novice tulip planter - what to do with plants

I bought a bunch of tulip plants last week and planted them in my garden. Did I wasted my time & money because they were not planted in the fall? Also what do I do after the petals fall off? Do I cut the leaves down after they yellow?

Doug says - you bought "plants". If they were bulbs, then they may indeed have been dead if stored improperly over the winter. Reputable retailers will not be storing nor selling tulips at this time of year unless they've been pre-chilled.

If they were green plants, then let me suggest you read some of the notes on transplanting bulbs etc right here. They should be fine to be transplanted - although they wont rebloom till next year.

Again, what to do after the flowers fall off? Leave the plants alone - the leaves need to grow big and strong to feed the bulbs. Once the leaves turn yellow, they can be cut down to the ground.

And then you can heave a big sigh and wait for next spring. :-)