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Tulip Planting The ins-and-outs of tulip planting.
The most important thing for tulip planting is bulb selection and soil preparation. Bulb selectionThe bigger the tulip bulb the better. It is important to carefully check for any signs of disease or damage. The bulb should be firm, and have a protective papery skin surrounding it, something like an onion.Soil preparationThe soil must be well drained and preferably alkaline; if it's acid, apply lime just before planting your tulips. A couple of handfuls of ground limestone per sq mtr/yd is generally adequate. Dig the soil thoroughly so it's loose and light, adding well-rotted compost or peat to poor soils. This provides an ideal growing medium for tulips and also makes it easier to lift the bulbs after flowering. Make sure you go deep enough. If you're planting your tulips at 15cm (6in) then give another 8cm(3in) as. this will enable easier root growth. Without good roots, they're unlikely to survive the winter.Planting timePlant the bulbs when night temperatures average between forty and fifty degrees. This is usually about six weeks before the ground actually freezes, depending on your location. Earlier tulip planting than this can result in premature shoot growth, which can then get frost damage.Planting depthAs a rule of thumb, tulips are planted two and a half times deeper than their diameter. This varies with the type of soil. With light, sandy soil, plant 1 or 2 inches deeper than if it is an heavier clay soil. For the spacing between the bulbs see the chart below.Prepare the hole and put a little bed of sand on the bottom to
encourage root growth.Now's the time to add a long-acting ferilizer
which releases it's nutrients steadily to the soil and so feed the
bulbs ready for spring. Once the tulip bulbs are all planted, give them a good watering-in
and then apply a good mulch. This will help keep the moisture in
the soil and the temperatures more constant until early spring.
Well Done! Your tulip planting is over until next time. Tulip Bulb Spacing Chart
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