Expert: Kenneth Joergensen - 5/3/2006

Question
Tulips. D0 tulip bulbs miltiply if left in the ground
for one or two seasons.  or is it only specific vararities of tulips?
Does the same apply to Hyacinths?
does the same apply to daffodils?

What is the difference between Darwin and other tulip
bulbs?

I would most sincerely appreciate your answer.

I live in Vancouver British Columbia.

thank you

colleen miller

Answer
Technically, tulips do multiply, but I am not sure it helps you a whole lot.

Tulips need to reach a certain size to bloom (typically 12 cm circumfence). Many tulips today split after flowering; dividing themselves into two smaller bulbs 6-8 cm circumfence. Offsets (new baby bulbs) are also created which are even smaller. These bulbs take another 3-4 years of good growing conditions to flower.

The problem with tulips are that they split (divide) easily and even if you did grow the smaller bulbs under good conditions, there is a chance they would split again before flowering.

Generally, modern tulips can be succesfully rebloomed (e.g. made to repeat) for 2-3 seasons before they split into smaller daughter bulbs. You do this by planting at recommended dept, in full sun, and in soil with good drainage. Fertilize a couple of times in spring, and cut the flower off when the petals fall. Let the foliage stay for as long as possible after flowering (the longer the better). The foliage is required to recharge the bulb.

Darwin Hybrids are a certain type of tulips created as a mix between the old english "cottage" types and the original Darwin tulips (which were dutch hybrids on their own). these tulips produce long stems, larger flower heads, mid season flowering, and repeat better than most other tulips. The color range is a bit narrow and the most reliable tulips are found in the solid colored ones (red, yellow, pink, etc). Some bicolor varities are available but not a lot. This is an ideal garden tulip.

Triumph tulips, for example, is another type of tulips which is typically found in the florist trade. The color sceme is very wide and the tulips are shorter, do better in vase, and flower heads not as big as darwin hybrids, but according to many people, this is a much prettier tulip. Due to fact that it is harvested, the ability to come back year after year has not been an important thing and this trait is therefore not well developed (e.g. it is therefore not an ideal garden tulip). The bulbs are very common in garden centers, however.

Hyacinths and daffodils are a bit different.
Daffodils do multiply - and aggressively so -and you can with some work increase your stock tremendously. These bulbs also repeat much more reliably than tulips.

the most important part is to fertilize a few times in spring, plant in full sun, cut flower stem off after flower dies, but let the leaves stay until they die on their own in early summer. Do not restrict, cut or remove the leaves.
Every 3-4 years, you should dig up the daffodils, seperate the large bulbs from the small (called "dividing"). This is because crowded bulbs tend to flower poorly (and reproduce poorly). When you replant, do so with 5 bulbs per sq foot.
Smaller bulbs can be planted, too, and will flower in 2-3 years.

Hyacinths are also excellent perennializers. As with other spring flowering bulbs, fertilize a few times in spring, do not cut the leaves off, but cut the flower stem as the flowers fade. These are slow to reproduce, but you can do something really funny with hyacinths, called SCORING. Take one excess bulb and cut (slice) with a knive into the bottom of the bulb (the base plate which is the flat side; not the pointy side). With the knife cut through the base plate into the juicy layers. Cut several slits (to look like a pizza). Then plant the bulb in the ground. In one year, small bulblets will form in the slits. These bulbs will grow if you practise the same care (fertilizer, cut flower stems, do not cut foliage). Dig and replant the small bulblets (space them a few inches apart) after the 2nd season. A few years later, you will have many hyacinths. A single bulb can produce 20-30 bulblets. If half survive, well you multiplied your original bulb by atleast 10 (for free). It takes patience, however.

A mature hyacinth will send up 5-6 really thick wide leaves. The baby bulbs will send up many smaller, round, grassy like leaves.  The baby bulb foliage will look like lots of thick grass (see this picture):

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v345/kdjoergensen/gardening/bulbs/hyacinths/?a...

if the above link is divided into two lines, you need to copy/paste the link into one line with no spaces in your browsers address bar (location bar). Hopefully you can see it.

E.g.
a link such as: bulb/hyacinths/action
=view¤t

Must be copied as: bulb/hyacinths/action=view¤t
NOT: bulb/hyacinths/action =view¤t

(I hope this made sence)

Try google the word: "hyacinth bulb scoring".
You can get some nice drawings showing you how.

-- Kenneth