Growing tips: Parrot Tulips

Dutch Masters were the first illustrators of exquisite, streaked Tulips back in the days of Rembrandt. Today’s Parrot Tulips are much improved, blooming in bigger, brighter colors in mid-Spring. These are gorgeous. Believe it or not, growing them couldn’t be easier.

PURCHASING: Decide your reason for growing Parrot Tulips.

Are you going to pick them and put them in vases? You’ll need tall Parrot Tulips – at least 18 inches, preferably taller. Will you be leaving these in the garden? Shorter stems will do – they tend to break less on windy days than the taller kinds. Do you plan to pot them? You’ll need the shortest, sturdiest stems, 8 to 12 inches long, so they can stand without the anchoring they get when grown in soil.

PLANTING: Like any bulb, you’ll need a site blessed with full sun and perfect drainage. Anything less will shorten the life of the bulb and most certainly ruin any flowers before they bloom.

Midway into Autumn, dig a hole 12 inches deep (to evade harvesting by hording Squirrels). Throw a handful of sand and another handful of Bonemeal, and rest one bulb on it, pointed side up; then cover with soil. Plant these Bulbs 8 to 12 inches apart. Do not water; Mother Nature will take care of that.

POTTING: If you want to pot your Tulips, you’ll be able to move them around and enjoy them everywhere.

Purchase deep, wide Terra Cotta pots (which breathe, unlike plastic) and lay a bed of even parts sand and soil, 3 to 4 inches deep. Potted bulbs are arranged close together for best effect. A 12 inch wide pot will hold 6 bulbs. “Plunge” the pot, Tulips and all, into the garden, flush with the ground. After a hard frost, cover with several layers of dead leaves and leave until Spring has sprung; remove the leaves in late Winter.

BUYING: Top bulb vendors ship fresh stock to local garden centers every year. Buy only fresh bulbs – anything that’s left over from last year is now a dud and should be tossed in the compost pile.

You can also order some beautiful Parrot Tulips online: Brent and Beckys Bulbs is one of the foremost sources of high quality Spring bulbs (www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com). If you want to buy large quantities, consider Van Engelen Nursery, an importer in Connecticut that sells them in batches of 50 to 100.

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Tagged as: Dud, Dutch Masters, Mid Spring, Potted Bulbs

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