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The Canadian Tulip Festival |
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Order
the bulbs by September, and store them in a cool, dry place,
preferably in the breathable paper bag in which they usually
are bought. Ideally, plant them before your area's first frost;
however, you can plant them until the ground is frozen or no
longer workable. Be sure to plant all the bulbs, because they
won't keep until next fall. |
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Growing pink and yellow tulips together
produces an eye-catching color combination.
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Because
the bulbs are prone to rot, most of the NCC flowerbeds are raised
or contain sandy soil that drains well. Adding sand or compost
to clay soil can help drainage. NCC gardeners plant the bulbs
10cm to 15cm (4" to 6") apart. "They need some
space to root," Ms. Grudniewicz says. Although tulip bulbs
contain all the fertilizer a young shoot needs to grow, she
recommends sprinkling a bone meal fertilizer in the holes and
on the soil to deter squirrels from digging them up.
She suggests planting early tulips at the front, or at the entrance
to a garden. Early flowers bloom so quickly that they don't
have time to grow very tall and, therefore, can get lost among
taller plants. Later varieties of tulips have taller stalks,
so they can grow behind the earlier varieties and their colorful
flowers will still be visible.
After the tulip blooms are gone, gardeners may be tempted to
remove the unattractive yellowing leaves. Not a good idea. The
stems can be cut, but the leaves need to remain to recharge
the bulbs for another season. Planting perennials among the
tulips can be an effective way to hide the tulip plant leaves.
Debora Dekok |
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Other
Articles from this Issue |
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