The Rural Voice, 1993-06, Page 35Gardening
leaves on the shrub came out and
shaded the leaves of the pink lily
tulips and hindered them from
getting all their nourishment for the
following spring. Since it had
taken too long to raise the Elder to
discuss trimming the branches I did
the next best thing and moved the
tulips. It took me two years. The
first attempt was left too late in the
season. Since the bulbs were
shaded they died off quickly and I
found my memory of their exact
location was hazy. The leaves were
no indicator since they had dried off
and disappeared. Not to be
neglected a second year, I dug the
bulbs up as they finished blooming
and heeled them into a shallow
trench in the edge of the vegetable
garden. I trimmed off the old
blossoms as I do on all the flowers
in the garden. They finished dying
off there with lots of Light and a bit
of compost to help them along.
Tulip bulbs die off faster than
other spring flowering bulbs. Weak
blossoms could be a sign of over
crowding or low nutrient levels.
Time to lift and relocate. I find
daffodils and a lot of narcissus
don't face this problem and this is
one of the reasons they are great for
naturalizing areas under trees and
along the edges of grassy areas.
But back to the tulips. Once the
leaves were yellowed I lifted the
bulbs and set them to dry in large
flats in the barn. Over the summer
I periodically checked them for any
mold that would indicate they had
not dried enough.
In September I worked up three
areas, each measuring two feet
square. An old rule of thumb is to
never plant tulips where you have
grown them in the last three years.
This precaution ensures that the
tulips will not be going into soil
depleted in essential nutrients.
Work in a good heaping shovelful
of old manure or compost. Avoid
using fresh manure as it can cause
problems. Add a teaspoon of
bonemeal per bulb into the earth
below the bulb and not next to it.
Planting depth is more from
experience. Packaged instructions
recommend planting at least six
inches deep. If planted a little
deeper they will do better. Usually
tulip bulbs are planted anywhere
from 8 to 11 inches deep and still
produce large healthy blooms. But
keep in mind that tulips will fade
with the years and will eventually
need to be dug up. The deeper they
are, the harder to find.
Fortunately if your fall is a
busy one, tulips can be left until
as late as December to be planted,
as long as the ground is not frozen.
They enjoy being set out in the
cool garden and need a good
watering to get their roots settled
before the winter rest. Imagine
talking winter before hitting
summer! 0
Rhea Hamilton -Seeger, in addition to
working in advertising production for
The Rural Voice, raises two child-
ren, and is a skilled cook and
gardener.
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John & Miche le Drummond
Ph./Fax: (519) 347-2725
5 miles north of Mitchell; 1/2 mile east of Bornholm
JUNE 1993 31