Tulip Bulb Sale
Tulips are easily one of my favorite flowers. Ive mentioned many times that to me its about more than just the flowers. In the spring my love of tulips has to do with more than just the flowers too!
Their loud burst of color before many other things have even shown up green is a little ode to us in the north. A little display to congratulate us for making it through another winter. With the tulip buds come the sounds of robins and the buzz of bees and the stirring of life after a long hibernation. Little memories of “tulip fairies” also come to mind. In my childhood these fairies would put trinkets in the tulip blossoms as they closed at night. In the morning, my daycare provider would bring us to the the garden with a twinkle in her eye to look for the treats left in the blooms as they opened for the day.
The simple cheerie single tuilps are lovely but flower farming has brought a whole new world of tulips with frilly edges, parrot feather fringes, deep moody colors, and layers and layer of peony like petals that are harder to get your hands on. Once again this year I will be offering my favorite varieties of tulip bulbs for sale in the farm stand. This year to join our tulips we have fancy double daffodils (narcissus) as well!
Bulbs are sold in bunches of 10 for $15 each
Varieties available include
Sun lover
Queen of the Night
Menton
Amazing Parrot
Crunchy Cummins
Avant Garde
Mariage
Alison Bradly
Fancy Frills
Perth
Narcissus Doubles
Replete
Sweet Paradise
Yellow Paradise
Tulips and narcissus have a few ways they can be planted; in a straight row to form a border, in a flower bed in a circular bunch for a good visual impact, sporadically to speckle color throughout a space or in a container. With the fancy varieties I suggest the circular “bunch” way to make the most impact and it seems to help the tulip survival rate.
Bunch planting:
Dig a hole 5-6 inches deep and wide enough to plant 10 bulbs spaced as if they were sitting in a egg carton. Cover with dirt and water! Tulips develop roots in the fall and winter and need a little water to get started.
Straight row:
If you want to plant tulips in a border style, dig a trench 5-6” deep and wide enough for 3 bulbs a minimum of 3 tulips to sit side by side. Cover with dirt and water well!
Sporadically:
This is when you take a hand trowel, bulb planter, or drill and dig a hole big enough for one or two bulbs around your flower bed. It can be pretty but is often better done with single varieties. In my opinion fancy varieties give a bigger impact when planted in groups.
Container:
Find a well-draining container and fill it with loose soil, making sure water won’t gather and stay at the bottom. Plant the tulip bulbs about 5-7” deep and 3-4” apart, placing them in the soil with their pointy ends up. Since containers often have limited space, you can also experiment with placing the bulbs closer together, but make sure they never touch. Water well once and wait for spring, or, when you live in hardiness zone 3-7, water well and bring the containers indoors, letting them spend the winter in a cool spot like an unheated garage or basement.