What to Expect When You're Expecting
Tulips
Designed by Anya Stucky Information courtesy of Garden Lover's Club and Wikihow Photos from StockSnap and Garden Lover's Club
Index Intro
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Varieties
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Planting
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Caring
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After-Blooming
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Welcome So you're a new tulip parent? Congratulations! You are now the proud parent to beautiful flowers that have made their mark in history all over the world! Tulips are easy to grow, require little care, and come in any color you could possibly dream of. There are an astounding variety of tulips, so many that there are entire flower shows dedicated to them all over the world. This guide will educate you on the basic care and requirement for your tulips. Heed its wisdom and your tulips will grow healthy and beautiful. Happy gardening!
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Varieties
s of Tulips
Tulips Tulips are native to mountainous areas and therefore need a period of cold dormancy, known as vernalization. They are a member of the lily family and currently there are around 75 wild species of tulips and 150 species in total with over 3000 varieties. Today, the Netherlands is the world's main producer of commercially sold tulips, producing as many as 3 billion bulbs annually, mostly for export.
Standard
These can be broken down into subcategories, but these are in-depth terms that we won’t worry about. Most standard tulips have a consistently pure color, except for bi-color tulips which are found in beautiful complementary color combinations.
Double
Instead of the single petal layer seen in standard tulips, this breed displays many layers. You’re likely to hear these referred to by several different names, including peony bloom, but we’re sticking with double bloom because it’s literally descriptive.
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The Varieties Parrot
The name comes from the appearance of ruffled petals with multiple colors, echoing the plumage of a tropical parrot! They grow extra quickly and the blooms tend to be larger, needing strong stems to support the weight of their immense, textural blooms.
Fringed
Quite similar to standard tulips in shape, the edges of the petals are fringed, frilly, and have a ragged, soft appearance. The fringed effect enhances the eye-catching ability of the flower in every diverse color they may be found.
Rembrandt
These tall tulips feature pale colors that are streaked with deep purple or red, and are named for the famous Dutch painter Rembrandt. Originally, these striped beauties were the result of a virus that damaged the bulbs. The original bulbs are no longer sold, but a non viral variety are available.
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Tulips Fosteriana
These tulips were developed from a wild species of tulip found in the mountains of Central Asia, and have a beautiful bloom with huge, wide petals in bold colors. More commonly known as Emperor tulips, they will come back year after year.
Kaufmanniana
These are among the first tulips to flower. They are short with pointed petals, and open almost completely flat on sunny days. When open flat, they resemble water lilies, hence their alternate name, Waterlily. These blooms are among some of the largest, measuring up to 8 inches across.
Lily Flowering
These elegant tulips bloom in late spring, and have long, pointed petals that arch at the tips. From above, they look like six-pointed stars. These beauties aren’t available in many varieties, but their shape makes up for the limited color variety.
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The Varieties Viridiflora
These unique tulips are named for the streak of green that is found somewhere on each petal. These are in direct, dramatic contrast with the basic flower color, shown here in pink. In addition to their beauty, Viridiflora tulips are known for their exceptionally long blooms.
Darwin Hybrids
These crosses between Fosteriana tulips and Darwin Tulips are the tallest tulips available and their huge blooms can measure up to 6 inches in diameter. They are sometimes considered the best tulip for cut flower because of their brilliant colors.
Greigii
These beauties are typically shorter than most other varieties, but the blooms are enormous in proportion to their height. They come in bold colors, tend to open wide in the sunshine. One of the most striking features of these tulips are the striped or spotted leaves.
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Planting y 12
your Tulips 13
Planting
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Bulbs ready for planting.
When to Plant Plant your tulips in the fall, about 6-8 weeks before winter. Tulip bulbs are best planted in October or November in most climates (the warmer your climate, the later they should be planted. The soil should be below 60°F (15°C). You can keep tulip bulbs in your refrigerator (or some other cool, dry location) for about 2 months before planting season if you buy them in summer. However, do not store them next to apples, as they give off ethylene, destroying the bulb. Most bulbs need 12-14 weeks of a “cold period” to bring about beautiful bulbs come spring. Do not buy bulbs after December 1st unless they’ve been “pre-cooled.”
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Planting Choose an area that receives some shade. It should be sunny at least part of the day where you plant your tulips. In places like the American southeast, plant them in a place that gets morning sun only. Tulips want sun, but they also want cool soil – don’t give them sun that will scorch them. If you’re farther north, sun all day may be fine (the soil will be naturally cool enough). But if you live further south where it’s hotter, shade in the afternoon will be better to keep the soil cooler. Choose sandy, well-drained soil with a pH of 6 to 6.5. There is no sub-species of tulip that prefers excessive moisture. The soil should be well-drained, neutral to slightly acidic, fertile, and even sandy. Wet soil is death to a tulip. Never purposefully go out of your way to water your tulips – all you can do is ensure drainage by adding shredded pine bark or even sand to the area.
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Where to Plant
Getting the soil ready to plant.
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Planting
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Happy little bulbs in their new homes.
How to Plant Plant the bulbs at a depth that is about 3 times as deep as the bulb. It should be at least 8 inches (20.3 cm) deep. Loosen the soil to ensure drainage or create a raised bed. Plant bulbs 6 inches (15.2 cm) or more from each other, pointy end up. They need this space to grow sufficiently, otherwise they encroach on each other’s nutrients. Fill the hole back with soil and press the dirt into place firmly. If you have rodents or animals in your garden that you're worried about, you may need to erect a cage or fence around the bulbs. After planting your tulip bulbs, cover them with chopped leaves, wood chips or mulch. Use a 1-to-2-inch layer of mulch, leaves, or wood chips to protect the bulbs, control weeds and retain moisture. If you’re planting perennials, you’ll need to feed them every year to start them going again. You can use organic material, compost, or a balanced time-release bulb food every fall to start the process going.
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Caring for y
your Tulips
Caring Water your tulips once planted. Right after planting, the tulips actually need watering to trigger growth. This will likely be one of the few times you actually have to water them. Do not water them again until you see leaves. Then, you can give them a light sprinkling and that’s it. Only water developing tulips during a dry spell. This will be one of the rare occasions when you should step in and get some moisture into the soil. Tulips often need less water during the spring due to lots of rain and moisture. Most of the time, the weather will take care of this plant for you. Normal rainfall is all they need. Do not allow your tulips to remain in standing water. If there has been an excess of rain in your area, drain out any extra water from the area if you can. If you notice that the area you planted your tulips in collects water, you’ll likely be better off moving the plant to a drier area. Dig them up taking the surrounding soil with you and find an area that rain falls on, but can drain out of.
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Watering
Take care not to over-water.
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Caring
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Fertilizing done right leads to beautiful blooms.
Fertilizing Fertilize your tulips once at the beginning of fall and once in the beginning of spring for continuous growth. A balanced liquid fertilizer works well about 3-4 weeks after planting. This is especially important for perennials. Sprinkle or pour about one tablespoon of flower or plant fertilizer around each plant. This will last them for their entire “hibernation� period in the winter. Tulips are great at storing nutrients for long periods of time. Did you forget to fertilize in the fall? You can use a fast-release nitrogen fertilizer on developing leaves. Tulips are pretty easy in the scheme of things. If you’re dealing with annuals, they may not need fertilizer at all. In the right climate, you can plant your tulip and essentially forget about it, no watering or fertilization necessary.
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After-Bloo 26
oming Care 27
After-Blooming Care Check for blights and diseases. Blight (or Tulip Fire) creates brown specks on the leaves and turns the flower grey in color. If any of your bulbs are diseased, dig them up and throw them away to prevent it spreading to other tulips. If only part of the plant is damaged, cut it off to see if you can salvage the plant. The only thing you can do to prevent disease is to adequately care for your tulips. You can only make sure they get a small amount of moisture, a little bit of shade, and are planted in decent, slightly acidic soil. Aphids can be a problem, but they’re easily handled with water spray.
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Check for Disease
Blights on tulip leaves.
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After-Blooming Care
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A beautiful Fosteriana bloom.
Perennials vs Annuals After flowering, deadhead your tulips. Tulips produce seeds once they begin to wilt, and these seeds weaken the bulb, making it unattractive. Take shears and cut off the flower head from the stem once it’s fully spent. Leave most of the stem in place for about six weeks or until the foliage starts to yellow. Shear off the leaves at ground level and dispose of the spent plant matter once the six weeks is up. Mark the location, if desired, so you can find the bulbs later. If you have annuals, dig up the bulb, too. Annuals' entire life takes place over the course of one year, so they won’t be coming back. Once all the tulips have bloomed and died, dispose of the entire plant from bulb to tip. If you have perennials, leave the bulb in the ground. You may find that next year you have another crop of beautiful tulips (you may also have too many – tulips reproduce quickly).
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