Does tulip plants reproduce from bulbs?

When the tulip flower has died, you will notice that the area where flower has attached to the stem swells larger and larger. It is producing seeds.

If you plant the seeds, it can take 5-7 years for the seeds to develop into bulbs which produce the tulip plants. Bulbs are necessary to store food for the next year's stem, leaves, and flower.

It's best to clip off the flowers and at least part of the stem (deadheading) as soon as the flower has died to prevent the seeds from developing. This allows the plant to spend it's energy producing food for bulb storage rather that wasting energy on unnecessary seeds. Bulbs can multiply underground, be separated, and you can use the new bulbs to start more tulip plants in another location.