Success at last! Maybe not Martha Stewart success, but success by my standards. I grade myself on a curve. My double early tulips are out, and I think they are pretty darn nice. Sure, they are a little shorter than they should be, and my two colors have, predictably, failed to bloom in concert. But I'm still giving myself an A. They are a lot better than last year's show. I have bungled my fair share of tulip plantings, which is ironic, because I adore tulips. You would think I'd be more careful. Not that tulips are foolproof here; the winters are too mild and the soil is too heavy. Still, if you take some precautions, your chances are pretty good. Chill the bulbs. Amend the clay. Don't be stingy with the Permatill, but feel free to skip the fertilizer: if you are planting tulips as annuals (and you are, whether you realize it or not), they don't need it. Really. You can look it up. To all of the above I would add: never, ever, plant late-blooming tulips. "Late-blooming" in central North Carolina means mid to late April, when it's not unusual to have unusually hot weather. Tulips hate hot weather. Generally I go with mid-season, but this time I opted for the early blooming variety. These carry their own risks; last night, for instance, the temperature dipped to 25 degrees. But cold beats hot where tulips are concerned. Yesterday's freeze notwithstanding, nature in general has been cooperative, and my ounce of preparation seems to have paid off. My reward is a pre-Easter Parade of 100 John Scheepers Double Early tulips - 50 in pink ("Foxtrot") and 50 in white ("Mondial"). "Foxtrot," which began opening last week, is frilly and fabulous. It starts off almost white, with some faint yellow coloring, then matures to a multi-hued pink. I would never wear it, but I love it in my garden. "Mondial," which is opening now, has the same style bloom as "Foxtrot," except it's pure white. Yes, in an ideal world the two would have bloomed simultaneously, but we don't live in an ideal world. I'm satisfied with overlap. Now if I were Martha Stewart, I might point out (ever so tactfully) that they are too short. Early tulips do tend to be short; 12 to 14 inches is the norm. But as you can see in the image above, mine abuse the privilege. They have actually stretched a bit since Ron took the photo last Sunday, but they are still a few inches shy of a foot. Would Martha give them an A? Probably not. But they are right at home in the Galloping Horse Garden.
18 Comments
3/22/2013 05:15:15 am
I just saw some very attractive short tulips displayed in egg cups with a little bit of lily of the valley. I don't know if you are opposed to cut flowers.
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3/22/2013 06:12:36 am
I love cut flowers, and I thought the egg cup and tulip idea was inspired. But I always struggle with the idea of cutting flowers from my own garden. If it gets cold again tonight, though, I may be heading outside with the scissors.
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3/22/2013 07:28:07 am
They are beautiful! I rarely grow tulips because I hate that they are an annual here. Didn't realize they would be an annual for you, too. But, wow - how pretty! Great info, and I give you an A!
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3/22/2013 08:02:48 am
Yes, they are an annual here too. The leaves will come up the following year, but you won't get any flowering. It's a lot of work to plant them year after year, but I so adore the early display that I put up with it. Thanks for the A!
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These tulips do what tulips are supposed to do, and they do it very well, and the gardener gets an A.
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3/22/2013 12:11:35 pm
It's odd - I have a deer and vole problem, but they haven't eaten the tulips yet. Maybe the voles don't like the Permatill in the planting bed or the Vole Block on top. And when the tulips start coming up, the entire bed gets a dousing of Liquid Fence. On the other hand, maybe I've just been lucky, and they like other things in my yard more.
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3/23/2013 01:31:22 am
Nothing makes tulips drop their petals faster than a good heat wave. Yes, I do dig them up right after they bloom - that way I have space for my annuals. My neighbors think I am a spendthrift when it comes to flowers.
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3/23/2013 01:33:34 am
Thanks! In general I'm with you - I like simple best. But these were so frilly and spring-like I decided, why not? At least they aren't pink and purple!
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3/24/2013 04:09:00 pm
I think they look great! I grow tulips in pots and change them every year. Mine are still really small. As for Martha, who care what she thinks? She hires someone to do the dirty work, anyway.
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3/25/2013 01:32:14 am
I'm thinking of putting some in pots for next year as well. The short ones in particular might look better that way. By the way, I just got my delivery of John and Bob's Liquid Penetrate - thanks again for the tip. I hope it works!
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3/26/2013 01:20:06 pm
I think you are too hard on your garden. I actually think that Martha might be impressed with your display of tulips, I know I am. You have me wishing I had bought some double tulips as well. A+ in my books!
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3/27/2013 12:43:20 am
Your garden could be Martha Stewart's - it's that beautiful. So I very much appreciate the compliment!
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3/29/2013 04:17:39 am
Your tulips are great, sometimes the doulbes almost look like little peony blooms. I've had to give up on tulips all together because of too many deer in our garden.
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3/29/2013 05:32:41 am
Well, these particular tulips have a special fragrance that keeps deer away. It's called Liquid Fence!
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AuthorThe Galloping Horse Gardener is a native New Yorker who packed it in in 2005 to live under the radar in Cary, North Carolina. In 2014, she removed to a new secure location somewhere in Raleigh. Archives
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