There are few flowers that attract as much interest as the Tulip. With its incredible variety – over 3 000 in fact – and vibrant colours, this beautiful bulb is an absolute must for any Spring or Summer garden. Within the varieties, you’ll find early, mid-season and late-flowering Tulips, meaning you can grow them throughout the flowering season to give your garden long-lasting colour and vibrance.
Why grow Tulips?
Tulips are very easy to grow, needing little more than well-fertilized soil with good drainage. Tulips look stunning in pots or as a cut flower in the home, and actually keep growing once they’ve been cut if you cut them when the flower is fully coloured but not yet open – doing so will give you extra long colour in the vase.
Where to grow Tulips
- Tulips are remarkably versatile and will grow in sunny, partly-sunny and fairly shady areas, although for best flowering effect, morning sun spots are recommended.
- Because of their wide variety of colours and flowering periods, you can plant Tulips as borders and highly-visible parts of your garden to bring early Spring colour, and long-lasting colour throughout the season.
- You can also grow Tulips in pots or planter boxes to brighten up any walkway or window display
How to grow Tulips
- Plant in mid- to late-Autumn, any time afer the first frost but before the ground freezes
- Plant them in well-composted, free-draining soil that is never soggy
- For the best visual effect, plant the bulbs in groups around 15-20cm deep and about 10-12cm apart, with the pointed end upwards. Group the bulbs in informal patterns of at least 7 or more bulbs to achieve the best blocks of colour.
- Use a range of Tulip bulbs from early season to late flowering varieties to bring maximum effect across your planting areas
- Water regularly during dry spells but take care not to over-water as this may cause the bulbs to rot
- When the leaves emerge in Spring you can feed your Tulips with bulb food or bone meal
- After flowering remove the deadheads but leave as many leaves as possible to produce food for the following season.
- If you want to re-use your bulbs from year to year, cut short the blooms after about 3 weeks of flowering, and 6-8 weeks later dig out the bulbs and store them in a cool, dry place. You’ll need to chill them for 8-10 weeks before re-planting them.
What varieties of Tulips do Gee-Tee have?
Gee Tee have a large selection of Tulip bulbs ranging from single early and late Tulips, double early and late Tulips, Lily-Flowering, Viridiflora, Fosteriana, Kaufmanniana, Darwin Hybrids, Triumph, Parrot and Fringed Tulips.
This wonderful variety gives gardeners the option to create vibrant blocks of colour from early Spring right through to late Summer. Across the varieties the heights and blooms differ – single early bloomers range from 25-45cm, whereas single late bloomers can reach up to 75cm in height.
Kaufmanniana Tulips are ideal for rock gardens and containers, with shorter stems between 15-30cm, and a range of brightly contrasting colours across their star-shaped flowers.
As an interesting additional feature, some of the Fosteriana Tulip range are fragrant, making them ideal for planting near high-traffic areas or doorways and windows.
Perhaps the most famous of the Tulip varieties is the Darwin Hybrid – with sturdy stems that grow to 70cm in height, and a stunning range of vibrant colours across their egg-shaped flowers, these Tulips make wonderful cut flowers in mid- to late-Spring.