I could recount all the varieties of Single Late Tulips I’ve tried in my main spring border or just refer you to the Bulbs category over on the left. It’s been one disappointment after another. You know how it is – the colors aren’t true to the catalog photos or the damn things don’t bloom together or whatnot. So I’ve stopped expecting a dazzling result that’ll knock fellow gardeners off their Crocs. I’m taking it easy these days.
Easy Move #1
I have my GardenRant friend and partner Eliz to thank for this one. Instead of laboriously planting every tulip individually, I now plant them en masse in just a few large holes. (She actually plants 50 together!) So now I’m digging 4 – not 60 – holes for 60 bulbs, which also makes it actually possible to use wire screens to keep the squirrels from getting to them – yay! I still sprinkle red pepper flakes over the wire before topping the whole thing off with mulch, though, coz squirrels have a long history of outsmarting us. I figure two defenses are better than one.
Easy Move #2
The other move to easy-peasy tulips is throwing all design caution to the wind and using a MIX , something I’ve honestly almost scoffed at. But a neighbor had some Single Lates she doesn’t want – the very type tulip I grow, because they bloom after the daffodils have faded – and it’s a mix of pastels, so what the hell. Planting them without knowing exactly which color each will be was kind of liberating. Hey, we’re in two wars, the economy has tanked, and I’m not wasting another ounce of concern about fussy details. Or maybe it’s aging that’s to blame for my loosening standards. You never know – aging is tricky that way.
And about that wire screening…
Why the heck is it called "hardware fabric"? It’s heavy metal wire, after all. I’m just saying.
Here’s a chunk of it covering up 10-15 bulbs, with a bag of red pepper flakes just waiting to be applied.
Photo credit for Single Late Pastel Mix.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Awww — think of all the squirrels who will be deprived of the delectable imported gourmet treats! And what about your neighbours who will not experience the wonder of tulips they didn’t plant blooming in their yards next spring…
/krys
OK, looks like a Great Defense, but, can the bulbs actually come up through that “fabric” (yeah, right) fortress???? Or do you have to remove it, gasp, when they start trying??? I honestly don’t have a clue, since I live in Tucson, AZ way too HOT for bulbs, without a lot of pre forcing, no thanks! Just wondering, Rebecca in Tucson
Scarlet, good question! And yes, it’s somewhat of a pain to remove the screening in early spring…if I remember to do it.
Oh, and I forgot one other key to having this be so easy – soil that’s easy to plant in. My tulip border is all-compost, so it cuts like buttah!
They come right up through it I believe. The emerging shoots are quite thin.
I have used the mixes from Colorblends and they’re lots of fun. I usually devise my own mix but generally just two colors. When I did a mix of Darwins from CB though, it was lovely.