Tulip plants are the jewel of spring gardens. Tulips are available in a huge range of flower shapes,sizes,and colors. They bring a good feeling to all who see them blooming.
Tulip plants from stately formal plantings to naturalized woodland areas, there are tulip plants for every garden setting. Tulip plants grow best in areas where the winters are cold and the spring is cool and summers are cool. The smaller species of tulip plants are reliably perennial, while larger tulip plants may need to be replanted every few years. Flower colors include apricot, pink, salmon, red, deep maroon, and white, and flowers may be double ruffled, fringed, or lily shaped depending on variety.
Height of the tulip plants range from six inches to two feet. By planting tulip plants of different varieties with different bloom times, you can have tulip plants blooming from early to late spring. Some types of tulip plants are good for forcing into bloom indoors.
Select a site to plant tulip plants with full sunlight to light shade and well drained soil. Tall tulip plants varieties should be protected from strong winds and rain.
Plant tulip plants bulb in fall six to eight weeks before a hard frost is expected and when soils are below sixty degrees. This is usually during September and October in the north and October and November in the south. Prepare the gardening bed by using a garden fork or tiller to loosen the soil to a depth of twelve to fifteen inches, then mix in a two to four inch layer of compost. Dig a hole about three time as deep as the height of the bulb. Set the bulb in the hole, pointy end up, then cover with soil and press firmly. Space bulbs six to eight inches apart. Water thoroughly after planting, if hungry voles or mice are a problem, plant bulbs in wire cages to keep them from being eaten.
Keep tulip plants watered during dry spells in the fall, when tulip plants are done flowering in spring, cut back flower stalks but allow the leaves to die naturally hiding the unsightly foliage with annuals or perennial plantings. An annual application of compost should provide adequate nutrients.
Tulip plants of the large varieties may need to be replanted every couple of years. Small type tulip plants usually multiply and spread on their own.