Expert: Long Island Gardener - 9/23/2007

Question
I live in zone 11 and would like to know when would be the best time to plant my bulbs.  Also what do I need to do to the soil to make them look much better then they do now?

Answer
All Tulips planted in Zone 11 are going to need 'Chilling' before you plant them, or they WILL NOT GROW.  After that, the biggest challenge is making sure they do not get too warm (causing bud blast).

Bottom line seems to be that if you want to do this in the practically Equatorial Zone 11, you'll need a COLD greenhouse to do it in.  Find someone in your area who
grows Miltonia Orchids.  They have similar problems - and have solved it, because Miltonias (Pansy Orchids) absolutely will not take heat.

Even under the best of conditions, in the most perfect Soil, most of today's Tulips don't return year after year.  They bloom smaller and smaller, if at all, and finally disappear, reason being they are bred for beauty and size and length of stem.  NOT for perennial performance.  It's more profitable that way.

Zone 11 is Paradise for things like Jasmine, and fragrant Orchids, and Citrus trees of all shapes and sizes, Passionflowers, Hibiscus, Gardenias... All the things we dream up North here of growing someday, somehow.  Tulips are lovely, but the challenges they become in a Zone 11 climate are quite daunting.  I just know you are going to have to try this once to believe it.  We gardeners are like that.  So after you plant and water and grow, let me know how they work out, one by one.  If you need tips before then, let me know.  Just warning you.  Start with cold treated bulbs, that is non negotiable.  In between, shop for Orchids.  (NO Miltonias, pleeeeze.)