keep my eye on them and see what they do next year. I’m curious!

Tulips are from a very dry climate originally but one that receives seasonal rain right before the bloom season. if you research this issue - and it is quite common - the usual explantion is that it was too dry (and possibly too warm) in the few weeks to a month preceeding the bloom period.

They are "secret" tulips! Haha...Just kidding. I had some purple ones this year that turned out very very short and squat. I wasn't sure if it was the variety so next year I am going to try to purchase more of the variety that got very tall. I have some yellow/orange ones like yours that got very tall.

Nice, Popmama! Mine in the foreground are Darwin Hybrid “Tulip Daydream, ” they start out yellow and turn orange gradually. I thought that would be super cool and it was, but when they first came up the main other blooms were daffodils and dandelions, so it was yellow yellow everywhere! Then they turned orange, and the muscari and the creeping phlox bloomed, and the other tulips came out too, and suddenly there’s color everywhere. Except for the “secret” tulips, lol. Interesting that your purples were the short ones too.

Yes, yellow is a problem, too many darn yellow composites in the summer. I was making a want list and one reason I threw out several, was too much yellow already. That goes for tulips and daffodils as well...darn yellow.

Faith, the ones pictured above are Daydream which I believe is the same as Darwin. What's weird is that I thought I got a lot of them, but these are the only ones I see in the yard. The color is yellow/fade to orange. What I really do like about them is their height! I want to try to buy more tall ones in the Fall. I'm hoping I can remember. Haha.

I just wanted to come back to say that my tulips (the short one I mentioned above) are budded and ready to bloom. They are normal height this year. I was surprised to see that. These are purple too. This is the second spring so last year they may have not been fully established. The other factors: last winter was very cold with a lot of snow cover. These bulbs were previously grown at our state house and I bought them from Surplus Property the summer after they flowered. Many of the bulbs needed dividing - they mostly divided themselves so the bulbs I planted were small. The soil is nice and rich and I planted with some compost but no fertilizer. That's all I can think of for clues. I suspect, for mine, that they weren't established enough to be robust. I hope you find this helpful. Faith, you may want to note in your garden log how your tulips behaved and perhaps next spring will be a different story. And dbarron - I'm going to cut some!

Sometimes tulips look weird because they were planted very deeply.

Thanks, Skibby. I’ll keep an eye for sure and see how they fare next spring. It’s quite possible that they weren’t established enough. I don’t remember when I planted these; I thought two years ago but I’ve done so much planting over the past few years that it’s hard to keep track.

J Williams, planting them deep is also a possibility. Planting extra deep is something I’ve seen recommended for our Colorado climate before, so I could well have done that.

I don’t think it was a moisture or temperature issue, since my other 150 or so tulips all did fine. It’s got to be something specific to these particular plants. But too deep or not established both seem like possibilities.