Tulip Darwin Hybrid Mixture

Tulip Darwin Hybrid Mixture – perhaps the largest of all of the tulips is the Darwin Hybrid tulip. Large flowering single cups of bright and varied colours, the flower will be up to 10cm in size. This is exaggerated when the tulip flower opens up in the spring sun producing a large disk of petals stretching up to 20cm across. Often with a characteristic black star at the base of the flower. These flowers sit on top of tall stems between 50 and 60cm high. They flower in late March and last for 2-3 weeks. Tulips mostly only produce 1 flower per bulb. Although the tulip Darwin Hybrid Mixture will have simple forms and bright colours, they are showstopping flowers. Many of which change colours whilst they flower.

Our Tulip Darwin Hybrid Mixtures are made from the stock from our warehouse. Including a few bulbs from each variety. As they are all from the same family, they will all flower at the same time. The bulbs should be planted from October to December. They prefer a soil that will let excess water run out. Tulip roots are very thin and don’t like to sit in water, however it is important to not let the tulips dry out once the bulb begins to grow in early spring.

Flowering in the spring, tulip bulbs grow well in borders, rock gardens and containers providing colour from early March through to mid-May.

When do I plant Tulip bulbs?

Plant tulip bulbs in Autumn between September and December, but you can plant them as late as January and they will still perform. They will begin to flower from March depending on the type, with some flowering into late April. Usually, they have about two weeks of flowering time per bulb depending on the weather.

How do I plant Tulip bulbs?

Tulip bulbs start with a good source of moisture and nutrients stored within the bulb, so you don’t need to feed, soak, or prepare them in any way. To get the best results from your tulip bulbs, plant them in moist soil during autumn. This will activate the growth of the roots before winter.

Tulip bulbs can be planted in a sunny position or semi-shade, with well-drained slightly acidic or neutral soil. The sun will make the tulip flowers open very wide, but they close again overnight. Taller varieties should be sheltered from strong winds to avoid stem breakage.

Plant tulip bulbs 10-15cm deep in well-draining soil. Place 5-10cm apart to stop the roots competing and the foliage getting cramped. Tulip bulbs produce a lot of roots that don’t like to sit in water, but once they start growing make sure they don’t dry out. If planting in pots, make sure they have good drainage and lots of room for the roots to develop. Pots can dry out quite quickly so a loam soil is often best.

How do I store tulip bulbs?

Once your Tulips have bloomed you can deadhead the flowers but do not remove the leaves. These will ensure the bulbs are able to gather and store the energy needed to bloom again the following year.

Tulip bulbs can be kept in the ground all year round, but you may find that they don’t put on as much of a display as the previous year.

Once the foliage has yellowed and died back, it can be removed, then carefully dig the tulip bulbs up. Clean the soil off and let the bulbs dry. Discard any damaged ones. Store tulip bulbs in nets or paper bags, but make sure you label them. Keep in a cool dark place ready to replant in the Autumn.