We’ve written about the most well-liked plant teams for the Monterey Bay space: California natives, dahlias, irises, roses and succulents. In at present’s column, we concentrate on tulips, that are in style in lots of elements of the nation however occasionally seen within the Monterey Bay space.
Nonetheless, this can be a well timed matter for our space, as you’ll see under.
Tulips are members of the genus tulipa, which is one in every of 15 genera within the lily plant household (liliaceae). The genus consists of some 75 species, that are native inside a large space starting from southern Europe by means of the Center East and Central Asia.
Tulips are extensively cultivated, and a broad number of colours, types and bloom intervals can be found. There are 15 divisions of tulips based mostly on flower morphology and plant dimension. These divisions are additionally listed inside three classes to their flowering season: early, mid and late.
Regardless of the spectacular range of at present’s tulip cultivars, native gardeners usually don’t develop these vegetation as a result of the Monterey Bay space lacks the nippiness interval that almost all tulips require throughout their dormancy.
The big majority of tulip bulbs which can be obtainable from mail-order nurseries or native backyard facilities are advisable for planting in USDA Zone 8 or decrease. The Monterey Bay space is in Zone 9, which does have cool and even freezing temperatures however doesn’t present the 12 to 14 weeks of chilly soil (i.e., under 55 levels F) that tulips require as a way to bloom throughout the next spring.
It’s attainable to get fortunate with a tulip selection that adapts to the native local weather. I’ve had common blooms from Tulipa ‘Peer Gynt’, bought in 1998 throughout a go to to Keukenhof Gardens within the Netherlands. It has bloomed yearly since then, with out particular care on my half. Evidently, all tulips don’t require the identical chill therapy.
However all isn’t misplaced! You’ll be able to develop tulips in a temperature local weather through the use of an applicable technique. Listed below are approaches to contemplate:
Pre-chilled tulip bulbs
Some on-line nurseries and presumably native backyard facilities provide tulip bulbs which have been pre-chilled and delivered in time for planting. For instance, browse to www.tulipworld.com and seek for “pre-chilled.” Because the season advances, extra temperate-climate gardeners and cold-climate procrastinators will need to develop tulips and extra nurseries will provide pre-chilled bulbs.
DIY bulb-chilling
You can order tulip bulbs early sufficient so that you can chill them under 55 levels F earlier than planting by late November or mid-December. Some on-line suggestions name for a chill interval of as brief as 4 weeks, however the optimum period is 12 weeks, reflecting the pure interval for tulips. The bulbs must be refrigerated in a paper bag, and situated away from fruits or greens (which emit ethylene fuel that may kill the tiny flower contained in the bulb).
This strategy requires ordering your bulbs quickly! Most mail-order nurseries put together to ship tulip bulbs on a schedule that’s applicable for areas with the required pure chill interval, so place early orders by cellphone to substantiate that you just want the bulbs in time for a synthetic chill interval.
Tulips must be planted in November in most elements of the nation. This schedule permits the bulbs to return out of summer season dormancy and develop roots earlier than the bottom freezes after which burst into bloom when heat climate arrives in late March or early April.
It’s acceptable to plant the bulbs within the late fall within the Monterey Bay space anticipating that the bottom is unlikely to change into frozen in the course of the winter, and won’t change into heat sufficient to stimulate untimely sprouting.
Whether or not you plant pre-chilled bulbs or chill them your self, plan to elevate the bulbs after the foliage has ripened (often round mid-Might), retailer them in a cool dry place in the course of the summer season, and supply a chill interval once more earlier than replanting within the late fall.
Buy Temperate-zone Species Tulips. As indicated above, there are a lot of species of tulips, a few of that are native to climates much like that of the temperate Monterey Bay space. These species are engaging in their very own proper, though maybe not as showy as the latest crop of cultivars. Species to seek for on-line embody Tulipa clusiana (a number of named varieties will be discovered), T. saxatilis, and T. urumiensis. These species are listed for Zone 9 and may very well be simply planted within the fall, however offering the same old chill interval would possibly present optimum blooms.
Advance your gardening data
Getting ready at present’s column introduced me to a number of tulip-related web sites of explicit curiosity. To study extra in regards to the genus tulipa, try these websites.
For temporary descriptions of the 15 divisions of the genus tulipa, browse to Wikipedia.com, seek for “tulips,” and scroll right down to “Horticultural classification.”
For an outline of tulip cultivation, go to brecks.com/class/Tulip_Flower_Bulbs
For a dialogue of tulips’ chilling wants, go to https://amsterdamtulipmuseumonline.com and seek for “chilly interval.”
For digital visits to the spectacular Keukenhof backyard, go to Keukenhof.nl. Quite a few brief movies can be found on-line by trying to find “Keukemnhof” and clicking on “video.” An attention-grabbing presentation is “How 7 Million Flowers Are Planted At Keukenhof Each 12 months,” obtainable at www.youtubecom (seek for the title).
For photographs of a sampling of the 1000’s of cultivars of the genus tulipa, go to commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Tulipa_cultivars.
For photographs of species of the genus Tulipa, go to commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Tulipa.
Lastly, for a digital tour of species tulips, go to www.tulipsinthewild and click on on “slideshow.”
Get pleasure from tulips in your backyard!
Tom Karwin is previous president of Buddies of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and the Monterey Bay Iris Society, a Lifetime Member of the Monterey Bay Space Cactus & Succulent Society, and a Lifetime UC Grasp Gardener (Licensed 1999–2009). He’s now a board member of the Santa Cruz Hostel Society, and lively with the Pacific Horticultural Society. To view each day images from his backyard, https://www.fb.com/ongardeningcom-566511763375123/. For backyard teaching information and an archive of earlier On Gardening columns, go to http://ongardening.com.
