Fall means time for all far-sighted gardeners to plant hardy bulbs for spring beauty. The cheery tulip is a year-in and year-out favorite. There is a place in every garden for some of these colorful flowers, so plan your Tulip Time picture now.
Of course you’ll want strong, healthy bulbs for sturdy flowers. Before they are exported from the Netherlands, tulip bulbs must be at least 4 inches in circumference (except – for the species tulips); the rest is up to nature, since the flower bud is already in the bulb: Select good quality bulbs from reputable growers… If you choose varieties that will flower at different periods, you can enjoy from six 10 eight weeks of the vivid color that only tulips can offer. And they are so easy to grow!
The dainty species tulips, which flower very early in the spring are particularly well adapted to the rock garden. Try a few bulbs of each species to brighten small pockets among your other rock garden plants are among large boulders.
The kaufmanniana hybrids are improved deep golden yellows, pinks and Turkish reds. Planted boldly along the front line of a border close to the house, they are the real harbingers of Tulip Time.
The most outstanding of the species family are the showy fosterianas, which are taller growers. However, Tulipa Fosteriana Princeps is sometimes preferred for its dwarfer habit and later blooming period.
Other species tulips which are charming for special qualities include Tulipa Clusiana, known as the Lady tulip, which is tall and slim; Tulipa Tarda, bunch-flowered in white and canary yellow; and the multiflowered orange-scarlet.
Early Tulips
Single and double early varieties are especially good for border plantings. If you place the bulbs back from the border edges and plant perennials and annuals at the front, this will help to conceal the ripening foliage after the tulip flowering season is over.
Early tulips should be planted more extensively, if only for the enjoyment of their bright colors. Among the singles, are excellent examples – all vivid-flowered, sturdy of stem and amazingly uniform.
The double earlies deep rose are spectacular in small beds or planted in clumps in the mixed border.
The double earlies are followed immediately by the peonylike double lates, also excellent display tulips.
Triumph Tulips
Triumphs are usually in flower at the same time as the double lates. A cross between the early tulips and Darwin tulips, they help to bridge the gap between the earlies and the long-stemmed May-flowering tulips. The Triumphs are intermediate (14 to 22 inches), and their colors are generally hard and bright. Varieties edged with lighter colors like deep carmine red, edged white, are extremely beautiful.
Breeder Tulips
Because of their height range (22 to 36 inches), Breeder tulips are most effective in background plantings. They have rich, dark colors and huge flowers. Light bronze, flushed violet, orange, edged apricot, are interesting combinations.
Cottage Tulips
Cottage tulips have an intermediate range (18 to 32 inches) and include many of the same vivid colors of the earlies. There are good starlets in this class. A beautiful combination can be made by combining groups of this brilliant scarlet tulip with the near-black or a golden yellow.
Lily-flowered Tulips
These May-flowering tulips, part of the Cottage class, are most graceful, with their curved, pointed petals. The color range is wide, varying from pale to intense shades and pure white.
The scarlet FLORESTAN resembles a poinsettia, while another adds bright orange to this beautiful class. Every garden should have a few specimens of lily-flowered tulips, in groups of a dozen or more placed in prominent positions.
Darwin Tulips
These tall-stemmed beauties (ranging from 22 to 32 inches high) climax the tulip season. Their flowers are generally cup-shaped, and there is a wide range of colors. A great acquisition to this group is GLACIER, white with yellow anthers and an improvement over past introductions. It took a long time for a yellow Darwin to be developed, but a long-cupped light yellow and the deeper yellows are in demand.
Parrot Tulips
In many parts of the country, Parrot tulips flower at the same time as the May-flowering tulips. They are unusual because of their fringed petals, cut into deep irregular lobes, with a green sheen on the outside surface. The large, wide-flung flowers are of a peculiar shape. These tulips look well displayed in groups near a doorway or in a border.
The first Parrot tulip, salmon pink FANTASY, was very popular. However, newer introductions show stronger stems and more brilliant colors. Beautiful rosy pinks, with long lasting qualities. A yellow and reds varieties are already known to many. A bluish heliotrope, has won awards at many tulip shows for its huge flowers, substance and stem.
Growing Requirements
Tulips prefer a sunny location in loamy, well-drained soil. Their beauty lies in their great versatility: they can he planted in many different ways with little effort. They can be used in groups of a half-dozen, a dozen or more at a garden gate, along steps or around a garden bench. They are perfect in drifts or groups in a mixed flower border. But they should never be planted in thin lines or rows.
It is most important to consider varieties that will he congenial in height. Short-stemmed tulips are hest for the front of a border, with the taller-stemmed tulips as a background. Also, remember that the lighter shades show up best against dark backgrounds and deeper shades of tulips show up best against light backgrounds.
All tulip bulbs can be planted until frost hardens the ground this fall, so don’t miss the opportunity now to insure springtime beauty!
by M Berset – 62932
