Why are my tulips drooping (and how to fix it)

Tulips are the weirdest cut flower you'll ever own. They keep growing in the vase — sometimes an inch or more — and they twist toward whatever light source is closest. That's not a problem, it's what tulips do. But if the stems have gone rubbery and the heads are on the counter, something specific is wrong.

Diagnose the droop

• Stems soft and rubbery all the way down → thirsty. Fixable in 30 minutes.
• Stems firm but bent near the top → they're growing toward light. Rotate the vase daily.
• Stems mushy near the waterline, water is cloudy → bacteria. Fresh water, fresh cut.
• Bloom heads open flat like a starfish → they're at end-of-life. Enjoy day two.

The newspaper trick

This is what florists do. It looks silly. It works every time.

1. Take the tulips out of the vase and lay them flat on the counter.
2. Line up the heads at the same height. Trim all stems to the same length with a fresh 45° cut.
3. Wrap the top two-thirds of the bunch tightly in newspaper — a snug cylinder. Rubber band it if you need to.
4. Stand the wrapped bundle in cold water (a tall glass or a clean sink works) for 45–60 minutes.
5. Unwrap and arrange. The stems will be pole-straight and stay that way for a day or two.

How to keep them upright from day one

• Use a vase that comes up to about ⅔ the height of the stems — the vase does the standing.
• Cold water only. Never lukewarm, never with sugar. Tulips prefer it plain.
• Change the water every two days. Tulips drink a lot — check daily.
• Don't mix them with daffodils. Daffodil sap poisons tulips within hours.

Once they're standing again, a healthy grocery-store bunch of tulips will last 5–8 days. The droop is almost never fatal — just thirsty.