PLANT YOUR TULIPS NOW IN TIME FOR BLOOMING IN SPRING
It’s not too late to plant tulips. Indeed, some experts recommend planting well into November and December because tulip bulbs, unlike others, do not seem to dry out as much in storage. From the time the first flowers show in March and open, and finally shed the petals, tulips will dominate the garden for the best part of five weeks, beginning to end. Few plants can make such a dramatic impact — even a small number of bulbs can make a great difference. The reason that tulips are so effective is due to their colours and their distinctive eyecatching shape. Tulips have not always been used in imaginative ways and have generally been confined to spring bedding schemes, usually teamed with wallflowers and forget-me-nots. After flowering in April and early May, the bulbs were generally taken out to make room for summer bedding. In some gardens, the lifted bulbs would be planted into borders and left to take their chances but very often did not survive or flower again.
The range of colours available in tulips is truly remarkable, one of the widest colour ranges of any flower. In fact, practically all colours except true blue are represented. There is a range of bright hot colours, including red, yellow, orange and bright purple, but there are cool colours too, white, pink, lilac, deep purple, almost black. The hot colours are loud and brash, full of impact, while the cooler colours are more subtle, sophisticated and elegant. Not only are tulips varied in colour but also in size and flower shape. There are about 13 different groups of tulips, based on their shape and size of flowers.
The smaller kinds, such as ‘Red Riding Hood’, are perfect for containers, small beds, patio gardens and even rock gardens. The taller kinds too can be very handsome in pots and shallow containers, on their own or with other spring bedding flowers, but the tall kinds really come into their own in borders. There are two broad divisions in flower shape — goblet-shape or lily-flowered. The goblet shape is rounded and narrows at the top, except when opened by good sunshine. The lily-flowered type has elongated petals, often ending in a pointed reflexed tip. These too open up in warm sunshine but the pointed tips usually strike upwards in a jaunty look. It is possible to have early-flowering and lateflowering kinds follow each other, expanding the period of display.
‘White Triumphator’ is a tall white, lily flowered variety, and ‘West Point’ is also lily-flowered in a bright yellow colour. The long-serving variety ‘Apeldoorn’ has both a yellow and red-flowered version. These are long-lived, long-lasting bulbs planted in dry soil. In recent years, the parrot-type tulips have become very popular. These have a feathery edge to the petals. ‘Angelique’ is a lovely variety, a confection of white, pink and flashes of green. Dark-flowered ‘Queen of Night’ is also very popular for its dark, almost black flowers, which make a wonderful contrast with other colours, especially pink.
Tulips do not achieve in general the same longevity as daffodils or snowdrops. Tulip species are mostly from the Near East, Turkey and its neighbouring countries where they grow mostly in well-drained soils that dry out in summer. By contrast, daffodils occur naturally in Northern Europe, thriving in more moist, cooler ground. Unless tulips are given excellent drainage and full sunshine, they will succumb to rotting in cold, wet heavy soil.
Another aspect of heavy soils is the increased activities of slugs and snails, which can destroy tulips as they emerge and afterwards but are less likely to be troublesome in free-draining soil. Tulips like well-drained soil but it must not be very poor sandy soil, they must have a good level of fertility to grow well.
Tulips grown in a flower border can be left in the ground to flower year after year, but they must not be over-shadowed by the expanding growth of taller plants and they must not get too-severe competition from vigorous shrubs or perennials. Make sure to mark the places where tulip bulbs are located to ensure they are not damaged after the foliage has withered away. If the ground is heavy, to improve drainage, dig in gravel before planting. Be sure to feed a little after flowering to maintain vigour by shaking some fertiliser around the bulbs.