I was wrong about tulips. Yup, I have always recommended species tulips over the hybrid tulips but after many years of growing all types of tulips in my gardens I am rethinking that advice. Hybrid tulips are the best! That is if you have longevity in your garden and don't mind going a few years without a bloom. They will of course bloom the first year they are planted but then you can expect it will be several years before they bloom again. That's okay if you don't mind the wait.
'Pink Impression' is one of the very best hybrid tulips you can buy. I have easily gotten three years of bloom from them before they disappeared-only to reappear several years later. 'Red Impression' is another nice one. Both are Darwin type tulips bulbs; which seem to get high ratings with perennializing in a garden.
They do really make a big show and I can't help but think of Holland when I see these wonderful hybrid tulips in my garden. To see the tulips and all manner of bulbs blooming in the gardens of Keukenhof in Lisse Holland while we lived in Europe is a sight I shall never forget. Believe it or not my garden style has always been heavily influenced by the gardens I saw while living in Europe. Their gardens are park like. I enjoy that kind of setting in my own garden.
I always plant a package or two of hybrid tulips each fall. I know, silly me. I just can't help myself. Each year I plant different colors. I love the blooms even if they bloom only one time! They are so very pretty and spring like. But after the first year I don't ever expect them to come back again-but now I think I'll expect them to return-after a mini vacation of sorts.
This year seems to the year all of the hybrids came back to work. There are lots of wildly colored hybrid tulips. And you know what, I somehow think the 3-5 years between big shows is well worth planting hybrid tulips. They are almost like a surprise you didn't plant when they suddenly appear again after they've spent years on vacation....
in the garden....
A tip when planting bulbs-mass them all together. I happen to like all the same color in one spot but even multi colored tulips look great when massed in groups of a dozen or more.
It is tax day today and I am behind on filing. Wish me luck and I hope you all have finished yours!
Get your rear-end out of the garden and onto those taxes girl! You do NOT want to mess with the IRS... Those tulips are beautiful and what a surprise to have them show up after being MIA for so long. I have some purple in bloom right now and am thrilled about them as they are the only ones I have these days. Will show a pic of some of them tomorrow... We had a great visit when in Holland but unfortunately not during Tulip season. Sigh....
ReplyDeleteThey're done. Even the Alabama form is done and postmarked. What a bad day this year in light of the bombings.
DeleteYou make me want to plant tulips! LOL They're beautiful and inspiring at the same time. :0)
ReplyDeleteThey can be wonderful Randy!
DeleteTina...your Tulips are beautiful! I like seeing all the different colors too. I have the kind that bloom every year. I was very surprised the ones I planted this February are all blooming! Get those taxes done!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Christy! Lucky you on those tulips! Taxes done...yeah!
DeleteI love tulips!! Mine are just breaking ground so it will be a little while for blooms here. I barely did my taxes yesterday!!
ReplyDeleteYeah on taxes done Cherry. I wonder if you use Turbo Tax like me? I heard it went down last night so if you do it is good you got them done before that!
DeleteYour tulips are gorgeous. Are they making the move with you?
ReplyDeleteAny tips on how to keep the squirrels and chipmunks from eating my bulbs? Getting REALLY tired of dealing with them! More than half of my bulbs I planted last fall didn't come up:(
Pearl, nope, these tulips bulbs will stay here. Hopefully they'll be good for the next owner. Plant your bulbs in chicken wire or try pots sunk in the ground or even some sharp gravel will help with the rodents.
DeleteI love both kinds of tulips and weather and soil conditions are important if the hybrids return. I have had some or over ten years. My biggest problem losing them is the squirrel bandits. The species tulips just say "spring" more I think.
ReplyDelete10 years is a great amount of time for hybrids Donna! Any tips on soil?
DeleteTulips showed up this year because they didn't want to be left behind! LOL They are beautiful Tina!
ReplyDeleteThanks Donna! You are right they maybe want to move but I am not taking them:( They are so cheap each year and so finicky that it is just not worth it. The daffodils-now those are my go to bulbs and I'm doing my best to take them. Looking forward to the June meeting at your place. Can't wait to see the fish! You all will have to give me ideas on moving my pond when it is time.
DeleteI, also, am a new lover of hybrid tulips. However, I just pull them up every year after bloom. I think I'll follow your lead and let them be MIA for a few years and, of course, have patience, and see if I can get them to bloom again.
ReplyDeleteHi Beth! Yes, I have a number of friends who pull them each year and replant. They are fairly cheap so that is not a major issue but the planting gets old. Try leaving them and just planting more each year in a different location. Mine have faithfully returned-albeit after missing in action a few years but there are always a few diehards that help fill in the show. Do you blog? I would love to visit if you do. I checked your profile and it did not say you have a blog but with the new Google stuff I am not too good at it so thought I'd ask you. Thanks!
DeleteTulips are gorgeous. Sure wish they would grow here. I did plant some Parrot Tulips when in N.C. They sure were pretty. Yes, by all means get those taxes done. Got mine done last month. Whew.
ReplyDeleteLola! I bet it is mighty hard to find tulips in Florida! But by golly you've got many more plants going for you. I have never planted parrot tulips-they are mighty pretty though!
DeleteFor just a moment, I was tempted to try tulips one more time, reaching for that catalog that came the other day. It will not happen here. A lone tulip leaf came up this year from how many years ago? We just don't have enough winter chill. We can grow Amaryllis outdoors, though.
ReplyDeleteYour massed clumps are just gorgeous, a treat that I'm glad you shared.
Our taxes were done early. Then He-Who-Mows got the notion that maybe he'd made a mistake and we'd have to file an amended return. Fortunately it was just one of those 'Oh what did I do?' moments.
Look at all those colors! Your tulips are beautiful. I've had good luck with my tulips returning. I like the idea of getting some surprises though.
ReplyDeleteWith all the voles and squirrels here, I haven't planted hybrid tulips. The few bulbs I have get transported all over the yard. 'Pink Impression" is really pretty.
ReplyDeleteYour tulips are beautiful, Tina! I am a tulip-aholic and plant lots of hybrids every year, but I learned something new today. I didn't realize that they might come back after several years. Mine usually bloom for several years and then quit; I assumed that was the end of them. Perhaps there's hope, then, for a special orange group I planted two years ago that didn't return last year. I agree 'Pink Impression' is a hardy variety that lasts longer than most; I always plant some of these each year. I've been planting more and more of the Darwin tulips for their longevity, but I just can't resist some of the other pretties each fall, too. They may not last as long, but for a few short weeks each spring, I am in tulip heaven!
ReplyDeleteMy husband is obsessive about getting the taxes done in early Feb. Maybe I am not patient enough with tulips or maybe the deer have taken them or maybe in a few years they will come back. It will be a surprise.
ReplyDeleteI have changed my mind on them as well, mainly because we use so many at work. Now I think of them as annuals to pair with pansies and other winter/spring flowering annuals, and when they have finished blooming, they get composted.
ReplyDelete