Thus ends the 2014 Tulip Experiment. Our hot dry January ruined the flowers of the potted bulbs--we got only two flowers, one good, one deformed, from the twenty bulbs in pots. The rest shriveled.
To the compost!
The bulbs planted in fallow veggie beds grew better--about a dozen flowers from those. It was fun, it was educational. The beautiful emerging foliage and the intense saturated red of the brief flowers came at a time when the garden was bare of roses, but I will be reluctant to do tulips again next year. The cost/pleasure ratio was not compelling.
Also in the cool-season bulb category, a few of the Ranunculus I planted last year have returned. More may have returned had I dug and stored rather than leaving them in the ground. These, with their easier care and extended flowering, I would plant again, choosing more subdued colors to better agree with the nearby pastel roses.
While the Tulips were not overwhelmingly successful, the Sweet Peas have been pure delight. Cheap, easy, fun, fragrant.
They already have competition, as the roses are waking up...
...the recently planted Grevillea 'Moonlight' has its first flower...
...the Morocco Daisy continues...
...and the Aloes!
Why not let the Tulips die back naturally and then store/refrigerate for next year?
ReplyDeleteBecause, unfortunately, they don't come back the next year. In this climate they can't store enough energy to be viable.
DeleteI broke down and bought a 4-pack of pre-sprouted tulips just last week, popping them into a 1/2 empty pot. They lasted less than 4 full days. I think I would have fared better with cut tulips in a vase.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed!
DeleteTulips are basically annuals for me, though I have found 2 that come back reliably for multiple years--Pink Impression and Big Smile. A total crapshoot.
ReplyDeleteYou get colder than here, too.
DeleteI'm with you on the tulip thing. I had an urge to plant tulips a few years ago. Bought a bunch of bulbs but the reality was far from the pretty photos on the package. It's just too warm here.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many things we can easily grow here that other climates can only dream of--so we'll give them the Tulips. Seems fair...
DeleteAfter drooling over the things you grow that we can't, at last...the tables are turned. Tulips like our climate, but only the species tulips reliably naturalize. They're just coming up here now. I love the long-stemmed varieties, but can't be bothered with something that only lasts a year or three.
ReplyDeleteFair enough! Enjoy those beauties. :*)
DeleteUp here in Sacramento I have had poor luck with tulips in containers as well. I get maybe 10 to 20% that actually bloom. I think my success with in-ground planting has been more like 75%. One year I planted about 100 tulips in the ground and I'd venture to say that 10 of them re-bloomed the next year . . . so pretty much an annual for me too.
ReplyDeleteAnd Sacramento is colder than here. Yep, Ranunculus next year...
DeleteI usually don’t bother with any other tulips than the species either, but last autumn I fell for a packet of ‘Abba’ tulips and they are on their way up. They won’t come again so they will be an expensive one-off.
ReplyDeleteLoved your photos today, so many pretty flowers, sorry your tulips didn’t do well, but you have so many other plants that do so lots of other things to choose instead!
Thank you Helene. The tulips did--okay, but yes, so many other things do so well I can leave the tulips to others.
DeleteNo tulips for me this year, but I never say no. Queen of the Night has been reliable and worth splurging on. Sweet peas are just starting to produce stems for cutting. I've been faithfully checking nurseries for a one-gal Moonlight, but finally gave up and planted a one-gal leucospermum in the spot I was holding for it. And the best news ever, rain is coming!
ReplyDeleteI will keep Q of the N in mind then based on your comments, and if they are duds it is all your fault.
DeleteHave not seen a 1 gallon 'Moonlight' either, no. Maybe next year?
Afraid to even think of rain yet, lest I jinx it.