How To Take Care Of Tulip Plant

 

The scientific name of Tulip plant is Tulipa spp. And the plants are actually a vibrant, cheerful flower that brings a smile to anyone’s face and they are a symbol of spring. The Tulips plants come in a variety of colors, with some varieties even being multi-colored. This wonderful flower can make for a casual bouquet on your kitchen counter or an elegant, more formal arrangement for a special occasion. Tulip plants can range from four to thirty inches tall. Actually Tulip plants grow upright with a single flower at the end of a hardy stem. This beautiful perennial flower is a classic spring-blooming bulbs prized for their showy flowers that come in a wide range of colors–nearly all colors except true blue. A lot of tulips are bi-colored. Tulips have about hundred species and they are all organized into fifteen divisions based on the flower shape and origin. The Tulips smaller species are actually used in informal beds, borders, and rock gardens, why the taller and the larger hybrid tulips are dramatic and they are good choices for formal, massed beds, and in clumps in the flower garden or shrub border. This wonderful perennial flower makes excellent cut flowers as well.

Tulip Plants Info

Plant type: Tulip plants are hardy spring-blooming bulb.

Tulip plant growing zones and range: Zones three to eleven; perennial in Zones three to seven; annual in zones seven to eleven.

Hardiness: The plant is hardy; must have frost during winter; Tulip plants are tolerant of heat and cold.

Height and width: four to thirty inches tall, four to ten inches wide.

Tulip flowers: Tulips have single or double bowl-shaped flowers; the flower colors include orange, red, pink, lavender, gold, yellow, blue, purple, black, or white; many bi-colors.

The plant blooming time: The plant blooming time is early to late spring.

Uses: Tulip plant can be use on beds and borders, mass plantings, pattern plantings.

Tulip common name: Tulip

The scientific name: The scientific name of Tulip is Tulipa spp.

The Family: Tulip belongs to Liliaceae family. 

Tulip varieties

Tulip plants have a lot of varieties. The following are some of the varieties of tulip plants:

-         The Species Tulips: The Species Tulips are actually Mediterranean and Asian natives they tend to be petite, sporting flowers that open wide on sunny days. These particular varieties are pure native species that have not been hybridized or bred to create named cultivars.

The name: The name is Species tulips.

The native area: the species tulip is native to Mediterranean regions, southern Eurasia.

The USDA Hardiness zones: three to eight.

The height: three to sixteen inches.

The sun exposure: It prefers full sun.

The blooming time: it varies according to species.

-         The Triumph Tulips: The Triumph Tulips is a medium-sized tulip that has single-petal flowers in the classic cup shape. The Triumph Tulips bloom earlier than Darwin hybrids and they have shorter, heavier stems. The Triumph Tulips are available in a wide spectrum of pastels, bright tones, and bi-colors, actually the reliable Triumph tulip is a garden designer's delight. You can easily plant them deeply, at least eight inches beneath the soil surface, to encourage some years of performance.

The name: The name is Triumph tulip.

The native area: Nursery hybrid.

The USDA Hardiness Zones: three to eight.

The height: eighteen to twenty inches.

The sun exposure: The Triumph tulip prefers full sun, partial shade.

The blooming period: The blooming period is April.

-         The Darwin Hybrid Tulips: The Darwin Hybrid Tulips can reach up thirty-four inches in height. The Darwin Hybrid Tulips are a favorite for cut-flower arrangements, flowering about the same time as most daffodils. The Darwin Hybrid Tulips actually thrive nicely for several years before losing their vigor. You can plant the Darwin hybrid tulips beside your house, fence, or shed to provide shelter from stem-snapping winds.

The name: The name is Darwin hybrid tulip.

The native area: Nursery hybrid.

The USDA Hardiness Zones: three to eight.

The height: twenty to thirty-four inches.

The sun exposure: The Darwin hybrid tulip prefers full sun, partial shade.

The blooming time: The blooming time is April.

-         The Apricot Beauty Tulips: Actually the flowers of this particular variety of tulip never look exactly the same—the color intensity really varies depending on the amount of sun that hits the flowers as well as on the point in time of the blooming period. This particular tulip variety is fragrant and is a popular tulip for forcing.

The name: The name is Apricot Beauty.

The native area: Nursery hybrid.

The USDA growing zones: three to eight.

The height: fourteen to sixteen inches.

The sun exposure: The Apricot Beauty Tulips prefers full sun, partial shade.

The Blooming time: The Blooming time is April/May.

-         The Grand Perfection Tulips: The Grand Perfection Tulips is a relatively new variety, introduced in 1999. The Grand Perfection Tulips has eye-catching flowers that start as soft yellowish adorned with crimson-red flames. As the plant mature the flowers turn ivory-white with ruby-red flames.

The name: The name is Grand Perfection tulip.

The native area: Nursery hybrid.

The USDA growing zones: three to eight.

The height: sixteen to eighteen inches.

The sun exposure: The Grand Perfection tulip prefers full sun, partial shade.

The blooming time: The blooming time is April/May

-         The Double Ice Cream Tulips: The Double Ice Cream Tulips has a short stature, which makes it an excellent choice for the front of the border, along a patio, or walkway. The plant has large, long- lasting blooms, the plant also make a stunning cut flowers.

The name: The name is Double Ice Cream tulips.

The native area: Nursery hybrid

The USDA growing zones: three to nine.

The height: twelve to sixteen inches.

The sun exposure: The Double Ice Cream tulips prefer full sun, partial shade.

The blooming time: The blooming time is May.

-         The La Belle Epoque Tulips: The La Belle Epoque Tulips is a peony-like tulip that features changing colors, unlike any other variety. The La Belle Epoque Tulips flowers start out with copper-gold, and then mature to salmon-apricot, followed by amber-rose and finally butter-caramel.

The name: The name is La Belle Epoque tulip.

The native area: Nursery hybrid.

The USDA growing zones: three to eight.

The height: sixteen to eighteen inches.

The sun exposure: The La Belle Epoque tulip prefers full sun, partial shade.

The blooming time: The blooming time is late April.

-         The Fringed Tulips: This particular variety of tulip includes genetic mutations from tulips in other groups, chosen for the unique serrated, fringed edges on the petals. The Flower colors of the Fringed Tulips include purple, red, pink, yellow, white, and bi-colors.

The name: The name is Fringed tulip.

The native area: Nursery hybrid

The USDA hardiness zones: three to eight.

The height: sixteen to twenty-six inches.

The sun exposure: the Fringed tulip prefers full sun, partial shade.

The blooming time: The blooming time is late April to early May.

-         The Emperor Tulips: The Emperor Tulips originated with a species of early-blooming tulips that is native to central Asia. The Emperor Tulips have huge flowers reaching up to eight inches across. This particular variety of tulip come in vivid, bright colors, including orange, red, pink, white, yellow, and bicolor.

The name: The name is Emperor/Fosteriana tulip.

The native area: Nursery hybrid.

The USDA hardiness zones: three to eight.

The height: fourteen to twenty inches.

The sun exposure: The Emperor Tulips prefers full sun, partial shade.

The blooming time: The blooming time is late March.

How to grow Tulip bulb

Selecting Tulip Bulbs

Make sure you select a quality Tulip bulb that is heavy, firm and also free from soft spots and deep blemishes. The basal plate (a modified stem from which the plant roots emerge and which holds the scales together) ought to be firm and solid. Loose tunics (skins) will not affect development. Normally, larger Tulip bulbs mean larger flowers.

Whether you get your Tulip bulbs by mail or from your local garden center, make sure you plant them as soon as possible. Otherwise, store the Tulip bulbs in a cool place (sixty degree Fahrenheit) in an open paper bag, the Tulip bulbs actually require ventilation to remain viable. You need to handle the tulip bulbs carefully at all times, a tulip bulb is never dormant.

When to plant Tulip bulb

You can plant the Tulip bulbs from late September to early December, though depending on location. Plant the Tulip bulb before deep frost hardens the ground, but make sure a cool weather has set in so that the Tulip bulbs don't begin to grow in the fall.

Where to plant Tulip bulb

The Tulip bulbs can actually be planted anywhere in your garden, along borders or terraces, around a fence or tree. For the most dramatic color effect you can plant in clusters of ten to twenty-five bulbs of the same variety. The Tulip plants actually need full sun or light shade in Hardiness Zones four and five, but the plant will perform better in partial shade in Hardiness Zones six and seven. The Tulip Bulbs that is planted in shady areas will grow taller and last longer. You can plant the Tulip bulbs away from the house where soil tends to be cooler to avoid early flowering.

Preparing to Plant the Tulip Bulbs

Make sure you plant the Tulip bulbs in a well drained soil; for clay soil you can easily add peat or vermiculite; for sandy soil you can add peat or compost. Before planting the Tulip bulbs, make sure you work the soil thoroughly to a depth of twelve to eighteen inches. Before planting the Tulip bulbs fertilize the soil. Choose 10-10-10 all-purpose fertilizer and then applied at the rate of two pounds per one hundred square feet.

Planting the Tulip Bulbs

There are actually 2 approaches to planting: you can either dig a hole for each of the Tulip bulb, or you can dig an area large enough for an entire bulb cluster. Place base of the Tulip bulb approximately six inches from the soil surface; eight to twelve inches in sandy soil. Plant four to six inches apart, firming the soil around the Tulip bulbs. Then cover with soil.

After Planting the Tulip Bulb

Immediately after planting the Tulip bulbs, you have to water thoroughly. Saturation is compulsory in order for the Tulip bulbs to begin to strong, early root formation for optimal spring bloom. This initial watering of the Tulip bulb should provide adequate moisture through the winter. However you need to water your Tulip bulbs if there is an extended dry spell to replenish natural moisture. In cold areas, after the frost has penetrated one to two inches, cover the Tulip bulb beds with a three inch mulch of leaves, peat moss, straw or evergreen boughs.

Furthermore, you can remove mulch in the spring before shoots develop more than an inch or two. The Tulip flowers should be cut when the petals begin to drop or they will go to seed, depleting food needed to form a new bulb the following season. Don’t remove the foliage until it is yellow, limp and can be easily pulled free. If space is required for other plants once flowers have bloomed, you can plant the flowers in among the stems of the tulips to provide color for the remainder of the season. Most Tulip bulbs can actually be left undisturbed for a three to five year period.

Harvesting and Storing Tulip Bulbs

If the Tulip bulbs are to be dug up for reuse next season, you can easily dig them when the leaves turn yellow. Just remove the loose soil and then dry them for about one week in a shady, protected area with adequate ventilation. Then get rid of any remaining soil and then dust with a fungicide to control rot and other diseases. To prevent them from drying out you can easily store the bulbs in dry peat moss, perlite, vermiculite or sand in a porous bag or shallow tray. Make sure you store them in a cool (thirty-five to fifty degree Fahrenheit), dry, well-ventilated area for replanting in the fall.

Pest and disease control

Animals like squirrels, deer, and other rodents are popular with Tulip bulbs and foliage. Actually in some areas, it is not worth planting tulip bulbs in the ground; you are better off growing the Tulip bulbs in protected containers. Another option, you can try deterrents or interplant the tulip bulbs with daffodil plants, but be prepared to lose a few.

Some of the insect pests include:

Aphid insects: You can wash them off with water spray or squash them with your fingers.

Bulb mites: These Bulb mites are sometimes found in the purchased Tulip bulbs. Always inspect the Tulip bulbs for signs of decay. A brief 2 minute soak in one hundred and twenty degree water will kill mites.

Thrips: You can combat with sticky traps or you can easily introduce ladybugs and green lacewings as predatory insects. The Thrip damage may appear as brown or silvery streaks on the leaves of the tulip plants.

Tulip plants are also susceptible to basal rot and fire fungus. Basal rot actually appears as a dark brown spotting or pink or white fungus on the Tulip bulbs. The plants that grow from affected bulbs may be deformed or die early. One of the best remedy is to discard any affected bulbs and then plant the new bulbs that have been treated with a fungicide.

The bulbs that are affected by fire fungi lead to malformed or stunted plants or plants that never emerge. The affected Tulip plants may have curling shoots or dead areas with dark green rings. You can treat the affected Tulip plants with a fungicide. Make sure you discard the affected bulbs, and then plant the new bulbs that have been treated with a fungicide.