Saturday, August 16, 2008

All Tulips Are Not Created Equal



Did you know that most Tulips are considered annuals?

Well of course you did. I'm the only one who considered them
as perennials which are suppose to bloom every Spring.
Like most gardeners at this time of the year, we are receiving
loads of Fall catalogs with an array of bulbs and plants that can
be planted this Fall for the coming Spring, when we will all be
searching for a fix to ease that craving for a blast of color,
and are salivating and chomping at the bit to get back out into
the gardens.

I received a catalog from " High Country Gardens " and while
pouring through it came across a page of Tulips. Scanning down
through the listing I see the heading of:
"Not All Tulips Are Created Perennial"



I says to self, "What ?"
Then reading further down it explains:
Most common tulips are annuals and need to be planted each
year. They may come up a second year but the plants and flowers
are weak and half their size.

Well, duh, now I knew why some of the tulips that were on
the property when we purchased it were blooming year
after year, and that many of the newer ones that I planted
would flower one Spring and the next Spring all that I would
get would be Tulip leaves.
When I thought of all the money I
had spent on Tulips bulbs only to have to eventually jerk them
up and toss them, I wanted to kick myself for not reading up
on them. I blamed the soil, the brand bought. I fertilized them
and moved them but nothing helped and now I have learned
it is the type of Tulips that I had bought that was the problem.

So to save that one person who might be out there and assumed
as I did that all Tulips are not to be thought of as perennials
but are to be treated as annuals there is a solution to our
lack of knowledge.
Make your life more colorful and with less work by planting
Perennial Darwin, Fosteriana and wildflower tulips which will
multiply and make a beautiful display each Spring.
Fosteriana tulips grow from 14-16" tall and bloom from early
to mid-spring. They are hardy for zones 3 t0 9.
Darwin hybrid tulips are taller and grow 20-24" tall and
bloom from mid-spring to late spring.They are hardy for
zones 3 to 7.
I am not associated with, nor advertising High Country Gardens
but they do have a large selection of Wildflower tulips (tulipa),
that although are smaller in size have a vigorous naturalizing
habit and are hardy for zones 3 to 9.
To save myself a lot of work and money, from now on I will be
looking for the Fosteriana, Darwin or Wildflower tulip bulbs,
which after knowing what to look for, are sold by many of the
familiar named nurseries and bulb suppliers.
Now my fix for color in the Spring, from my tulips at least,
will not be touched with disappointment by just having the
tulip leaves and no flower blossom.




1 comment:

Beth said...

I assumed the same thing that tulips were perennials!
Although I like tulips, they would be an effort in futility as I have way too many rabbits for tulips to flourish.