Gasp! DMN says no need to chill tulips!

14 years ago

Hi All

Lovely article on tulips and spring bulbs in the Dallas paper today. Author cites a "bulb exporter" in Dallas who says there is no need to chill tulips bulbs here...just keep them in a cool garage. Yikes!

First my brain went to "who exports bulbs from Dallas...." Then I let it gooooo

Then my brain went to "who has a cool garage in Dallas?"

Finally I thought about all those folks who will believe and get only a few blooms from a bunch of bulbs.

Anyone ever tried to grow tulips here without chilling? I only did once... :(

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Comments (12)

rick_mcdaniel
14 years ago
Not a problem.....unless you want blooms.
debndal
14 years ago
I have the Texas Tulips that so far after 2 years have done fine. I leave them in the ground year round.
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^That idea is interesting, because once I forced tulips in the kitchen in several pots and the flowers were dwarfed; they were supposed to be about 16 inches tall and were coming out about 6 inches tall, not only short but also with miniature penny-sized flowers. I put one of the pots outside during a chilly March week and within days in the cold, the flowers, stems and leaves enlarged to a typical tulip size. The ones that stayed in the house remained miniature.
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And did the store advise you how to bring them to anything. Here it is the end of January. The bulbs have to be chilled for a minimum 12 weeks...preferably 15 weeks. And yes, they can be chilled in the crisper of a refrigerator. February, March....April....now you plant them. OK, they're in the ground.....and the soil begins warming up...and the squirrels are about.... Probably before their chilling time they are fodder for a family of squirrels and other vermin. If they do grow into something...not something you'd want to boast about; chances are they wont grow much ...maybe half their expected height and of course, they wont produce a bloom....not this season anyway. Better to expect them to produce what foliage they can, allow them to yellow, die-back and expect something in the spring of '07.
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Well, it's five years late, but msflora asked a very good question. The short answer is perhaps you could, but why on earth would you? Here's why. Bulbs have a yearly life cycle. They come up and bloom and THEN they have to be in the ground and SUN for at least 8 weeks. During this time, the leaves are feeding the bulb and forming next year's bloom inside the bulb. After that has occurred, the leaves turn brown and fall off (this is called ripening) and the bulb goes dormant underground. I suppose it's theoretically possible that IF you caught them at just the right time (which is usually in the spring planting rush) and IF you stored them properly all summer, then chilled them all fall, and THEN planted them again in late winter, you might could get another year's bloom out of them. But my goodness! Here in the deep south, they (meaning daffodils, etc. not typically tulips) come up again in the fall. The leaves elongate and grow in the winter sun until it's time to bloom and begin the ripening process over again. Up north, the bulbs are getting that all important chill time during the winter. I honestly don't know if the bulbs come up in the fall for them like they do down here. But either way, they have to have the winter chill in order to bloom. That's why we do it in the refrigerator down here. The bulbs you buy bagged in the store in the fall have NOT been chilled. Take them home and put them into your refrigerator for 6-10 weeks as stated in the advice above.
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Yes, I agree with Sylvia about checking out the Texas Gardening Forum for more information. Also a great website to check for Texas gardening is TAMU. DUTCH TULIPS What a shame tulip bulbs are good for only one season in our planting zone. They are beautiful that first year, but our mild winters do not provide the cold temperatures necessary for healthy blooms the following year. However, many East Texas gardeners believe that the one year of bloom is worth the cost and effort. The tulip has a history unrivaled by any other plant. Most people associate the tulip with Holland and assume that is where the plant originated. History tells us that tulips were cultivated by the Turks as early as AD 1000. It was so prized that there were laws prohibiting its export outside of Turkey. It is said that the name "tulip" came from the Turkish word for "turban." The tulip reached Holland in 1593 and, because of its scarcity, became the symbol of wealth and status. It gained such popularity that in the 1630s there was a tulip mania, so to speak. The bulbs became a trading product with one bulb being worth the price of a house. Traders in bulbs were making fortunes, and a futures market developed on bulbs still in the ground. The frenzy became so great that when new hybrids came onto the market and the supply increased, the market crashed, bankrupting many dealers and investors. The financial impact was devastating across Holland. The government was forced to enact legislation establishing trading restrictions on the bulbs. Give tulips about 60days of chilling in the refrigerator (not freezer) before planting. To those who do plant the bulb, treat it tenderly because you are holding in your hand the bulb that was once revered by sultans, emperors, kings, and princes. George Weisser, Smith County Master Gardener Texas Cooperative Extension
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little_dani
14 years ago
The Texas Tulips are a species tulip, and not the kind ex/im- ported from/to Dallas, Texas.

I grew some with not enough chills once and the derned things couldn't wait to get out of the ground to bloom. There they were, with no stems, and blooms setting on the ground! It looked just awful!

Since then, I gave up on tulips altogether, except for the species tulips. I also had the same experience with hyacinths that were not sufficiently chilled.

Janie
prairiepaintbrush
14 years ago
Bad news about hyacinths. I didn't know they needed chilling. I love them sooo much, they smell soo good. I don't care so much about tulips one way or the other. I just figure they aren't for TX.
cynthianovak
Original Author
14 years ago
Yea....that bloom thing is the only problem with that advice....grins.

I loke species tulips too. Prairie...you could try Spanish bluebells aka hyacinthoides. They are happy to grow and multiply here. I have hyacinths I potted last year. They're easy to lift and spent the summer in a closet in my home. I'll put them in the fridge for a couple of months then replant.

smiles
c
cynthianovak
Original Author
14 years ago
curiosity got me, I looked up the name of the Dallas bulb exporter mentioned in the article. They specialize in caladiums! Looks like they also offer displays for selling daffs and amaryllis. Didn't see anything that would make him a tulip expert.
rick_mcdaniel
14 years ago
Hyacinths do ok for me, left in place.
mommyfox
14 years ago
WHAT IS THIS TEXAS TULIP OF WHICH YOU SPEAK?

Yes I know I'm yelling.
mommyfox
14 years ago
Well, a few minutes of internet research declares the Texas Tulip sold out. I did see several sites mention a DMN article specifically about the Texas Tulip; could that have been what they were talking about?
bobbi_p
14 years ago
Hi Guys,

I have to laugh at this post, although it's really sad. Two gardening newspaper classics for here in Houston was the one after Hurricane Ike that rated the Live Oak as the #1 tree to consider planting in place of what got damaged in the storm without mention that most urban lawns in the Houston area are not large enough to acommodate a mature live oak. And the gardening section front page article on the beauty of hydrangeas with out mentioning it takes a lot of effort and luck to keep hydrangeas in good shape in Houston after June 1!

Here's a source of tulips I would trust. The Southern Bulbs aren't cheap, but boy is it a fascinating story for a business. The owner has made a business of harvesting (with permission) all kinds of old heirloom/pass-along bulbs from old homesteads and propagating them on his farm for sale to the public. These bulbs have often carried on untended for 100 years or more, so, are proven varieties for our climate.

Here is a link that might be useful: Southern Bulbs Tulip Page
cynthianovak
Original Author
14 years ago
You'll find the "opinion" by the exporter under tulips. It's a long url but might work. If you go to the actual article, you have to go to the dallasmorningnews website, find home/garden topic, then click the actual title of the article. If you click anywhere else it will lead you astray.

Even if you can't find "Texas Tulips" the "lady" tulips like Lady Jane or Cynthia, the clusiana species tulips have been great for me. There are others that are happy here too. I have to replenish mine every couple of years because I plant caladiums in the same bed in the summer and dig around plus water a bit much. Still, they keep coming back.

Here is a link that might be useful: DMN article with photos
texaslynn
14 years ago
I haven't planted tulips or hyacinths for a long time although I LOVE them. At one time I would fill the refrigerator with sacks of bulbs every winter (hubby just loved that - took up his "beer space"!) and then would spend hours on my hands and knees planting them (I'm not talking about a dozen, I'm talking a hundred or so). My hands and buns would be so sore! It was a lot of work but when they bloomed, it was absolutely glorious and traffic stopping.

Did I mention that it was a lot of work?!

These Texas Tulips sound very interesting and I'm going to have to check them out.

Bobbi, I am with YOU about the Live Oak thing - why are these poor trees always planted everywhere, including in esplanades which are only 10 feet wide? I love Live Oaks, have some in my (large) yard, but there ARE other trees which would be soooo much more appropriate for smaller spaces.

Lynn

Gasp! DMN says no need to chill tulips!

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