Basic Facts, Growing Instructions on Flowers: Tulips

Gardeners know spring has arrived when tulips begin showing their brilliant colors. The federal plant database classifies the flowering plant as a vascular plant, seed plant, and member of the lily family, classifications that all varieties of the flowering plant categorize under. To differentiate the tulip varieties and learn how to best care for them, gardeners should observe the bloom shapes and notice which months the plants bud.

Appearance of Tulips

As recorded in the National Gardening Association article titled ‚”Tulip,” the flower stems reach heights of 6 inches to over 24 inches and bloom in a wide range of colors, including red, white, pink, maroon, salmon, and apricot. The assorted bloom shapes, described as ruffled, lily-shaped, fringed, or doubled, distinguish the many tulip varieties.

Temperatures influence the appearance of tulips, as well. For example, a tulip variety that averages 30 inches in height may only reach 20 inches when planted in a warm region. The warm climate also shortens bloom lives, indicating tulips exhibit their beauty for longer periods in cooler regions.

Planting Tulips: Time and Place

In regard to optimum growing conditions and bloom lifespans, when and where gardeners plant tulips is significant. Journalist Michael MacCaskey verifies, in his ‚”Getting Started With Tulips” article, tulips grow strongest and bloom brightest after a cold freeze, making them ideal for northern areas. The flowers also grow well in southern areas, but the bloom lifespan is considerably shorter.

Specifically, gardeners plant tulip bulbs when the soil is below 60°F, about two months before the ground freezes over. This indicates, in the North, gardeners plant bulbs in September or October and, in the South, gardeners plant them in November or December.

Planting Tulips: Procedure

To plant the bulbs, gardeners choose a well-drained spot in their flower patch with access to full sunlight. Then they need to till the soil, digging down to around two or three times the bulb’s height, so the roots have room to grow. Gardeners then add a low-nitrogen fertilizer, insert the bulbs, and tightly compress about four inches of soil on top of the bulbs. This procedure protects them during the harsh winters and enables growth in the spring.

Tulip bulbs should be planted within four to six inches of each other, to prevent the roots from interlinking in a way to impede growth. When placed in the ground, the pointed ends of the bulbs face the sky. Inserting all bulbs in this matter ensures all tulips grow to the same height.

Caring for Tulips: Before Leaves Emerge

Immediately after planting, gardeners water the soil thoroughly. The one watering tulip bulbs receive to help them establish strong roots before they become inaccessible, due to the winter frost. In the case of dry fall seasons, gardeners must take care to keep the soil moist.

To protect bulbs from voles and mice, gardeners use a number of different safety measures. Some roll the bulbs in cayenne pepper. Others scatter some loose gravel bits around each bulb. Yet, the most effective way to stop pests is to plant the bulbs in wire baskets and cover them with netting.

Caring for Tulips: After Blooms Fade

After the plants flower and the blooms fade, gardeners cut back the stems but allow the leaves to wither naturally. New leaves develop from the withered leaves and prepare for the next set of bulbs. To help tulips maintain nutrients, gardeners apply fertilizer once a year.

If gardeners decide they do not want tulips in their flower patches the following year, they pull out the plants during full bloom. Also, they may pull out some tulips after a few years to plant new bulbs. For, while smaller varieties naturally multiply and spread, the larger varieties only live a few seasons before disappearing.

Tulip Varieties

Gardeners who wish to see and smell tulips throughout spring plant several varieties, which blossom during separate times in the season. Showwinners and Stresas bloom early, immediately following winter frosts. Varieties that bloom midseason include Burning Hearts, Esthers, Golden Parades, and Negritas. Succeeding these exquisite displays are Grand Styles, Mentons, and Black Parrots, the late bloomers.

Where to Purchase Tulips

Mail-order suppliers and garden centers sell many, if not all, tulip varieties to gardeners. Holland has a reputation for selling quality bulbs, as a result of the closely observed exportation laws. All the same, only gardeners willing to do the hard work can truly appreciate the beauty tulips bring to flower patches.

Further Reading:

Calla Lilies

Cymbidium Orchids

Prides-of-Barbados

Sources:

Michael MacCaskey, ‚”Getting Started With Tulips,” National Gardening Association, accessed January 6, 2011.

National Gardening Association, eds., ‚”Tulip,” National Gardening Association, accessed January 6, 2011.

‚”Tulip,” United States Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conversation Service, accessed January 6, 2011.