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How to plan and successfully grow your tulip garden.
Written by: Rob Young
Every spring if you walk down past your neighbor's gardens for a
stroll in the park, what do you inevitably see, both in the
gardens and the park... beautiful displays of tulips. Gardens
full of delight!
Tulip gardens are easy to create because apart their stunning
beauty they are readily available, cheap and have a wide range
of colors and forms. Most garden outlets and bulb catalogs sell
the large-flowered garden tulips in packets of mixed colors
according to group or in packets of named individual varieties.
The large-flowered garden tulips are just made for use as
bedding plants - they combine really well with forget-me-nots
and wallflowers. They also can be used to great effect planted
in scattered clumps among perennials or other bulbs. The smaller
species tulips have a less choice of colors than the garden
tulips, but they have a more delicate form and are ideal for
rockeries and container gardens, or the front of borders.
The requirements for successfully growing tulips are: *
choosing large healthy looking bulbs * have well drained
alkaline soil * plant in a sunny spot
The soil must be well drained and preferably alkaline; if it's
acid apply lime just before planting. Now's also the time to add
a fertilizer which releases it's nutrients steadily to the soil
and provide long lasting feed for the bulbs.
The bulbs of garden tulips and the Fosteriana and Greigii
hybrids are best used as bedding plants or as group plantings in
borders. Plant in early winter-if they're put in the ground any
sooner any early growth could get frost damage. Dead-head as the
first petals fall, leaving the stems and leaves intact to feed
the bulb. It's best to lift the bulbs when the leaves start
turning yellow, but if the site is needed for summer bedding,
lift the tulips earlier, replant them in a spare corner, and
lift again when the leaves have died down. Place the plants in
shallow boxes and store in a dry shed.
Plant the bulbs of species and Kaufmanniana hybrid tulips in
early winter, in well-drained soil in a south-facing position,
sheltered from strong winds. After flowering, remove the leaves
and stems as they die. Leave the bulbs in the ground and keep
the area free of weeds.
Basically that's it...just remember the main 3 points * choose
large healthy looking bulbs * have well drained alkaline soil *
plant in a sunny spot
and lift and store all bulbs except the species and Kaufmanniana
hybrids.
In spring you'll be pleasantly surprised at the colorful show
they provide for such little work and moreover you'll have
created a beautiful tulip garden of your own. You can find more
detailed information about planting your tulip garden at
http://www.elegant-tulip-bulbs.com/tulip-garden.html
About the author:
Webmaster of www.elegant-tulip-bulbs.com.
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