Tulip know-how
Tulips look best when they are planted in informal groups
Tulips offer a rainbow of colours for winter-weary eyes, they lift our spirits and celebrate the arrival of spring.
After a long Niagara winter, I crave this blast of colour. For the past decade, I’ve travelled to the West Coast in the early spring to experience fields of tulips (and daffodils) blooming in both the Fraser Valley in British Columbia and the Scagit Valley in Washington.
Both areas specialize in growing spring bulbs as a commercial crop — just being able to stand among acres and acres of brilliant colour lifts your spirits. Sadly, this year we had to forgo out annual visit to the West Coast, and even missed some of the local spring bulb displays. The ongoing pandemic has firmed my resolve to boost the tulip displays in my home garden. Planting tulips is one of the most optimistic garden projects for the home gardener, and you don’t have to wait a lifetime to see the results.
Purchase tulip bulbs that are large, firm and heavy. Store the bulbs in a cool, dark place until planting time. Plant tulips in mid- to late fall, the soil temperature should be 13 C or cooler. Choose a planting location with full to part day sun, where the soil is well drained (never soggy).
Tulips look best when they are planted in informal groups of eight to 12 bulbs. Space the bulbs eight to 10 centimetres on centre and plant them 15 to 18 cm deep.
You can use a garden trowel to plant individual bulbs, but this can be a chore. To speed up the process, Iuse a garden spade to dig crescentshaped trenches in between or just behind existing perennials in the main beds.
By placing the bulbs near or just behind the perennials, the bulbs will have an attractive carpet of fresh green foliage to set off the flowers and as the perennials start to fill in they will help conceal the fading leaves of the tulips. Space the
planting holes evenly along the length of the garden. I prepare all of the planting holes before dropping a single bulb in the ground. Once you’ve prepared the holes, go back set the bulbs in place, fill the holes and then firm the soil. Water well if there is no rain in the forecast.
Typically, I purchase one type of bulb for this project to create a nice colour echo along the border. This year, I’ve chosen Triumph ‘Flag’ tulips in shades of pink, violet, white
and lemon. The bulbs will be divided planted in groups of eight to 10 bulbs along the front border among perennial catmint, cranesbills and emerging echinacea.
For a little design background, the front borders feature an early display of white daffodils, followed by deep violet periwinkle, grape hyacinth and ajuga flowers. I chose the mix of pastel colours to blend with the existing tulips that come back every year.
There is no guarantee the older tulips will return next spring, but about one-third of the original planting has made a return showing for the past 10 years. The trick will be to shoehorn the new tulips into a garden that is still brimming with fall colour. It’s easier to tuck tulips into a space in the garden when you’ve just pulled out annuals that are headed for the compost pile, than to dig in tulips into beds that are filled to capacity.
Maybe, just maybe, I’ll bring myself to cut back some of the perennials in late October, feed the beds with compost or well-aged manure and then tuck the new bulbs in the prepared bed. We’ll have to see how that goes.
Given ideal conditions, tulips will return to bloom again another year. In my Niagara garden, I have had good luck with Triumph and Emperor tulips coming back, along with species ( botanical) tulips that seem to be indestructible, even when planted in the boulevard under the city tree.
The circle garden in the back yard is planted with a different approach. The bulbs are dug out as soon as they finish blooming to make room for the annual herbs and flowers that spend the summer in this bed. The bulbs in this bed are treated as annuals.
To show you how forgiving tulips can be, I’d like to share a little story. Last winter, I discovered a basket of tulips that had summered in the greenhouse in a bushel basket. On a whim, I planted the bulbs on an unseasonably warm day in late December. Not the ideal planting time, my neighbours probably thought I’d gone over the deep end, but if the tulips bloomed, it would be a bonus and worth the effort. Fast forward to late April and we had just moved back into the house, the crop of bonus tulips filled the circle garden with cheery violet, pink and white blooms — talk about a welcome sight.
This fall, I’ve decided to plant the circle with bold colours. You’ve heard the expression, “Go big or go home.” I’ve splurged on several bags of Triumph ‘Princess’ tulips in dazzling shades of orange and pink (with deep purple flames); Fragrant ‘Peony Flowered’ tulips in vibrant shades of red, violet and orange and flamboyant Parrot tulips ‘Apricot’ that will pick up the orange of the other tulips. The side borders will celebrate spring in their calming pastels, but the circle is going to welcome spring with an explosion of colour — the circle is going big. I’ll keep you posted …
By placing the bulbs near or just behind the perennials, the bulbs will have an attractive carpet of fresh green foliage to set off the flowers …