Hello, new here and question about Tulips
 

On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 11:09:01 -0800, mtostenrude wrote:


Hello, I have been looking for some information on Tulip planting. Last
summer, we pulled up all of our gardens for re-landscaping-I wasn't happy
with what the builder had had done and we changed it all to be very
lovely. I had fully intended to replant the tulip bulbs in the fall and
then got very ill and was unable to do so. By the time I was on my feet
again it was December and a little too cold up here in Washington-not to
mention the rain. Anyways, my question is, can I start the bulbs inside,
or plant them and have them still bloom this year? If not, then I will
plant something different for this year so that I at least have my color
in my garden, I just really love my tulips, seeing them pop up always
tells me that Spring has arrived.


You're not the first to do this.

You didn't indicate where you live or whether the bulbs have begun to
sprout. How were they stored?

Tulips require a cold period to bloom.

What we recommended to a neighbor who had sprouting bulbs stored in her
basement is thus:

Using cardboard boxes, put a few inches of potting soil in the bottom.
Place the bulbs on top of that layer of soil and at the recommended
spacing. Then cover with 6" of soil. Set outdoors and mulch with snow,
if you have any. Let the bulbs do their thing and then once the leaves
die back, dig them up and store until late September or early October and
replant. You may get some blooms this year but you should have more next.

Hello, new here and question about Tulips
 

On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 11:09:01 -0800, mtostenrude wrote:


Hello, I have been looking for some information on Tulip planting. Last
summer, we pulled up all of our gardens for re-landscaping-I wasn't happy
with what the builder had had done and we changed it all to be very
lovely. I had fully intended to replant the tulip bulbs in the fall and
then got very ill and was unable to do so. By the time I was on my feet
again it was December and a little too cold up here in Washington-not to
mention the rain. Anyways, my question is, can I start the bulbs inside,
or plant them and have them still bloom this year? If not, then I will
plant something different for this year so that I at least have my color
in my garden, I just really love my tulips, seeing them pop up always
tells me that Spring has arrived.


You're not the first to do this.

You didn't indicate where you live or whether the bulbs have begun to
sprout. How were they stored?

Tulips require a cold period to bloom.

What we recommended to a neighbor who had sprouting bulbs stored in her
basement is thus:

Using cardboard boxes, put a few inches of potting soil in the bottom.
Place the bulbs on top of that layer of soil and at the recommended
spacing. Then cover with 6" of soil. Set outdoors and mulch with snow,
if you have any. Let the bulbs do their thing and then once the leaves
die back, dig them up and store until late September or early October and
replant. You may get some blooms this year but you should have more next.

Hello, new here and question about Tulips
 

"mtostenrude" wrote in message
...

Hello, I have been looking for some information on Tulip planting. Last
summer, we pulled up all of our gardens for re-landscaping-I wasn't happy
with what the builder had had done and we changed it all to be very
lovely.
I had fully intended to replant the tulip bulbs in the fall and then got
very ill and was unable to do so. By the time I was on my feet again it
was
December and a little too cold up here in Washington-not to mention the
rain. Anyways, my question is, can I start the bulbs inside, or plant
them
and have them still bloom this year? If not, then I will plant something
different for this year so that I at least have my color in my garden, I
just really love my tulips, seeing them pop up always tells me that Spring
has arrived.

--
Misty T.

Hello Misty, welcome to rec.gardens. First and foremost, it's nice to see
a new face over the garden fence smiling back at the rest of us. Are we
speaking of Washington state or D.C.? You can start the tulips inside but
focing them will only give you some spring relief. Planting the pots into
the soil after they bloom will set them back a bit for next spring, and
there are always some tulips that return weaker despite our best efforts. If
you MUST have some tulips, now is the time to search out the forced pots at
grocery stores, Walmarts, Home Depot and Lowes as they're coming in by the
truckload. Not a wild assortment or variety, you can still get a bit of
spring satisfaction and later when they're spent, you can plug them in your
garden too.

I'd look into Dutch Garden's variety of tulips in their late summer release
of their fall catalog and see what they recommend for reliable returns and
invest in a few of those when fall tulips become available. Also invest in
some true perennial spring bulbs....Pushkinnia, Squill, Crocus, Wind
flowers, both the anemone and De Caine varieties. Aconite is a nice golden
early spring bulbil. Little alliums and narcissus in all sorts of sizes and
timings are nice and welcome springtime. Don't forget the woods hyacinths,
trout lilies, Cammasia's for late summer blue's, little Frittleria's for
hot, sunny spots where you can sit and admire their delicate flowers that
are petite. (the little checkered ones are so cute!)

The list is immense and long. But you get my drift. If you want late winter
flowers, go ahead and start some bulbs for the house if you have some. I
always put my bulbs in the fridge drawer for chilling (no fresh fruit in
there as the gas kills the blossom!) Then you can plant them after they've
given you smiles into your new gardens. They'll return a bit later next
year but most will return for you never the less. Good luck in your
endeavors and again, welcome to the newsgroup! Keep us informed to how your
garden is doing. It's always nice to hear from someone else.

madgardener, up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking English
Mountain in Eastern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36

Hello, new here and question about Tulips
 

In article , "madgardener" wrote:

I'd look into Dutch Garden's variety of tulips in their late summer release
of their fall catalog and see what they recommend for reliable returns and
invest in a few of those when fall tulips become available. Also invest in
some true perennial spring bulbs....Pushkinnia, Squill, Crocus, Wind
flowers, both the anemone and De Caine varieties. Aconite is a nice golden
early spring bulbil. Little alliums and narcissus in all sorts of sizes and
timings are nice and welcome springtime. Don't forget the woods hyacinths,
trout lilies, Cammasia's for late summer blue's, little Frittleria's for
hot, sunny spots where you can sit and admire their delicate flowers that
are petite. (the little checkered ones are so cute!)

The list is immense and long. But you get my drift.

Pun! Pun!

If you want late winter
flowers, go ahead and start some bulbs for the house if you have some. I
always put my bulbs in the fridge drawer for chilling (no fresh fruit in
there as the gas kills the blossom!) Then you can plant them after they've
given you smiles into your new gardens. They'll return a bit later next
year but most will return for you never the less. Good luck in your
endeavors and again, welcome to the newsgroup! Keep us informed to how your
garden is doing. It's always nice to hear from someone else.

madgardener, up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking English
Mountain in Eastern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

Hello, new here and question about Tulips
 

In article , "madgardener" wrote:

I'd look into Dutch Garden's variety of tulips in their late summer release
of their fall catalog and see what they recommend for reliable returns and
invest in a few of those when fall tulips become available. Also invest in
some true perennial spring bulbs....Pushkinnia, Squill, Crocus, Wind
flowers, both the anemone and De Caine varieties. Aconite is a nice golden
early spring bulbil. Little alliums and narcissus in all sorts of sizes and
timings are nice and welcome springtime. Don't forget the woods hyacinths,
trout lilies, Cammasia's for late summer blue's, little Frittleria's for
hot, sunny spots where you can sit and admire their delicate flowers that
are petite. (the little checkered ones are so cute!)

The list is immense and long. But you get my drift.

Pun! Pun!

If you want late winter
flowers, go ahead and start some bulbs for the house if you have some. I
always put my bulbs in the fridge drawer for chilling (no fresh fruit in
there as the gas kills the blossom!) Then you can plant them after they've
given you smiles into your new gardens. They'll return a bit later next
year but most will return for you never the less. Good luck in your
endeavors and again, welcome to the newsgroup! Keep us informed to how your
garden is doing. It's always nice to hear from someone else.

madgardener, up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking English
Mountain in Eastern Tennessee zone 7, Sunset zone 36

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

Hello, new here and question about Tulips
 

I am about an hour north of Seattle. They have been stored in my cold
garage all winter on a newspaper lined shelf. They are not sprouting at
this time. Thanks for the tip.

--
Misty T.

"WiGard" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 11:09:01 -0800, mtostenrude wrote:


Hello, I have been looking for some information on Tulip planting. Last
summer, we pulled up all of our gardens for re-landscaping-I wasn't
happy
with what the builder had had done and we changed it all to be very
lovely. I had fully intended to replant the tulip bulbs in the fall and
then got very ill and was unable to do so. By the time I was on my feet
again it was December and a little too cold up here in Washington-not to
mention the rain. Anyways, my question is, can I start the bulbs
inside,
or plant them and have them still bloom this year? If not, then I will
plant something different for this year so that I at least have my color
in my garden, I just really love my tulips, seeing them pop up always
tells me that Spring has arrived.


You're not the first to do this.

You didn't indicate where you live or whether the bulbs have begun to
sprout. How were they stored?

Tulips require a cold period to bloom.

What we recommended to a neighbor who had sprouting bulbs stored in her
basement is thus:

Using cardboard boxes, put a few inches of potting soil in the bottom.
Place the bulbs on top of that layer of soil and at the recommended
spacing. Then cover with 6" of soil. Set outdoors and mulch with snow,
if you have any. Let the bulbs do their thing and then once the leaves
die back, dig them up and store until late September or early October and
replant. You may get some blooms this year but you should have more next.

Hello, new here and question about Tulips
 

I am about an hour north of Seattle. They have been stored in my cold
garage all winter on a newspaper lined shelf. They are not sprouting at
this time. Thanks for the tip.

--
Misty T.

"WiGard" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 11:09:01 -0800, mtostenrude wrote:


Hello, I have been looking for some information on Tulip planting. Last
summer, we pulled up all of our gardens for re-landscaping-I wasn't
happy
with what the builder had had done and we changed it all to be very
lovely. I had fully intended to replant the tulip bulbs in the fall and
then got very ill and was unable to do so. By the time I was on my feet
again it was December and a little too cold up here in Washington-not to
mention the rain. Anyways, my question is, can I start the bulbs
inside,
or plant them and have them still bloom this year? If not, then I will
plant something different for this year so that I at least have my color
in my garden, I just really love my tulips, seeing them pop up always
tells me that Spring has arrived.


You're not the first to do this.

You didn't indicate where you live or whether the bulbs have begun to
sprout. How were they stored?

Tulips require a cold period to bloom.

What we recommended to a neighbor who had sprouting bulbs stored in her
basement is thus:

Using cardboard boxes, put a few inches of potting soil in the bottom.
Place the bulbs on top of that layer of soil and at the recommended
spacing. Then cover with 6" of soil. Set outdoors and mulch with snow,
if you have any. Let the bulbs do their thing and then once the leaves
die back, dig them up and store until late September or early October and
replant. You may get some blooms this year but you should have more next.

Hello, new here and question about Tulips
 

Thank you very much for replying back to me on this Pam. I was very
frustrated when I realized that I had not gotten the bulbs back in the
ground last fall. And it is definitely a beautiful day today to be working
in the yard.

--
Misty T.

"Pam - gardengal" wrote in message
news:ortZb.24224$Xp.104220@attbi_s54...

"mtostenrude" wrote in message
...

Hello, I have been looking for some information on Tulip planting. Last
summer, we pulled up all of our gardens for re-landscaping-I wasn't
happy
with what the builder had had done and we changed it all to be very
lovely.
I had fully intended to replant the tulip bulbs in the fall and then got
very ill and was unable to do so. By the time I was on my feet again it
was
December and a little too cold up here in Washington-not to mention the
rain. Anyways, my question is, can I start the bulbs inside, or plant
them
and have them still bloom this year? If not, then I will plant
something
different for this year so that I at least have my color in my garden, I
just really love my tulips, seeing them pop up always tells me that
Spring
has arrived.

--
Misty T.

Hello Misty

I live pretty close to you and understand our growing situation, which
tends
to be not very similar to most of the rest of the country. You have a
couple
of options, but first let me say that you are ahead of the game by storing
your bulbs in a cool, even cold, dry location. They have experienced a
sufficient winter chill period and should be ready to go. However, they
need
time in the ground or soil to develop roots from the bulbs, sprout and
bloom. You can plant them in pots or containers now and set them out into
the garden OR you can plant them in the soil directly.

At this late date, it is very likely you will not get the same volume of
flowers that you would had they been planted in the fall, but you will
most
probably get some, but late flowers. And hybrid tulips tend not to be
reliable perennializers - they weaken in time and eventually disappear so
reusing existing bulbs will never result in the same full flush of flowers
you get from planting new bulbs each season.

You have nothing to lose by planting now and could still get some very
satisfactory results. I'd certainly include some bulb fertilizer in the
planting area or container, but don't overdo and mix it into the soil
well -
direct contact with straight fertilizer, even organic ones like bone meal,
can burn tender roots.

pam - gardengal
Shoreline