Planting Tulips

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Planting Tulips

Tulips are bulbous plants which are na-tives of the Old World, where they occur in anarea extending from the Mediterranean regionto Japan. There are some 60 species and sev-eral thousand horticultural forms. They aredoubtless the most popular bulbous gardenplants.

Species Tulips: These tulips have beenderived from wild species, and generally breedtrue from seed. Species tulips, also known asbotanical tulips, are not generally grown inquantity as are the garden tulips. Most areearly flowering and prefer a dry, sunny loca-tion. They are planted in groups in the borderor rock garden. Among the best species are thedwarf T. dasystemon with violet and yellowflowers; lady tulip (T. Clusiana) with stripedflowers; T. biflora with white and yellow flow-ers; and the many cultivars of T. Fosteriana,including Red Emperor or Madam Lefeberwith bright red flowers, Gold Beater with goldenflowers and Pinkeen with orange flowers.

Garden Tulips: The Turks appear tohave been the first to develop the garden tulip,

Flowers of the breeder tulips appear in May andcan be recognized by their rounded base andsquare-edged sepals and petals.

and they spread them over Europe. Since thenthe Dutch have been the great breeders of tu-lips. Most garden tulips were derived frominnumerable crosses with the species T. Ges-neriana and T. suaveolens, and the thousandsof named forms which have since arisen. Gar-den tulips are divided into groups as follows:

Breeder tulips: These are tall-stemmedtulips which bloom in May. The flowers aredistinctive in that they have a rounded base,while the sepals and petals have square ends.The Dutch varieties have oval or cup-shapedflowers mostly in shades of brown, purple bronze, or red, but the base of the flower iswhite or yellow, and often stained blue, greenor blue black. The English varieties have ball-like flowers, the base of which is yellow orwhite but not stained with any other color.

Cottage tulips: These are tall-stemmed,May-blooming tulips with self-colored, mostlypointed or rounded sepals and petals. The flow-ers in general have a square or somewhatrounded base and pointed or rounded tip.

Darwin tulips: These are the tallest ofthe self-colored May-flowering tulips. Theymay be recognized by the flower which has asomewhat rectangular base, while the sepalsand petals are square-tipped or rounded.

Early tulips: These are the first of thetulips to bloom and follow close behind cro-cuses. They are chiefly dwarf in habit andmay have single or double flowers in a varietyof colors. Typical of the early tulips is the Ducvan Thol.

Griegii tulips: These tulips have mottledor striped leaves and bloom later than mostother types.

Lily-flowered tulips: These are tall-stemmed, May-flowering tulips with the sepalsand petals distinctly long-tipped.

Mendel tulips: These are medium-earlyflowering tulips derived from crossing the Ducvan Thol with the Darwin varieties.

Triumph tulips: These are tall, early-flowering tulips, blooming just after the earlytulips.

Planting and Culture: In selecting tulipsfor the garden, the background must be consid-ered. For instance, a yellow tulip would seemto be an intruder in front of a pink-flowereddogwood or a flowering crab apple tree, butwould be fine near the violet blue racemesof Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda).Matching the flowers of tulips with those of flowering shrubs and trees can be fun.

Tulips seem to be at their best in thegarden growing with other plants, such atpansies, bluebells, forget-me-nots, rock cress.lungwort, Jacob's-ladder, English wallflower_bleeding-heart, doronicum, and the often harshbasket-of-gold. But they may also be planttogether in groups in a bed or border to pro-duce striking color schemes.

The bulbs grow best in well-drained lightloam. The soil should be deep and enriches'with plenty of well-rotted manure or composeto insure good plant growth and large flower,over a period of several years. Fertilizers suc'as bone meal, cow or sheep manure, or corn-post are excellent dressings. The best time plant the bulbs is two to four weeks before the7.737.ind freezes, from 7= 1 to November :ater panting ma7gir"--, m short stems r.:smaller flowers. Tulips will usually do betterand bloom earlier in the sun than in half shade_Large bulbs may be planted deeper than smallones. The ideal depth is from four to six inches_and they should be about four to nine inchesapart. If bulbs are planted too deep, theyweaken as they push through the soil, but ifplanted too shallow, they may be heaved out ofthe soil, or possibly frozen. When setting thebulbs in the soil, give a half twist as thoughscrewing the bulb into the soil; this assures thatthe base of the bulb is in direct contact withthe soil.

Never cut the green leaves at any time:these leaves feed the bulb with new food to bestored for the next season. When the leavesbegin to turn yellowish at the base and have awithered appearance, they can be pulled outeasily from the soil. The bulbs are then moreor less cured and may remain in the groundfor at least two more seasons or even a third ifthe flowers have appeared well the last season_

Pests and Diseases: Tulips are subject tofew diseases. If the blossoms blister withawn or water-soaked spots on the petals,

d if the leaves have greenish spots whichadually increase in size, the plants have fireght. If this disease occurs in your tulips,a off all the blooms and diseased leavesmediately to prevent its spread to the bulb.the fungus has invaded the bulb, place it incompost heap.

Insects such as the green peach or spinachhid and the narcissus bulb fly may attacklips grown in soils of low fertility. Anotherst which attacks tulips grown in depletedils is the millipede. The best remedy is torich the soil with compost and pulverizedck minerals.

Lifting and Storing Bulbs: Lack of flower,elopment is a sign that the bulbs should beted and reset. Lifted bulbs may be reset innew bed immediately, or they may be storedr the fall planting. Tulip bulbs do not usuallylast for years in the ground without specialre. Left in the ground, they may rot during the summer from too much moisture or beten by rodents who love the juicy pulp.

Lifting: The first or second week in Junea good time to remove tulip bulbs from theil. By this time the late Darwins have finishedblooming. If you are too busy at the time, thebulbs may be removed as late as the end ofthe month. But, the sooner the better, as thestems will be firmer, and there will be lesschance of their breaking. Stem and bulb mustremain intact for proper curing.

Use a spade to lift the bulbs from theground. A garden fork does not give the neces-sary protection during the lift. Insert the spadeleast four inches from each tulip stem. Forcethe spade straight down to a depth of six inches.

Then, gently press down upon the handle, push-ing outward, until the ground heaves and theplant moves. Bring the bulb to the surface andcarefully shake it free of dirt, taking care notto snap off the stem. The new bulbs need thenourishment stored in the stem now that theirsoil food supply has been cut off.

Place your stemmed bulbs neatly in a pileuntil all have been taken up. If it is bright andsunny, protect the tender bulbs with a dampsack or heavy paper. Never expose tulip bulbsto the direct rays of the sun.

Hilling in: After your bulbs have beendug and each variety placed upon a separatepile, remove them to a protected part of yourgarden. In a vacant spot, dig a trench long anddeep enough to accommodate all the bulbs.Carefully lay the bulbs in the trench and, beforehilling in, stake or number each variety so youwill know which is which when you lift themlater.

Cover the bulbs with at least six inches ofsoil, but allow the green stems to remain ex-posed to the hot sun. As the sun dries thestalks, the food supply gradually trickles downto the bulbs. There, it is stored for next year'sgrowth.

Removing: ln about a week or two, assoon as the stems have turned yellow, removethe bulbs from the trench. Never allow themto remain hilled in more than three weeks, orthey will rot. Run your fingers through theloose dirt after lifting, to get all the tiny bulbletsthat might have broken off. Spread the bulbsout on a flat surface in a heavy shade to dryfor about an hour. Then continue removingthe bulbs from the stems and casings.

As you begin your work you will noticethat the bulbs are encased in a thick, brownpouch of clothlike fiber. Tear this apart, andremove all bulbs found among the different layers. No bulblet is too small to save. Eventhe tiniest grows to a reasonable size in oneyear. Besides the parent bulb, you will find asmany as four or five bulblets with each stem.These smaller bulbs should be planted sepa-rately in the fall.

When the pouch is completely empty,throw it on a pile with the discarded stems.Later, this can be added to your compost heapor mulching material.

As the bulbs are removed from their cas-ings, it is wise to place them immediately intrays specially built for tulip bulbs. These traysare nothing more than large squares with two-inch-high sides, and bottomed with heavy win-dow screening to prevent the loss of tiny bulb-lets. If you have several different varieties, youmight partition off the squares and save room.Some sort of legs. in the form of one-inchblocks should be nailed under each corner toallow a good circulation of air through themoist bulbs.

Don't forget to tag the trays if you haveseveral varieties of tulips. This informationwill enable you to plant different arrangementsin your beds next fall to create striking coloreffects in spring.

Storing: As soon as you have finishedthis phase of work, take the bulbs indoorsimmediately. Set the filled trays in a warm, dryplace. The attic floor of your home or garageis excellent. Place the trays on the floor indi-vidually. That is, don't pile one on top of theother. And don't worry about the heat con-centrating too heavily over the bulbs during thehot summer. It won't hurt them a bit. Thehotter it is, the drier the air will remain. Tulipbulbs must be kept completely dry to preventrotting.

Roll the bulbs back and forth in the traysseveral times during the first two weeks of

curing to prevent moisture from gatheragamong the bulbs. One turning per week for tefollowing month will finish the job. It is besto allow the bulbs to remain in their tram.until planting time.

If your bulbs are bothered by mice_ besure to set traps or tack another sheet atwindow screening across the tops of the tress.Mice love the taste of tulip bulbs, and can :Nieaway quite a few by fall.

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