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I can never resist telling you about some of my favourite tulips. Every year I try a few new varieties, and every year I discover some that I will definitely grow again. I grow nearly all my tulips in pots which I start close to the walls of the house, under the shelter of the eaves. This helps to prevent the pots from becoming waterlogged in excessively wet winter weather.
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It may also afford some protection against cold, however last winter I doubt it made much difference; the pots were frozen for weeks at a time. Last season was a challenging one for tulips: their ancestors are natives of the Eastern Mediterranean – so they are used to warm, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Having endured the cold of last winter they then were challenged with unseasonally hot, dry weather when the flowers opened: a good test of their lasting quality. Some tulips fade after just a few days, others last for four weeks; these are the ones I will grow again.
When the shoots are 10cm or so above the compost I move them to their flowering positions; these often change as the blooms show colour. That is when they reveal the possibilities of amazing colour combinations. I group them with pots containing shrubs, striking planting schemes.
Before I tell you about varieties, I will tell you how I grow them. I plant them all in a
mixture of equal parts multi-purpose compost with added John Innes and John Innes No.3. This provides sufficient nutrients for the bulbs, and I can re-use the compost when the bulbs finish flowering by rejuvenating it with some Osmocote.
I use deep pots that are at least 30cm in diameter, ideally 40cm or more. I plant the
bulbs with their noses at least 10cm below the surface about 2cm apart. Bulb packets will always tell you to space them widely; if you follow these instructions you will only have three or four in a pot!
Tulipa ‘Daydream early’
In larger pots you can be clever and plant two or three layers of bulbs to get a succession of flowers. Plant the latest flowering variety deepest, and the earliest nearest to the surface. Try and plant so that the noses of the lower layer are between the bulbs in the upper layers. However if you do not they will usually sort themselves out if you allow a little space between the bulbs.
My final tip is the most important of all when it comes to getting those blooms to last: keep the pots watered regularly when the leaves are fully developed. If the weather is cool and showery it is easy to assume that the pots are getting enough water, often they are not. Dry tulips mean short lived flowers.
Now to the best bit – choosing your tulips. I raved about ‘Brown Sugar’ last year – so I grew it again, just one pot. It was every bit as good and lasted four weeks from the time the buds showed colour to when the petals fell. The cup shaped blooms on strong stems are a delicious shade of toffeecopper and they are unusually fragrant. It looked ravishing with my pots of Heuchera ‘Peach Flambé’.
Tulipa ‘Daydream’
I have grown Tulipa ‘Daydream’ before, and it fooled me again this year. I had forgotten I had planted it, and seemed to remember planting the glorious pink ‘Menton’ in the pots where it emerged. I was therefore slightly horrified when these large blackeyed, golden yellow blooms opened their silky petals. However after a day or two a slight orange tint appeared, soon the blooms turned to that wonderful shining orange that ‘Daydream’ brings to the spring garden. The flowers are large, open and poppy-like, and despite their delicacy they are remarkably weather resistant and long-lasting. This is an orange tulip for gardeners that don’t do orange!
Tulipa ‘Candy Apple Delight’ and Tulipa ‘Colour
Magic’ compliment each other beautifully.
I did not really know Tulipa ‘Candy Apple Delight’ when I planted it. It sounded a bit sugary for me, but I thought I would give it a try. The blooms were beautifully formed, almost egg shaped as they opened, with deep pink-red petals fading to white at the edges. It was particularly lovely with the sun shining through the petals, and it made a wonderful planting partner for Tulipa ‘Colour Magic’.
This is a cocktail of pink and white with flecked, painted petals. No two blooms appear quite the same, and a pot full is reminiscent of a watercolour painting. I loved these two varieties in pots, but they would also make excellent subjects to plant in groups in a border, particularly where blue forget-me-nots have seeded themselves or alongside bright purple honesty.
My last two recommendations are total opposites. Tulipa ‘Cardinal Midszenty’ is a surprise considering its name. This is a double tulip with delicately incurved pointedpetals of creamy white, opening pure white. It has a ballerina’s grace, and an athlete’s endurance lasting for a good three weeks – I think quite exceptional for a double tulip.
Tulipa ‘Havran’ is a total contrast; purple-black silky flowers with pointed petals on stout stems. It is about the stature of the glowing orange lily-flowering Tulipa ‘Ballerina’ and would make a wonderful planting partner for it. ‘Havran’ is exceptionally long lasting. I do not consider it to be an alternatie to my favourite ‘Queen of Night’; I would grow both and enjoy the variation in flower form.
Andy McIndoe
Andy McIndoe
Now perhaps my choices are too subtle for your taste, or perhaps you want to add a patriotic note to your garden in Olympic and Diamond Jubilee year. The bright scarlet Tulipa Showwinner’ planted with blue Crocus ‘Remembrance’ is bound to be an attention grabber. This would be good in a windowbox or trough or in a narrow bed. Why not add some white arabis and grow your own Union Jack?
