We’re going to the park today. Let’s go to the zoo! Spring break, we’ll take a drive to Disneyland. How about Sunday at Golden Gate Park?
There are many sights children see as the adults in their lives bring them into the surrounding outdoor world when winter breaks into spring. And there is one flower that surely will catch their eye and then reappear in the small child’s first drawing of a landscape — that flower is a tulip.
Is it the shape? The color? The way it stands tall and straight? Its simplicity? Whatever it is — and it is all of these — tulip drawings cover elementary school classrooms more often than not. We will never find an art rendering of a gladiola or a zinnia in those first efforts at duplicating a flower design.
Tulips need to be front and center right now or it will be too late. It is already too late for the April tulip planting, because in our area tulips should have several weeks of fake cold (not to be confused with fake news). Because we have such warm autumns, tulip bulbs benefit greatly by storage at 40 degrees for a few weeks before planting.
But, the time is right for May flowering tulips. The best flowers appear on newly planted bulbs. Leftovers will have diminished quality and numbers. Tulips love full sun and will tolerate part shade only a bit. They like their own space and do not thrive if they are fighting tree roots, shrub roots or weeds. They like well drained soil with soft loam beneath the bulb where their roots will grow. The ground below the tulip bulb is more important than the ground above it.
An application of bone meal is good for all bulbs. Spread it in the ratio of two ounces per square yard and rake it in well before planting. Once planted, if we go back to drought conditions, don’t let a tulip bed dry out. It should be kept lightly watered throughout the growing cycle which includes the appearance of new tips, blooms and the maturing of the leaves until they turn brown.
Some rules for bringing some of those marvelous blooms indoors, so artists old and young can draw them are: cut the flower with only the top leaf attached. Do not cut any other leaves as this will weaken the ability of the bulb to prepare for the following season’s growth. If the gardener wants to assist the bulb in re-blooming for a second year the dead flower heads also need to be removed before they form seed pods. When that action occurs, take care to leave as many leaves untouched and also most of the flower stalk. All of that greenery goes to making food for the tulip bulb.
Most of us grew up believing that tulips originated in Holland but, like so many of our assumptions, we are wrong. They were discovered in Turkey and it was the Turks that bestowed upon the flower its name — “Tulbend” which means a turban, referring to the shape of the flower. The year of discovery was 1554. They didn’t get transplanted to Holland until 1620. As you would suspect, and you would be correct, tulips arrived in the colonies with the founding of New Amsterdam or New York.
Also in November, we can plant tulips in pots and force them into early bloom for indoor enjoyment, or gift giving. It will take 10-12 weeks in cool, moist, dark conditions to stimulate root growth; it is fatal to success to place the newly planted bulbs in a greenhouse or living room right away. Oops. Too late for Christmas. But, how about Valentine’s Day? January 15? There’s nothing wrong with celebrating January 15.
To prepare the pot: place a few rocks over the bottom. It must be a pot that drains. Then place a layer of straw or leaves. Follow this by a layer of fertile soil mixture.
Bulbs come next and they can be placed close together. Cover bulbs with soil allowing tips to show. The pot is then placed in a larger frame and covered with soil/sand six inches deep over the tulip pot and set into that cool, dark area for several weeks.
How many is “several” you might ask? How about three to five? The tulip shoots should be 1-2 inches high and then the pot may come indoors. Introduce strong light gradually. As the shoots turn greener and grow, they will tolerate stronger light and grow quickly into, you guessed it, Tulbends.
Renee Kiff weeds and writes at her family farm in Alexander Valley.
