sring bulbs after flowering in pots

Hi, I planted my first lots of springs bulbs in autumn in quite a few containers/pots. What do I do once they are finished flowering? I heard that once tulips finished flowering, they are no good any more. So what do I do with all the spring bulbs, do I just throw them away/just the tulip bulbs or leave all of them in the pots hoping they will flower again next spring?

Many thanks

 

Obviously you wish to replant the containers with summer flowering stuff, so the best way to proceed,if you can, is to remove the bulbs from the containers and plant them somewhere out of the way to continue with their growth. Give them a good feed with a foliage type feed (Miraclegrow say) a couple of times over the next few weeks. Then when all the foliage has died down, you may dig them up, clean them off and store cool and dry and vermin free until autumn. Tulips will flower again the following year, but they do need a good feed after flowering to make sure.
I have to say our one container (too much like hard work watering lots of pots) the bulbs stay in and the summer stuff is planted on top of them. Looks a bit stuffed for a few weeks but it works ok.

 

It's also a good idea to remove the faded flower heads.

 

Agree about tulips flowering again. After flowering dead head to prevent seed formation and allow the foliage to die back naturally. As Palustris has said, if you want to re-use the containers then replant the bulbs elsewhere 'in the green' and give a feed. This builds up strength in the bulb for the following year. Tulips need dry warm to hot conditions once growth is over so they can rest and dry a bit which promotes bud formation. If they are likely to get waterlogged they can rot so lift the bulbs and store in dry sand or compost untill ready for replanting.

 

I have found tulips to be variable, some come and flower year after year others dont.
I've got a theory that its to do with the beeding, the more compicated the breeding the less chance of them naturalising.
I have some that are just red and some that are just yellow, and they have formed large clumps that flower every year. The more fancy kinds, tend to break up into small bulbs that dont flower well, or at, all the following year.
Stick to the spiecies types, or very close, if you want them to flower year after year, thats my guess.

 

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. I will give them a try and hopfully the bulbs will flower again year after year!