Tulips are some of the more popular bulbs in the world. Reading the book “The Black Tulip” by Alexander Dumas as a child created an interest for life in these bulbs.
Introduced to Europe from Turkey over 400 years ago Holland soon became home to them. The Dutch became synonymous with the Tulip, and became renowned for their abilities in their breeding and cross breeding. The storyline of the book was to breed a black tulip. There was a time in Holland when tulip bulbs were worth a good deal of money and where fortunes were made and lost on a bulb! Similar to our current share markets where people can be carried away paying a lot of money on the current favourite stocks. Nothing has changed! There are now over a hundred different species, with the resulting hybrids running into thousands of varieties.

Plant Tulip bulbs in mid to late autumn. It is fun leafing through catalogues and nurseries choosing what to plant. Preorder bulbs if you require something a little different. Choose large and unblemished bulbs without black spots, mould or growths on them. As tulips are cold weather bulbs, they can be encouraged in warmer areas by placing the bulbs in the refrigerator for up to 6-8 weeks by making them think winter! I generally keep them in the crisper area of the refrigerator out of the way of day-to-day food and fruit.
Like most bulbs, Tulips prefer a well-drained soil, whether it is in a garden, container, or rock gardens, include some fine gravel or sand when preparing the soil to enhance the drainage.

Good preparation of the soil with well-rotted compost and a complete fertilizer will ensure a good base for a stunning display of flowers in the future. The depth of planting bulbs is generally taken to be twice that of their size, lengthways. Mulch protects the bulbs once they are planted. I tend to plant and forget, delighting in seeing them pop up as they start to flower. Some people will label the bulbs so they know where to find their bulbs. Tulips varieties today will tolerate some shade but their preference is for a sunny spot in the garden. They come in many colours and mixtures of color but the black colour has not been reached that I am aware of yet. There are some very deep reds that on first glance you think “wow, a black tulip”.

The depths that tulips are planted allow some of the smaller bulbs to be planted over the top of them to make the most of the area. The tulips are not fond of an acid soil, so if it is likely that your soil is likely to be acidic, add some lime prior to planting. It is best not to leave bedding tulips in the ground after the leaves have died down they are better lifted and stored in a cool dry place until the next season. There are varieties that may be left safely in the soil, ask your nurseryman for those suitable for your area.
In my experience, from growing tulips in warmer areas, a better display is achieved by buying in new bulbs each year.

After flowering deadhead the flowers, but leave the leaves to die naturally ensuring the bulb is ready for next year’s flowers. Tall tulip varieties are likely to be affected by strong winds, so if this is a problem in your area, ensure they are sheltered, or alternatively grow some of the smaller varieties.