What can be planted along with tulip bulbs?
Deborah
7 years ago
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LaLennoxa 6a/b Hamilton ON
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Neglected tulip bulbs. Do I plant or not?
Comments (5)@ontnative I'm with you on the fact that rarely do tulips make good displays, if any, following their first year. The Darwin tulips I one year continued to bloom as well the second year. I've still got a patch of them that bloomed last spring(year 4). Looks like it might've been their last. Alliums tended to decline in bloom(year 3) so that's why I dug these ones up...to find them way deeper than originally planted. Probably the reason they gave only foliage & weak blooms if any. I will pot them & see what they do for me. Thanks for chiming in I appreciate it. KanuK...See MoreJust Planted Tulip Bulbs in Z7 - What now?
Comments (7)If it were me: I'd remove the weed cloth now. I've not seen it do anything good for the development of a good soil structure in clay. Gravel: I'd be thinking a mix of sizes rather than a single screen size. My preference would be for 2,5,7mm which can be useful when it gets dug through the soil/clay. As I'm using it as a mulch I wouldn't put it on any thicker than 2". Less could be better.(Sand is a no-no. It's like uncreamed butter and sugar in an angel cake...). As I'm planting into clay, and if I didn't have too many bulbs, I'd dig out circular shapes for my patches of colour to the depth for my zone and a little extra. Into the extra I'd put a layer of about an inch of the 2mm grit so the roots can get started into a better-drained area. If I could, I'd get a grit that stood out in colour from my soil. Later, when I come to lift the bulbs, I'd be able to see when I've 'hit bedrock' and I'd know to move carefully so I didn't harm my bulbs. Because I'm wanting to improve my soil over time, I'd add some agricultural lime - about an ounce to the square yard. Once I'd covered my bulbs I'd ensure that I stayed off that ground to prevent it from compacting. That's particularly important over times in the year when it's wet. The sad-looking bulbs: I'd plant them up in containers and I'd plant them quite shallowly. Barely covered, and in a free-draining mix - even 50:50 small grit and potting mix with no peat. I wouldn't want the water to stay close to them and I'd want whatever roots they can produce to have lots of encouragement to forage. (I'd even rescue the ones I tossed and give them a go, too.) Those containers I'd put where they get not much more than a couple of degrees of frost, moderate water, and good sunlight. A bit later on, when I see green noses above the soil/gravel (yes they DO come up through gravel) I'd feed them at the prescribed amount with either some potato or tomato food - powdered so it slowly breaks down, and lightly stir it in to the surface of the soil/gravel. Just once. With the damaged bulbs - some might flower. Some will die. Some might only put up leaves and split into smaller bulbs. Which is fine, because I can grow on those daughter bulbs for a year or two to give me 'free bulbs'. Any with streaky leaves I'd dig up and burn because they might have a virus and I'd rather be safe than sorry. All it needs is one travelling aphid and it could spread. No thanks. And next year, when the bulbs are finished for the year, I'd be putting my grass clippings onto the garden strip with a light sprinkling of lime, followed by as many autumn leaves as I could scrounge. Welcome mats for the earthworms. As an aside - if you do use the smaller grit sizes you can plant into it. The small 'johnny-jump-up' pansies, florists' anemones, verbascum, dianthus-pinks, linaria, eschscholzia, and a good range of other annuals will grow there - especially if you can provide some water over the summer. They may not be huge/lush but they will be sturdy and colourful. When it comes to weeding over the gravel (yes you DO have to weed...:-( ) use a two-tine hand fork or weed hook rather than anything conventional. If you use a knife, that will work, too. Forget spades - and rotary tillers. They're often not good for the health of the soil structure on clay....See MoreNew to tulips! Can I refrigerate bulbs and plant this spring?
Comments (3)The funny thing is, that Walmart has tulips out with their spring bulbs here. These were left over from last fall, I remember seeing these bulbs in Dec still sitting there. If you can, I would take these bulbs back to where you bought them. Chances are they won't be of good quality at this time of year, and won't bloom. In high zone areas, the gardeners there refidgerate the tulip bulbs for 12 weeks before planting out for spring blooms. But they buy fresh tulip bulbs in the fall, Sept or Oct....and they don't get the frozen ground like we do....so they can plant out in Jan. Good luck with your tulip bulbs. Sierra...See MoreZone 2-3 Can I still plant tulip bulbs?
Comments (4)As long as you can get a spade into the ground, you can plant tulips. Narcissi are a bit more picky,preferring a warm autumn as their roots start growing as soon as they are in the ground and they need a fairly lengthy period to grow enough root to guarantee a good bloom. There are various groups within the narcissus genus and it is my experience that the pickier triandrus, tazetta and jonquilla groups prefer a longer growing season but even so, the worst that might happen is coming up blind next spring or unseasonally late with weaker blooms...but this will correct itself the following year. Tulips have been successfully planted as late as January...at least in a more temperate zone 8 area but given their freezy provenance in chilly bulb fields, I wouldn't worry too much at all. My alkaline soil results from calcareous bedrock and is probably slightly higher than ph8 but seems to trouble narcissi and tulips not one bit. I would be more circumspect with things like trilliums but you should have no problem with your choices...and also, I have found amendments to affect ph have always been more successful at increasing alkalinity rather than the other way round. Go ahead and plant now - they will certainly be more successful than being kept in bags awaiting...what? You have nothing to lose....See More
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
7 years ago
hl_60
7 years agogardenweed_z6a
7 years ago
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
7 years agokeswick_sniders
7 years agoarcy_gw
7 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years agoUser
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
ocelaris
7 years ago
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woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada