HOW TO MAKE YOUR POTTED TULIPS STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD
EVEN if you only have room for one pot in the smallest space, plant some tulips in it to make your garden spring to life, says HANNAH STEPHENSON.
Opt for shorter stemmed types in smaller pots: The varieties which don’t grow too tall look best and tend to stay upright in windy conditions. Also, make sure you keep the size of the tulips in proportion to the size of your pot.
For a wow factor, go for a block colour: In a small space, one colour goes a long way, but the bigger the container, the more variety of colour you can have. Contrasting colours such as red and yellow in a pot to bring a dull area alive.
Choose types which flower at the same time: Different coloured types from the same group, such as Parrot, Triumph, or Single Late, should flower simultaneously.
Contrasting blooms keep your interest
longer: Crocuses at the outer edge of the pot, will provide late winter colour before the tulip leaves cover them when the crocuses are dying down.
Other good foils for tulips include muscari and Anemone blanda.
Plant in groups: Tulips need to be planted in groups of at least three for the best visual impact. You can plant them closer together in containers than you would in beds and borders, but don’t let them touch.
Don’t let bulbs rot: Line the bottom of your pot with crocks or pebbles and freedraining soil mixed with a handful of grit. The container should be at least 30cm (12in) deep so bulbs can be planted at a reasonable depth, with room for the roots. Place your pot on feet to avoid waterlogging.
Winter shelter: Tulips like a period of dormancy but don’t want to be saturated, so move to a sheltered location in the worst winter weather and into their flowering position in spring.
Choose tried and tested varieties:
Well-established favourites include Tulipa ‘Ballerina’, a weather-resistant lily-flowered type with rich orange blooms or ‘Queen of Night’, with its purpleblack flowers. For shallow containers a dwarf variety such as ‘Red Riding Hood’ or ‘Lady Jane’, which produces pencil-thin buds which open to delicatelooking flowers, which are deep pink on the outside and white and yellow in the middle.