Expert: Long Island Gardener - 10/24/2006

Question
Please describe the procedure for planting these.  Do you have any special secrets you wish to share?
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I have been hoping that I would be able to grow a type of tluips called French tulips next year.  Unfrotunately I have not been able to find anyone who carries these.  Including our local gardening stores.  What assistance can you get me on these?
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Ahhhh, a French Tulip by any other name is also called Darwin, Cottage, Old Breeder, Scheepers' Hybrid or Single Late Tulip.

Known for their long, long stems, sometimes to 30 inches or longer without any chemical treatment, and their large blooms, these Tulips were bred for bouquets.  They open up right around Mother's Day, which makes a perfect gift - and you can't run out to just any corner flower stand and buy these.

Assuming you can still find them, and put them in the ground before it's too late, if you want to cut them next spring during bloom, keep as much of the leaves on the plant as possible.  It won't guarantee they'll be perennial if you do that.  But it will up the odds, and the blooms you eventually enjoy will still be impressively large the second season around.

Try to avoid getting these wet during the summer.  Lifting is always the best thing, but not very practical when you're dealing with 500-1000 Tulips bulbs.

My favorite perennial purveyor of bulbs is Van Engelen Nurseries (www.vanengelen.com), and do get yourself at least 25-50 of these MINIMUM.  Always look in the catalog at expected stem length if you are thinking of bringing these indoors for the table.  You want them to be at least 22 inches or longer; the bigger, the better.  There are treatments done by professional growers to elongate the stems, but this is not necessary if you're growing French Tulips.

Answer
Put them at least 8-12 inches underground.  You'll get the best lifespan out of them if you plant them deep.  Throw in a handful of bone meal, on the off chance they'll actually come back next year.  And don't count on it.  They are incredibly fickle; only Emperor Tulips and related species can be counted on for repeat performances, no matter what you do.

Another tip:  Keep them TOTALLY DRY in the summer.  You can lift them but it's not something you can realistically plan on when you're talking about several hundred bulbs.  Of course I have met people who are crazy.  They do lift hundreds, sometimes thousands.  But they are crazy.  I mean, we have other things to do.

Otherwise, don't pay any attention to those writers who tell you to "layer" bulbs.  There is no such things as "layering" spring bulbs unless you want to write an article telling people to do that.  They are crowded and any perennial predelictions will instantly be out the window if you Layer.  You know - those illustrations that tell you to put tulips on one layer, daffodils at another, then you put down some crocus or whatever, maybe hyacinths... the daffodils should return but they can't do that if you layer.

Grow tulips solo and hope for the best.  But as we know, even if it's only once, it's all worth it.  Don't you agree?