The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society is delighted to be available to gardeners through our website, www.yorktonhort.ca Visit the site and see what’s new with the group, as well as upcoming events. Our November meeting, on Thursday, November 22, is our AGM and is for members and invited guests only. Then comes the meeting where the board of directors gathers to discuss and plan the events and speakers for next year! It’s a busy time, but as gardeners we are always looking ahead!
Let’s sit down with a cup of tea and chat about tulips for a few minutes. Someone asked me once why tulips bulbs have to be planted now; couldn’t they be planted in the spring? I did some homework and learned that tulip bulbs need a period of “chilling out” before they will grow and bloom. It is the cold that starts the chemical process that will bring the bloom in the spring. Without this, nothing would happen.
It’s such fun to plant tulips — it takes hardly any time, and rewards us with a beautiful show in the spring! Now is the time to plant tulips; if we plant them too early they may start to grow, and when winter does come, they’d be done.
When planting tulips, dig a deep hole, eight or nine inches deep. If you are a very particular planter, I read that the depth of the planting hole should be three times the height of the bulb. This sounds fussier than planting needs to be: a hole depth of eight or so inches is just fine for most tulip bulbs. Choose a sunny location with good drainage, because they don’t like their feet to be wet.
If you want to give the bulbs a treat, add a couple handfuls of compost to the hole, or some 5-10-10 fertilizer. Mix it well into the soil so that it is not touching the bulbs directly. Then place the bulbs a couple inches apart in the hole. Please, please do not plant tulips in a straight line! They look much more natural and have more impact when planted in clusters or drifts. One lonely tulip bloom in a row looks pretty sad; but ten or twelve together in a clump have a real visual “wow” factor!
Once the bulbs are in place, backfill, and be sure to mark them with sticks so that you don’t inadvertently dig them up in the spring. Been there, done that! It’s very disappointing to start your spring work and dig up a lovely tulip bulb by accident!
Tulips are such a bright and cheery sight after the long, bleak winter. That splash of color in the garden breathes new life into our winter-weary souls! I may have told you this story: when our Toby (our beautiful black Lab) was still with us, he came outside with me one fall day when I was planting tulips. By this time he was quite sick, so I bundled him up in his little coat and brought out his pet bed so he could sit with me and be warm. As I planted those tulips, I can tell you that many tears fell because I knew Toby wouldn’t be with us by next spring when they bloomed.
That next spring, by a heavenly gift, they all burst into bloom on the same day, a cluster of brilliant orange tulips blazing in the spring sunshine. What a sight to restore our heavy hearts! In my mind’s eye I could see Toby again on that fall planting day, smiling his big doggy smile at me, and when those tulips bloomed they were a wonderful reminder of our special boy. They are still in our garden, and still a sight to enjoy each spring.
As gardeners, we always look ahead with hope and joy! Have a great week! Happy Birthday, sweetheart!
