My Bed of Tulips II

Leawood: Yep, I see the little green tips! How exciting for you and for us. I have some green tips pushing through, too, but not on the grand scale that you have. I'll enjoy your photos as they grow and bloom!

Other Angie

Leawood, when you dug the tulips to move them, how did the bulbs look? Do you think you'll have a pretty good survival rate? I can't wait to see how they do on the "rebloom" planting!

Here's how they looked when I dug them. I cut off the leaves and put them in plastic crates in my cool, dark basement for the summer. I replanted the largest bulbs in the fall (late September, I think) in this bed.

Something profound about that picture. . .I love the dirty hands, and the bulbs that have multiplied. It almost looks like a visual fable, if that makes sense. LOL Guess I must be feeling philosophical tonight. Looking forward to seeing the results!

Angie

I see them starting to poke their heads up, yes spring is almost here. Dont forget to change your clocks over the weekend :>)
Christine

After a couple of days in the 50's, the bulbs in this bed have started to emerge. Hopefully, these are Mrs. John Scheepers, yellow May-flowering tulips.

Today we're having a cold drizzle, but this is the kind of weather that really makes things grow. My poor boxwood hedge got some winter-burn on the tips, but hopefully, the plants are OK.

This message was edited Mar 13, 2010 2:54 PM

You're only half a zone warmer than me (5a) but it looks like your tulips are a lot farther along! Looking forward to Spring even more than usual this year!

Angie

Last year we had a perfect spring - long, cool and moist. I hope we're that lucky again this year!

LeawoodGardener, I am so looking for to your mass of Mrs.John Scheepers yellow tulips, though I did love Maureen too, which has returned nicely for me for several years. I have not planted the Scheeper one, yet! Patti

The Maureen I dug up last year were re-planted in this bed last September - they are already up too and look like they might do something.

I am sure your Maureen bulbs will bloom fine, as you did exacting what is recommended except to cut the flower heads off as soon as they bloom to prevent the bulb wasting it's energy on the flower. But who could do that except a commercial grower? I am too lazy to dig any of our tulips to store, plus my bulbs are all planted in the perennial beds so it would be nearly impossible. Patti

Leawood,

It will be exciting to see how your bed turns out this year. What kind of return do you get with tulips however if you leave them in the ground. Do you have to dig them up?

Steve, I guess it's a function of the variety of tulip and the location it's planted that determines whether they will return or not. At my last house there was a border of simple red tulips along the driveway when I bought the house. The first spring I thought, "I don't want those there, so I'll just cut them off when they bloom. I'll have a few tulips in a vase and the next year, they won't come back."

The next spring they were back and for every spring I had that house (8 years!) there was a scraggly row of red tulips along the driveway.

Varieties I like (Apricot Beauty, Princess Irene, etc.) and plant among my perennials never seem to last more than one year (the second year I may get a couple strays, but nothing dependable).

I'm still learning (and I've gardened more than 50 years).

Leawoodgardener, The tulips will come back even better if the flower are cut off as soon as they flower, which is what they do in Holland at the commercial growers. Plus their return has much to do with how much water they get during the summer. Less water is better in the summer for tulipa, while they like a moist winter, as that is the climate that they have in their place of origin such as Turkey, Iran, Syria, etc. My best returning Tulipa are the ones in the perennial beds that we water very little in the summer o in the likewise not watered much herb beds.

And then there is dumb luck. I think it is the one's you don't want to come back that always seem to thrive. I can't wait to see the rewards of your effort last fall. I am sure all your lifting and storing will pay off handsomely. Patti

Today's the first day of Spring and look at what that bed of Maureen tulips I salvaged looks like today!

I'm sure the tulips will survive - we had a similar occurrence last year on March 28 and the tulips had no ill effects.

Fortunately tulips are pretty tough - but what's with this weather?? We may even see some snow again today.

Strange as it was about 70F today in Nantucket. I spent the whole day outside. No tulips yet.

Watching for the show at your house. I sure it will be stunning. Patti

It is 37 here right now in DFW, Texas! Nasty, windy, wet and cold....

Steve,

What do you mean, snow? This is Texas, right? We got a couple of inches yesterday but thank goodness it is melting today. You are having the weirdest weather this past year. You must wake up mornings, look out the window, and think that you are still in Illinois.

Leawood, dear, don't worry. Snow on tulips is no big deal - they are tough little guys. I remember how I used to worry, so I am happy to tell you that you need not do so.Mine came through looking fine - I'm sure your will too. Whay are tulips still around? They are survivors. My greigi Pinnochios are on the north side of my yard. They got buried - and came back without blinking.

Hi Donna,

You are right! Was cold and blustery yesterday and today as well. Yesterday the temperatures never got out of the 30's and only up into 40's today but very windy. We just had a dusting of snow but nothing that stuck. Still, many of my flowers are blown over and the back porch furniture was all over the yard this morning. Ick.

On a cool note, look what I found - sticking out of my 4-year-old Apricot Passion hyacinths today stands a tulip. I planted a couple of them about four years ago and of course nothing came back the next two years - and now looks like one of the bulbs has decided to flower again. Interesting!

Yeah, we ended up with 8" of snow by Sunday night, but it's warm and the snow was almost completely gone on Tuesday afternoon.

The weather is nuts this year - even for Colorado! We had snow on Saturday, Sunday it was gone, Monday was 72 degrees and I was out in the garden in shorts & t-shirt, Tuesday we got ANOTHER 8+ inches of snow! Today (Weds.) the schools are closed, my work is closed, but the snow is melting off in rivers and the roads are already dry!

My tulips are coming up but they're not close to blooming yet - and they're used to snow either way! I have crocus & iris reticulata blooming that I went out & photographed yesterday before the mini-blizzard.

Today is April Fools and we have highs in the 80's, high winds, and finally some daffodils blooming in some of our neighbors yards.My tulips are up and trying to grow some height.This has been the longest winter and I hope many of my perennials have survived unharmed. Sure enjoy your thread Leawood Gardener and will love to watch your tulip garden unfold again. My tulips never return to well so I'm always trying to learn from other gardeners who have better luck at it.
Cuckoo

Yeah, the hot wind here caused even the daffodils in the shade to open. It was in the 80's and everything started to dry out - bulb flowers won't last long in this heat. My star magnolias and forsythia popped open yesterday and the tulips are growing so fast you can almost see them grow!

LOL 80's everywhere - here too. Has finally dropped to 79 right now.

We will likely see frost in N. Missouri in April so all these plants are in for some rough frosty nights. Maybe if they are lucky we won't see a hard freeze or even a light frosty night this month. My fruit trees, shrubs, berries, etc. are swelling and may begin blooming very soon. The high moisture in the ground will cause problems too if it turns off hot, windy, and dry early this summer. The high winds and rain this morning was damaging in many areas of Mo. too. Tender vegetation gets ripped or damaged by these kinds of spring storms.
Cuckoo

Yes, my hyacinths and daffodils all got bent over and beat down by the wind and heavy rain this morning.

It's just been 10 days since the last photo (following the heavy snow) and look how the tulips have advanced! Two days of temperatures in the 80's, followed by cool temps and heavy rain, and today there is sun. At this rate they will be in bloom in a couple weeks.

The 'Maureen" tulips I salvaged from last spring and planted in this bed are also doing nicely. If they bloom as beautifully as last year, I owe Donna Mack a BIG 'Thank You' for encouraging me to save them. I've always been a 'dig & toss' gardener when it comes to tulips, treating them like expensive annuals.

Looks awesome, Leawood - can't wait to see the bloom!

Just got back to this thread after being away a couple of days, and wow, what a sight! How gorgeous your flowering trees are in the background, and how nice of you to thank me. It looks unbelievable, but YOU did the work.

I'm with Steve - can't wait to see them bloom - especially in such a setting!

Donna

So much green in your pictures..... now just wait until they bloom soon! The green and color of the blooms will be beautiful..........I'm going to just hang around here until they open up!! Ha Ha
Cuckoo

OK. Today the FIRST bloom opened, and it's YELLOW! Yipee! It looks like I might get my bed of yellow tulips this year after all!

In a few days the whole bed will be a sea of yellow - now if we could just keep the temps in the 60's for a week or two to preserve them...

It's going to look great and its been a long time in the making. Better get that lawn chair ready so you can sit outside and admire your sea of yellow.

At last! You have the beautiful tulips you ordered.

This wonderful warm weekend will have them all in bloom. Can't wait to see them in full bloom! Leawood I don't see a weed anywhere........ Nice work!!
Cuckoo

LOL - I don't photograph the weeds, but there are PLENTY to occupy your time pulling/digging! The creek behind my house is 'naturalized with wildflowers' (according to the City, who remodeled the creek to stop it from flooding). Their 'wildflowers' produce a lot of seeds that drift into my garden. They call them 'wildflowers' - I call 'em weeds.

Maybe you can surreptitiously seed it with something else that you like.