OCR Text |
Show Advice Given On Autumn Tulip Planting BY GRANT PETT With the arrival of fall, the flower lover's fancy turns to tulip planting as a task that must be done properly, in order to enjoy beautiful tulip blooms next spring. in order to avoid disappointment disappoint-ment next spring, or any spring for that matter, there are a few fundamental factors, If followed, follow-ed, will go along way to avoid disappointment, and reward your efforts with a really beautiful beau-tiful tulip bloom. There is an old saying in gardening that is a safe and sound omen to keep in mind, "You can foal yourself and neighbors, but you can't fool a plant." Nature set down the rules for success, and that law is complied with or you pay the penalty with failure and disappointment. Any well drained soil and a sunny location are the natural requirements for tulips. Plant from 4 to 6 inches deep, and if possible, place the bulbs upon 2 inches of clean sand, this keeps the bulbs dry and helps to develop de-velop the roots. Sand is one of the best root developing sources sourc-es we have. A little well decomposed decom-posed organic fertilizer is good, don't place inorganic or fresh organic fertilizers near the bulbs. Bone meal is good, but try and get it. After the ground freezes then a little mulch is a good thing, but remember, after the ground freezes, not before, be-fore, and then remove it the first thing in the spring. In selecting bulbs to plant, keep a few . fundamental facts in mind: Were the bulbs prepared pre-pared for flowers, or, are they just bulbs. What difference does it made? and what is meant by prepared bulbs? It is readily apparent that if a tulip. is allowed to flower "and then go on to produce seed, it takes just about all the strength a bulb has, consequently, little is left, and the bulb will only produce a weak bloom next year, if at all. Whereas commercial com-mercial bulb growers pick the buds early, leave all the foliage possible and keep the plants growing as long as possible, in order to store up all the energy possible in the bulb. That kind of a bulb will produce a good bloom, whether it is grown in Holland. Oregon or Utah. I have seen tulip bulbs grown on dry land, and even though the bulbs were small, .yet produce pro-duce some beautiful blooms because be-cause they were prepared for blooms. Ordinarily the size of the bulb is important, but don't overlook the fact, was it grown for bloom, or just grown. It's the prepara-aration prepara-aration of the bulbs, not the size that counts. To prolong the blooming period peri-od of tulips, plant cottage tulips early blooems. Darwin tulips follow next and then include s"me of the breeder type, these will crive blooms for about a mon'h. |