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kato_b

Too many tulips

katob Z6ish, NE Pa
10 years ago

A midlife crisis hits different people in different ways. I think I'm running through all my favorite flowers and trying to OD on each one. Good thing I'm too cheap to really get carried away and my yard is too small to use large farm equipment.
I already had too many daffodils, now I'm pretty sure I have too many tulips. It probably wouldn't be as bad if I didn't dig them all after blooming and store them away until fall, but they seem to like that. Also probably shouldn't have filled up nearly the whole vegetable garden when I was planting, but they look better all together. Plus I'm really not that crazy about eating vegetables anyway.

Comments (14)

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I may try to tag out the orange ones and give a couple of those away, they seem to take over and I like them a little more evenly blended.... or do I like seperate color blocks? hmmmmm I could tag out a couple other colors too and stop the mixed look.
    We'll see what happens. Iris season is coming soon and I may get distracted :)

  • rigelcaj
    10 years ago

    You already know that there's no such thing as too many tulips or daffodils! They're glorious!

    I can't believe you dig them all up, but am glad you do, because I need to do likewise. Almost all of the "pink" tulips I planted last fall came up red, so I'm thinking of digging and moving them to a non-pink location. Do you wait until the leaves are done, dig, brush off the dirt, and store in the cool garage? I've never moved bulbs before. I wouldn't mind killing the tulips so much, but I also have some daffs to move - the yellow clashes horribly with the pink bleeding hearts. Same thing?

    Hope that's not too big a hijack. I'll remember these pictures and aspire next fall when the bulb catalogues are out!

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Hi Rigelcaj,
    It's not too bad digging them, but I guess it is a lot more work than doing nothing! Once the blooms pass I cut flower stem off to neaten them up, leaving the seed pod really takes alot of energy up (I've tried it). When the leaves are yellow or starting to yellow I loosen the soil and pull up the bulbs. I find that if you wait for the stems to die all the way you can't just pull the bulbs up with the stems. They seperate from the bulb when pulled, and sifting the dirt for bulbs is a pain.
    Throw the bulbs dirt and stems and all somewhere airy to dry (I use the garage floor). After two or so weeks the bulb clumps should crumble and fall apart. Pick out whatever bulbs you want to keep and find a warm dry place to store. Open baskets, mesh bags or cardboard boxes work for me, damp places are bad bad bad and will mold the bulbs, if that's all you have use mesh bags and hang them. I've never lost bulbs to heat and dry, only to damp.
    I do the daffs the same way.... some of the small daffs can dry out too much but the normal big varieties should be just as easy as tulips.....

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I usually look down on double flowers, but the double tulips are starting to grow on me. These are actually kind of small, I had them in a bad spot last year and they all died back too early and didn't make good bulbs.

  • datsaspicy
    10 years ago

    kato_b,

    I LOVE your double tulips. What are they?

    Just beeee-u-ti-ful!

  • rigelcaj
    10 years ago

    Love the doubles! Datsaspicy, look at Angeliques - they're pale pink, so I don't think that's what Kato's are, but they're very pretty.

    Thanks, Kato, for the tips on digging! My bleeding hearts just got cracking, and I've got to snip the yellow daffs next to them. ;) Of course I couldn't have planted the white bleeding hearts with the daffs - noooooo.

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The double tulips were originally a van engelen mix called magic carpet. It's a mix of a couple different double early varieties, so you could pick through those or look into the double late varieties- I think there are more of those.
    I'm looking to add a few parrots and viridifloras, I need just a couple to round things out. I'm sure that will be enough and I can give it a rest then :)

    Rigelcaj- my white bleeding heart is practically under a white fothergilla and my pink one is in a former bed that is now supposed to be patio. I need to move both and I should have done it yesterday!

  • trovesoftrilliums
    10 years ago

    They are stunning.

    I wish I had neighbors like you. :).

    My yard has been a gigantic daffodil explosion (too many deer for tulips w/o some barrier). Van Engelen is terribly dangerous!!!

    I have enjoyed Thalia, a later white daff, with my bleeding heart (pink).

  • senjanevada
    10 years ago

    Hi kato_b, they are so facsinated. Are you thinking to trade those bulb when you dig them out? I am looking some tulips online, but they do not ship it until Sep-Oct. I can't wait that long. lol.

    I have plenty ice plants with roots and roses cutting to swap. Also just bought some pink amaryllis from Lowes, on sale.

    Let me know. Thanks.

  • katob Z6ish, NE Pa
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I probably will end up trading several this summer, I'm really having trouble right now finding space for vegetables and it's because of all the tulips!.... And daffodils :)
    I'll post a message as I dig them up and get closer to seeing what I have. I should have more than enough.

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    I'm curious about the "warm" dry place. I've wanted to do tulips here, but it's too warm for them. They'll bloom the first year, but won't come back - and I like the plants that will come back for me. Same with hyacinths, though I had one pitiful plant try to come back for three years (sad flowers), the goats nibbled on it, and that was the last straw.

    So - how warm is your warm place, that the bulbs will come back for you?

  • freki
    10 years ago

    aharriedmom.. tulips need freezing in winter to come back. warm & dry is for summer storage before those of us with winters replant them in the fall

  • aharriedmom
    10 years ago

    Okay, that makes sense. Thank you!

  • lkzz
    10 years ago

    WOW! Looks like a garden in Holland. I know you are so enjoying the beauty...fantastic!