For Spring Color It’s Tulips

Want something spectacular, foolproof to grow, nearly indestructible and possessing practically every imaginable color - some boldly brilliant, others lovely and subtle? Want something to take your breath away after the gray mud of winter? Then grow tulips.

A tulip bulb is a whole plant - flower, leaves, stem and roots - all condensed into a structure which protects these wonderful potentialities so thoroughly that it is almost impossible to keep it from blooming. What other capsule packs such a wonderful explosion?

Buy top grade bulbs and plant them in September or October. Or if you are a procrastinating gardener, you can still get by with planting them in November and December. Although early planting is recommended, the quality of bloom doesn’t seem to be harmed if planted late.

One Ohio gardener (the close friend) planted several dozen bulbs in October. About 40 bulbs were left in the workshop where they withered slightly until exactly one week before Christmas when they were finally planted. The results - no difference between the flowers of the two batches. The October-planted bulbs came up first in the spring, but the second group soon caught up with them and both bloomed at the same time.

Possibly in very cold regions earlier planting, which encourages the early development of roots, may increase the resistance of the bulb to low temperatures. But even in very cold regions where sufficient snow cover exists, considerable root growth is made during winter.

Cover the bulbs with about six inches of soil. Tulips naturally do better in good soil, but more important than richness of the soil is good drainage.

For Longest Bloom

In areas having short spring seasons (mid-America seems to be especially endowed with them) the main-season tulips are best. They are able to stand up against violent rain storms, hot sun in the morning and sleet in the afternoon of the same day, as well as high winds which seem to be more and more a part of mid-America spring weather. Unfortunately the early singles, the early doubles, and the “water-lily” tulips are not so sturdy and their beauty lasts but a very short while.

Where the early sorts give only a day or two of really good quality bloom, the later types will stand up well for three weeks, and if they are shaded by high-branched trees in the
afternoon when the sun is hottest, a few more colorful days may be gained.

For Best Effect

Where to plant tulips? In small clusters they are wonderful and invite intimate inspection. In large solid plantings they excite even a viewer who is usually only mildly aware of color. A dozen or two close by the front door say “hello” in a most gracious manner. Group them in pleasing color combination among perennials in a border or in front of a mass of shrubs. Stand at the kitchen sink and look out of the window above it… surely there is a spot in sight where the color of tulips can ease the task of dishwashing come spring.

If you really want to splurge, a bed of tulips planted solidly to one or two colors will give a million-dollar effect. This manner of planting is especially suited to contemporary houses and gardens which usually have rather extensive paved areas in the garden. Often a square, rectangular, circular or flowing free form bed is cut into the paved area and this needs solid planting. If it can be enjoyed from indoors as well (the great advantage of modern architecture) extra dividends are reaped. And if a particular color is outstanding in your living room, why not grow a variety of that color for indoor arrangements?

Selecting Kinds

When selecting tulip varieties, consider carefully the place where they are to be planted. The color of a wall, fence, near-by tree or shrub or the perennials which bloom at the same time… make the most of these and the tulips by selecting colors carefully. Tulips are especially beautiful if they are silhouetted against a background material, either man-made or living. The pink and red combination is particularly lovely against a gray-shingled wall or the soft terra cotta of some brick. Orange and the clean lemon colors are vibrant against a redwood wall or fence.

Against a rich green yew hedge, crimson, clean yellow, or the sophistication of a stately white is startling. If one is lucky enough to have a gray painted house accented with a turquoise front door, a half dozen soft lavender blues would greet every visitor in an unforgettable manner.

It would be easy to go on and on naming tulip color combinations but the best way to learn about tulip colors is to see many varieties in bloom, study them carefully and take notes on combinations which appeal to you. Don’t be afraid to experiment with color combinations, but avoid hodgepodge mixtures.

Care After Blooming

After the tulips have bloomed, cut off the old flower to prevent seed formation. If the flower stem is cut off just above the topmost leaf, the plant will not be too unattractive. Encourage top growth by keeping the soil moist and by sprinkling a complete fertilizer around the plants when they are first coming up in early spring. Remember that the leaves, as long as they are green, are food factories. With the help of sunlight they are producing sugars and starches which are stored in the bulb to nourish next year’s flower. The longer they remain green, the more food will be produced and the better will be the flower. This is a simple but very important factor in the culture of all bulbs. It is easy to understand what happens if all of the stem and leaves are removed… the factory is destroyed.

While we see tulip growth only for a very short part of the year, the flower bud develops continually within the newly formed bulb for a whole year before it finally becomes a flower, so every bit of the manufactured food is needed. It is permissible to cut a few tulips for use indoors, but always cut above at least the bottom two leaves. If an arrangement is planned before cutting, it is often not necessary to cut off any foliage at all for the flowers which will be used low in the arrangement. It makes little sense to cut a long tulip stem in the garden and throw away most of what has been cut when arranging the flowers indoors.

For a really good display of tulips, don’t plan on keeping the bulbs forever. Plant a few new bulbs each year and leave them in the ground for three years; then pull them up and throw them away. It is hardly worth the effort required to nurse along very old bulbs when second rate flowers are the best you can hope for, yet somehow it is easy to get into a habit of gardening with bulbs “from grandma’s garden.” How many of us are driving “grandma’s” horse and buggy?

by B Lees

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