Tulip Alison Bradley

General Planting Advice

Top Tips for Bulbs Planting:
1. Buying – When buying your bulbs, choose bulbs that are firm and feel heavy for their size. Reject any that are mouldy, damaged or feel soft.
2. Planting Depth – Bulbs generally need to be planted about twice their height depth.
3. Group Together – Plant bulbs in groups – odd numbers of bulbs in each group work the best. Generally the larger the group, the better the display looks. Single bulbs dotted around the garden never seem to make an impact.
4. Woodland Planting – If you are going for a random effect in a woodland/wild setting, throw the bulbs in front of you and plant them where the land. This helps to avoid a ‘regimented’ look.
5. Don’t Mix – Try not to plant a mix of bulbs together unless they are combination. Make sure to check flowering times and heights, as this can often lead to a disappointing show.
6. Container Planting – Most bulbs tend to do well in containers. Dwarf varieties will often echo the scale of the container.

Successional Display

Your garden and containers can look sensational for weeks if you choose bulbs for a successional display.

What to do if your bulbs fail to flower!

Where established clumps of your bulbs fail to produce a successful display, follow these simple steps to help revive them for the following years:

• Water and feed clumps throughout spring, and leave the stalks/leaves to die down naturally.
• Mark the position of underperforming clumps. Make a note in your diary to lift, divide and replant these bulbs in September-October.
• Replant at 3-4 times the depth of the bulb, into soil that has been improved with garden compost. Give each bulb its own space, so that it grows on strongly next spring.
• Repeat this autumn lifting and dividing every three-four years.

Tulips

Grow Your Own Tulips In Pots:
1. Firstly add a layer of gravel to the bottom of a large container to provide drainage.
2. Add a multi-purpose (peat-free) compost, filling the container to around 20cm below the rim/top of container.
3. Firm the compost down, to provide a surface for the bulbs.
4. Place the tulip bulbs about 5-8cm apart, with the tips of the bulbs pointing up.
5. Cover the bulbs with more compost, filling the container to within 5cm of the top of the container. Make sure to firm the compost down between the bulbs.
6. Water thoroughly to soak the compost.
7. Stand the container in a sheltered position over autumn and winter. Ensure the compost stays moist but does not freeze during cold spells.
8. Move the container into the sun in spring to enjoy flowers between April and May.
Extra Tip!!

• If you want to keep your bulbs for next year, remove the spent blooms after flowering. Cut the flower stems down to the base so the bulbs don’t waste energy trying to produce seed.

Diseases Affecting Tulips:

• Tulip Fire – Affects the leaves, stems and flowers. Leaves emerge twisted and distorted with brown spots. These spots also occur on stems and flowers. In damp conditions, a fuzzy grey mould develops and flowers rot rapidly. Solution: There are no fungicides to treat this so remove and destroy infected plants. Avoid planting in the infected soil for three years.
• Tulip Grey Bulb Rot – This disease infects the neck first before working downwards. Foliage may fail to emerge and leaves may become distorted. Solution: There are no fungicides to treat this so dig up and destroy infected bulbs. Do not replant these areas with tulips for about five years.
• Tulip Leaf Spot – This produces small brown scars on the leaves. Also leaf growth causes curving or holes where dead tissue has torn. Solution: There are no fungicides to treat this so remove affected leaves. Severely affected bulbs should ideally be burned.
• Common Viruses – Symptoms include colour breaks/streaks in flowers, mottled leaves, brown spots and stunted/distorted plants. Solution: Without the use of chemical controls, eliminate infected plants.

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