Whether you boast a sprawling backyard, a cosy patio, or simply an apartment balcony, if you’re keen on adding tulips to your garden this year, take note of this urgent tip from gardening guru Monty Don. Tulips can absolutely revolutionise any outdoor area with their vast array of colours and types, offering a dramatic display when planted in mass – they flourish in flowerbeds, pots, and containers alike.
Embrace the approach that the more tulip bulbs you plant, the grander the show. A group planting will almost guarantee a magnificent burst of colour, providing a cheerful antidote to the dreary winter where most plants remain dormant.
For those yearning to see tulips sprouting in their garden this season but haven’t started planting, it’s not too late.
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Yet Monty Don delivers his advice succinctly: for anyone wanting to grace their garden with the delicate beauty and vibrant hues of tulip blooms this year, “you really do need to get on with it”. Prompt action is critical as tulips thrive after enduring the chilly embrace of winter frosts which is crucial for their growth, and if planting is delayed much beyond mid-January, there may not be enough cold weather left to stimulate them properly.
The gardening expert and TV presenter advises on his website: “It is not too late to plant tulips – but you really do need to get on with it. Tulips planted now might flower a little later than those planted in November but they will make a perfectly good display. It’s also important to bear in mind that depending on what you want to achieve with your tulip display, you might need to adapt your planting approach.”, reports the Mirror.
He further explains: “If intending to leave them in the ground plant as deeply as you can – at least 4 inches. But if you just want a good show this year they can be popped an inch or two in the topsoil and will be fine for this spring. When planting in a container make sure that they have good drainage because although they are completely hardy to cold, the biggest enemy is rotting in damp soil. But this is a job to do by the middle of the month at the latest.”