plant pick
Tulip Tulipa hybrids
There are some plants that just stand for a certain season, and nothing says “spring” as loud and clear as tulips!There’s a tulip out there for everyone. You’ll find nearly any color except blue, and some flowers are streaked with two or three colors. Some are that classic tulip shape, like ‘Barcelona’, in the photo, while others have fringed or ruffled edges, double blooms or elegant, pointed, lily-shaped flowers.
Like most bulbs, tulips like a spot that’s sunny in the spring, but they’re perfectly content under big shade trees that leaf out later. Just make sure they’re in well-drained soil, or the bulbs can rot.
If you garden south of zone 8, buy pre-chilled bulbs or refrigerate your bulbs for four to six weeks before you plant them.
TYPE Bulb SIZE 4 to 24 in. tall by 3 to 5 in. wide BLOOM Wide range of colors from early to late spring LIGHT Sun to part shade SOIL Moist, well-drained PESTS Crown rot HARDINESS Cold: USDA zones 3 to 8; Heat: AHS zones 8 to 1
See more spring-bloomers in Garden Gate magazine issue 85, on newsstands now!
