Bulbs: Three questions about bulbs..., 1 by tabasco

tabasco wrote:

Dear TNTTulip--

Let's see--where to begin?

(1) If you aren't too picky about the kind/color of tulips (for instance a nice red one or a tried and true hybrid) you can buy them at good prices at your garden center's end of season sales. (And don't cringe--even Home Depot or Lowes--if you check the bags carefully for good quality.) There are some nice bulbs on the racks at garden centers from distributors like Langeveld's, etc., if you shop around.

If you have to have exactly certain kind of tulip then VanEngelen's is a pretty good source for big quantities at good prices. I buy lots of bulbs from VanEngelen.. Most tulips will only bloom nicely for one year. I treat them as annuals here and yank their foliage when they are finished. Tulips are 'deer candy'.

I have never purchased big quantities of bulbs from White Flower Farms--only up to 50 of a kind, and while I think WFF has a good bulb supplier I find them quite pricey for what you get.

(2) Typically daffs bloom before tulips. Hyacinths can bloom with daffs and are generally on the early-mid spring bloom schedule. You can get some daffs to bloom with tulips depending on variety bloom times. Depending on the variety you can purchase daffs that bloom from March until May. Tulips generally bloom during May but can bloom earlier. (I'm always quoting the timetable for around our area-- Zone 6a)

Muscari (little blue bulbs easy to grow and critter resistant) are typical companion bulbs for tulips. To get various bulb bloom times to coincide for tulips and daffs and other companion bulbs you will want to study and look for suggestions in the fine print of a good bulb catalog (Brent & Becky or Scheepers) or go by trial and error.

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_bulbs_seeds_planting/article/0,1...

Also, did you look at Colorblends site? They have lots of companion bulb pairings to offer and offer nice quality bulbs.

(3)Daylilies are perennial garden plants and aren't grown from bulbs. They generally bloom in June until late summer depending on the cultivar. To learn more about them go to the Daylily forum. They are a favorite for gardens because they are pretty dependable and easy to grow. Often people plant them in the same bed as daffodils to disguise the aging daff foliage in late spring.

True lilies are the aristocracy of the garden and are surpisingly easy to grow--at least I was surprised! Check out the Lily forum for more info on them. They are grown from Bulbs planted in the Fall or even in the Springtime. They start blooming in late June and continue into August (around here, at least) depending on the type. The wild critters like to eat both the bulbs and the lilies so gardeners have to beware of that issue. There is a lot to learn about the different Lily groups but don't be intimidated. They are not that difficult and someone on the Lily forum will be glad to advise.

Oftentimes container gardeners plant different bulbs in layers (I do) and I think if you google 'bulbs layers' something like that you will get more complete answers to that.

http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/spring-bulbs.html

Have fun designing your garden! We will want to see pictures next spring! t.