Plant Profile: Tulips

posted in: Plant Profiles | 6

Tulips are beautiful spring blooms.  When the snow begins to vanish from the garden you can see the bulbs poking through the ground.  

tulip bulbs

Tulips are perennial plants that grow from bulbs.  The bulbs are planted in the Fall and will grow and bloom the following spring.  Tulips are associated with the Netherlands but they originated in Turkey.

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When choosing tulip bulbs, look for plump ones, and plant with the pointed part up.   They prefer a sunny location with fairly good drainage.

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I have many varieties and colours of tulips.  

tulipvarieties1a

Unfortunately squirrels will find tulip bulbs and eat them.

tulips at craftygardener.ca

After the blooms fade, the flower stem should be cut off, but leave the leaves so that nutrients are sent back to the bulb for the following years bloom.

2011 tulips

I have tried growing tulips in pots, with good success, so that they can be moved around to various places in the spring. When they were finished I did plant them all into the garden for the following year.

tulips in pots at craftygardener.ca

Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, has gorgeous blooms for the tulip festival.

Ottawa Tulip Festival May 2015
Ottawa tulip festival

The tulips in Ottawa started during the 2nd World War when Princess Juliana was safely staying in the city away from the ravages of war.  The Princess gave birth to one of her daughters in an Ottawa hospital.  Part of the hospital was declared to be international territory (temporarily) so the new baby could claim citizenship of the Netherlands.  That year 100,000 tulip bulbs were presented to Ottawa as thanks.   Each year the city receives 10,000 bulbs.   If you ever have the opportunity to visit Ottawa during tulip festival you will be thrilled to see all the blooms. Unfortunately due to covid restrictions we have not been able to visit Ottawa for the past two years, but you can still see the displays online.

purple tulips at craftygardener.ca
tulips growing right beside a clump of hosta

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tulips in pots at craftygardener.ca

6 Responses

  1. Jennifer Jilks

    Hooray for tulips!
    I’ve had a busy week, just getting caught up!
    Our rabbits did some of mine in, but the deer skipped them. Yippee.

  2. Myrtle

    You do have quite a few varietes of tulips Linda. This fall we will get some tulips, daffodils and I want some crocus as well.

    • Crafty Gardener

      Hi Myrt, love the tulips, these were all planted a few years ago, haven’t done any new ones lately. We have crocus and they are the first to pop up and bloom. So nice to see after a long winter. I also have lots of daffodils, some are already finished and some just starting to bloom. The lilac are open today and the sand cherry is in bloom. Love all the spring blooms. Enjoy the weekend.

  3. Linda

    I love tulips and buy a few new bulbs every year, I have always wanted to visit the tulip fields in Amsterdam, hopefully one day. Have a good weekend.

    • Crafty Gardener

      I imagine the displays in Amsterdam are spectacular. Maybe one of these days when travel is okay you will get to visit. Enjoy the weekend.

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