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New to tulips - didn't realize they were not perrenial!
Frogleg wrote: On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 14:04:10 -0400, Pelvis Popcan wrote: I was surprised to learn that tulip bulbs split apart and form small bulbs that usually don't flower the following year. I was planning on planting a bed of tulips this fall, but I'm not sure now knowing that I will have to replant them every year. I know that there are perennial tulips, which are gigantic 5-6" bulbs that don't split for several years, but I really wanted some more unique colors that aren't available as perennial tulips. My experience has been that while some tulips re-bloom for a year or possibly 2, they mostly disappear. Not at all like daffodils, which reliably multiply in place. Every year, I have *leaves* coming up, usually only 1 or 2, but not blooms. I never paid attention to whether they were advertised as perennial or not, and just chose from the pretty pictures. :-) Zone 7b. It also begs the questions - how are tulip bulbs produced for sale in the first place? Very good question. Hope someone knows the answer. Tulips common to our gardens in the present time are very highly hybridized from the species that was their parentage. That combined with the fact that most gardens do not provide conditions ideal for their long term viability is why they appear to be less perennial in their culture than we would like. The secret to successful perennializing is exceptional drainage, virtually no summer moisture, and sufficient cold periods through the winter. Species tulips are reliably perennial, the hybrids much less so, although I have some that have continued to produce for at least 10 years now, although their strength and numbers fade each season. I live in one of the largest tulip bulb producing areas of the world - we actually generate more tulip bulbs in the Skagit Valley of Washington State than are grown in Holland. Heck, we even ship 'em to Holland! The bulbs are dug each year after the foliage dies back, are sorted by size and age, kept in dry storage over the summer and are replanted (by machine - we are talking 100's of acres here) each fall. Bulbs that are harvested for sale are three to five years old, so those little baby bulbs you find if you dig up your own tulips do indeed mature to full size, flower producing bulbs PROVIDED they get the right conditions and care. Unlike narcissus, tulip bulbs do not split (or shouldn't - if they split you have damaged them in digging) or produce multiple "noses"- they do produce offsets or baby bulbs each year which is what is grown on by the growers to produce full size bulbs. pam - gardengal |
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