TUNE UP FOR TULIPS
Buy now and then plant next month for a gorgeous spring display
WANDERING in Northern Cyprus, I came across a meadow full of wild tulips. Slender, crimson and elegant — they swayed among the grasses like an exotic version of Wordsworth’s daffodils. Alas, the Cyprus tulip is critically endangered and unavailable to buy. But other species are on sale now, along with hybrid varieties.
November is best for planting the bulbs, but buy them now while there’s still plenty of choice.
Despite being popular, tulips are classy. The 19th-century poet Thomas Hood called t hem ‘courtly queens’ — and the best stand tall with erect stems, wineglass flowers and waxy foliage.
Some have two-tone petals, funky streaks or contrasting edges. They can be single, double, frilled or parrot-feathered. One even resembles an ice cream. Tulips look lovely in containers or beds. After flowering, experts recommend drying off the bulbs for replanting the next autumn.
When I dig out mine in late May, I don’t store them. Instead, I plant them i n my perennial borders, stalks attached.
They look ugly at first, but other plants grow and mask them.
MONTHS OF COLOUR
TO SUCCEED with tulips, plant bulbs deep. I set mine 15 cm (6 in) down to deter squirrels and badgers. Keen gardeners apply bone meal in spring but if your soil is fertile, this isn’t necessary.
It’s worth paying extra for large bulbs if you grow hybrid tulips in containers as the flowers will be more impressive. For naturalistic planting, smaller ones are best.
When choosing bulbs, think of timing. If you want contrasting colours, buy tulips that flower simultaneously. For a longrunning show, plant early, midseason and late varieties.
With careful planning you can have a cheerful display from late February to early June. The earliest, Tulipa turkestanica, has flowers like tiny stars.
March brings T. fosteriana varieties. Madame Lefeber is bright scarlet and Purissima opens cream, turning to white.
The main flowering season starts in April, with Triumph and Darwin hybrids lingering until mid-May, when late varieties stage the finale. Last to bloom is the wild scarlet T. sprengeri.
AND SO TO BED
TULIPS are the mainstay of good spring bedding. Though they look fine on their own, a blend with other spring plants is prettier and longer-lasting.
Blue forget-me-nots are perfect — especially with pink or yellow tulips. Wallflowers also make gorgeous, fragrant companions or you could try something more startling: purple honesty with a red tulip such as Holland’s Glory.
Include early blooming varieties for pollinating insects, as well as beauty. Bumblebees need March f l owers and l ove botanical varieties such as T. kaufmanniana and T. greigii.
Smaller species can be exquisite, too. Top mid-spring performers in my dry border are Tulipa batalinii Bronze Charm and perky T. tarda, which is just 12 cm (4¾ in) high and flowers profusely.
I can only dream of a Cyprus tulip meadow. But a similar Cretan species, Tulipa hageri, with blood-red flowers is on sale here. So I’m ordering 100, hoping they colonise my mini-meadow.