Tip top tulips
Make most of spring blooms that now grow when you want them
The tulips are on their way now – the earliest varieties are only just beginning to open and there are tons more to come.
Planting time for them is November – a couple of months later than daffs and narcissi which can be planted in September.
You might think this is a fine time to talk about planting dormant bulbs, when they are just coming into bloom, but as with everything nowadays, you can have tulips when you want them. They are sold in pots, rather like point-of-lay pullets, while in fat bud, which means that you can take them home and plant them either directly into the ground or into a large patio pot, tub or trough so that they will flower within a couple of weeks. Unlike daffodils, tulips are generally dug up after their flowers fade, and the bulbs laid out on a sheet of newspaper and dried off in a shed or garage to be stored for planting the following autumn. Each single bulb will have given rise to a cluster, the largest of which should flower next year, while the others will need to be grown on for a year or two until they reach flowering size.
Most folk don’t bother to keep the smaller ones, and many don’t keep any at all, preferring to plant new varieties each year.
However, some tulip varieties will come up year after year and flower well if they are planted 8in or 9in deep in the garden.
As for daffodils and narcissi, which are now past their best, you should leave them where they are, sprinkle blood, bone and fishmeal around them, and don’t cut their leaves off until six weeks after flowering.
That way the bulbs will be well fed for next year’s display.
‘‘ Some come up year after year if bulbs are planted 8 to 9ins deep