Tulips and How to Use Them in the Garden

There are a few matters pertaining to tulips, that can be used to create a spring-long show of bloom. Certain types of tulips bloom at certain intervals of the season. Besides this, tulips come in heights that vary widely enough to need attention when planting, so the taller ones do not obscure the shorter ones. These things are true of daffodils, also, so you can apply your planning points to these as well. Then, as in all of bloomtime planning, there are companion plantings which accentuate tulips as they bloom. It is really fun to put it all together, and you might consider making a "Spring Corner" just for the full effect of this type of garden.

After you have chosen the varieties of tulips to plant for bloom at early, mid, or late season, you can choose "underplantings " and "overplantings" . The underplantings of smaller bulbs or low growing spring bloom perennials; and overplantings of those late sprouting plants to cover the bare spaces left by the ripening and disappearing foliages of bulbs.

Underplanting Tulips

When you have chosen the varieties of tulips, the planting directions will state a preferred planting depth. The easiest way to plant a Spring border is to excavate it all together in a large shape. After purchasing your bulbs, just work up your soil, add some bone meal, plant at the depths stated ( usually 6-8 inches), add a layer of soil to about two inches below the final surface. On this you plant smaller bulbs such as crocus for early bloomers, or scillas for mid-blooming. These are only two of the possibilities. Snow crocus are probably too early, and you should choose the larger sized Dutch crocus for trying to coincide with the tulip bloom. I say,"try", because each year can prove some variations in bloomtimes. That is just the nature of the garden!

Blue grape hyacinths (Muscari) are lovely with tulips, as well as the anemone blandas. The anemones come in pink, blue, and white choices.

Of the many choices of perennial plant underplantings, my favorites are the alyssum saxatile 'Citrinum', and "Basket of Gold"; violas; candytuft, Iberis sempervirens; ajuga; thymes; Arabis alpina; forget-me-not, Myosotis; moss phlox, Phlox subulata;

One of the benefits of longlasting and good looking foliage of the Iberis and the thymes is that they look good in all seasons, and do not need additional plants to fill in where the bulbs were.

Descriptions of Tulip Categories

Here is a list of the different sorts of Tulips:

Darwin

tall stature, the ones people usually think of with the word tulip. The ones that are perennial are often in this group.

Fosteriana

early bloom, large blooms on mid-size plants. "Red Emperor" is a popular example.

Early

many of the old-fashioned varieties that often have fragrance and longevity in the garden.

Kaufmanniana

very early bloom and low stature. The " Water-lily " tulip is this type: very early and very lovely.

Greigii

bloom a little after the Kaufmannianas. These have interesting markings on their foliage and are some of the best early blooming, low growing tulips.

Late

The cottage tulips are part of this group. They do not bloom as late as lily-flowered types, but more around the time of the Darwins.

Lily-flowered

late blooming and long lasting perennial type. I don't think all their colors mix well together, but when used in combination with other bulbs and plants their unique beauty is highlighted. Favorites: "Ballade" is a purple trimmed with white, "Elegant Lady " is buttercream and raspberry-topped, " White Triumphator " is a clean white.

Botanical (specie)

these are very low stature, about the same height as most of the minor bulbs. A combination could be used for a Renaissance tapestry carpet of spring bloomers.

Triumph

Hybrids of the early and late varieties. Mid height, Mid season bloom, and strong stems.

Doubles

Sometimes called "peony tulips" with very full petals. I have never much cared for these, but Angelique is extremely beautiful. these come in both early and late categories ( Angelique is a Late sort)

Parrot and Fringed varieties

caused by a virus to break colors and sport odd petals, many people like these. I don't grow them, but they are the tulips that the Dutch painters often portrayed.

There are additional categories of tulips, however, for the home gardener, these are not important. If you like a tulip, the bloomtime, color, and height is usually displayed in the bulb information.

Some specific combinations to try are the " Ivory Floradale " tulips with Mertensia virginia, Virginia bluebells; they look lovely together and disappear together. Placing hostas in front and anemone, Honorine Jobert, as an overplanting, results in an autumn repeat of the color scheme. " Red Emperor " tulips and the sharply white and green Iberis sempervirens is a classic choice. There are many pink varieties of tulip that may be combined with the moss phlox, colored in pinks, blue, and white. If you use late flowering lily-type tulips, a surround of scilla hispanica (English bluebells, wood hyacynths) could coincide. The sweet woodruff blooms at the same time as the wood hyacinths, and makes a ground cover under roses and other shrubs. Just ideas to spark your own combinations.

In the city, I grew a number of the specie tulips: the peppermint tulip,'T. clusiana', was a slender, delicate beauty. I grew it in a lightly shaded area, although tulips almost always appreciate sun. In the rock garden,'T. dasystemon' was fine: small, flat plants with yellow and white blooms. There was one called Turkestanica or something, it was small and very similar in look. The Kauffmannias and Greigii, I will have to list under my favorite tulips. These both bloom about the same time, early in the spring, and grow low. The Greigii often have bright yellow color,sometimes with red stripes, but " Donna Bella " was a softer tone of cream with cherry stripes against purplish mottled foliage. It was not long-lived for me, but very lovely, especially with the blues of small bulbs such as the chionodoxia.

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