Tulipa 'Queen of Night' (Queen of Night tulip) care

Light

Tulipa 'Queen of Night' needs sun on the leaves, not just bright ambient room light. Full sun for the best flowering and to deepen the dark petal colour. It tolerates light shade but stems stretch and bloom quality drops; the dark cups read best in bright light. A south or west-facing windowsill in the northern hemisphere is the default; anywhere else, expect the plant to stretch and pale out within a season.

Watering

Water tulipa 'queen of night' keep soil moist in growth; dry while dormant. The actual day count varies with pot size, light, and season — the finger test (or lifting the pot to feel its weight) is more reliable than a fixed calendar. Empty any drainage saucer afterwards so the pot isn't sitting in water. Water during active autumn rooting and spring growth if rainfall is short, but bulbs must stay fairly dry through summer dormancy. Waterlogged soil rots the bulbs, so drainage is paramount.

Soil and pot

Tulipa 'Queen of Night' grows best in free-draining, fertile soil. Light, well-drained soil, neutral to slightly alkaline, pH 6.0-7.5. Heavy, wet clay rots bulbs; add grit and compost to improve drainage. Plant bulbs 15 cm deep in autumn. A pot with a working drainage hole is non-negotiable for this species — even free-draining mix will turn soggy in a closed planter. If you love the look of a decorative pot without a hole, use it as a cachepot around an inner nursery pot you can lift out to water.

Humidity and temperature

Tulipa 'Queen of Night' sits happiest at around Ambient outdoor humidity and Needs winter chill below 10°C; blooms 10-18°C (Needs winter chill below 50°F; blooms 50-64°F). An outdoor bulb with no humidity needs; dry summer conditions during dormancy are actually beneficial and help prevent fungal bulb rots. If you keep the room above Needs winter chill below 10°C; blooms 10 year-round and avoid placing the plant near a cold draught, a hot radiator, or an air-conditioning vent, you have already handled the two biggest indoor stressors.

Fertilising

Feed tulipa 'queen of night' sparingly. Work a low-nitrogen, high-potassium bulb fertiliser or bonemeal into the soil at autumn planting, and feed again as shoots emerge in spring to build up the bulb. Avoid high-nitrogen feeds, which favour foliage. Skip fertiliser entirely on a stressed, recently-repotted, or actively wilting plant — fertiliser salts make damage worse, not better. Wait for a round of healthy new growth before resuming a feeding rhythm.

Common problems

Below are the issues we see most often on tulipa 'queen of night' in the Growli community. Each is annotated with the most common cause so you know where to start.

• Bulb rot in wet soil — Heavy, waterlogged ground rots bulbs over summer. Plant in free-draining soil or raised beds, and lift bulbs in wet-summer climates to store dry.
• Declining bloom after year one — Many garden tulips, including this one, flower well the first spring then dwindle. Feed after flowering, let leaves die back naturally, or replant fresh bulbs each autumn.
• Tulip fire (Botrytis tulipae) — A fungal blight causing scorched, distorted leaves and spotted petals. Remove and destroy infected plants, avoid replanting tulips in the same spot for several years.
• Squirrels and rodents — They dig up and eat newly planted bulbs. Plant deeper, cover with wire mesh, or interplant with bulbs animals avoid.

Propagation

Lift dormant bulbs in summer and separate the offsets (daughter bulbs) from the parent, replanting them in autumn; small offsets take a year or two to reach flowering size. Cultivars do not come true from seed. Propagation is the cheapest, most satisfying way to expand a collection — and it doubles as insurance against losing a mature plant to an accident. Take a backup cutting once the parent is established and healthy.

Toxicity to pets

Tulipa 'Queen of Night' is toxic to pets. The ASPCA lists Tulipa (tulip) as toxic to cats, dogs, and horses. The toxic principles are Tulipalin A and B, concentrated in the bulb; ingestion can cause intense drooling, vomiting, diarrhoea, and depression. Store and plant bulbs out of pets' reach. If you keep cats, dogs, or curious children in the house, weigh placement carefully — a high shelf or a hanging planter is enough for casual safety. For severe ingestion incidents, call your local vet and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (in the US, 888-426-4435).

Pet-safety status is sourced from the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List, which catalogues the most-asked-about plants for cats, dogs, and horses.

Tulipa 'Queen of Night' deep-dive guides

Every aspect of tulipa 'queen of night' care, each with its own calibrated guide:

• Tulipa 'Queen of Night' watering schedule
• Tulipa 'Queen of Night' light requirements
• Best soil mix for tulipa 'queen of night'
• Tulipa 'Queen of Night' fertilizing guide
• When to repot tulipa 'queen of night'
• How to propagate tulipa 'queen of night'
• Tulipa 'Queen of Night' growth rate & size
• Tulipa 'Queen of Night' cold hardiness
• Tulipa 'Queen of Night' temperature & humidity
• Is tulipa 'queen of night' toxic to cats & dogs?
• Is tulipa 'queen of night' toxic to cats?
• Is tulipa 'queen of night' toxic to dogs?
• Getting tulipa 'queen of night' to bloom

Featured in these plant shortlists

Tulipa 'Queen of Night' qualifies for 4 curated Growli shortlists — each one filtered objectively from our structured plant-care library, so the selection is consistent and checkable:

• Best flowering houseplants — Indoor plants grown for their blooms — selected from the flowering species in Growli’s plant-care library.
• Houseplants toxic to cats & dogs — The common houseplants the ASPCA lists as toxic to cats and dogs — the ones to keep out of reach, each with its symptoms and a safe alternative.
• Best houseplants for full sun — Houseplants that want direct sun — the species for a hot south or west-facing windowsill where shade-lovers scorch.
• Best houseplants for a cool room — Houseplants that tolerate cool conditions down to about 10°C — for an unheated spare room, hallway, porch or a home kept cool.
• Browse all 29 plant shortlists — pet-safe, low-light, drought-tolerant and more

Related guides

Tulipa 'Queen of Night' is also known as Queen of Night tulip, black tulip, and dark maroon tulip.

• Peace lily care — light, water and common problems
• Bird of paradise care — light, water and common problems
• Hoya care — light, water and common problems
• All 3899 plant care guides in the Growli library