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Tulip Bulbs : Buying and Planting Quality Tulips

October 12, 2021

A Quick Guide on How to Grow Quality Tulips

Growing tulips can be fun and rewarding, and high quality flowers can be tracked down to the source and where you buy tulip bulbs. The quality and variety of the bulb matters, and tulips planted and grown from great stock will result in amazing tulip flowers in spring. In this post we will cover how to buy tulip bulbs, tools that will make bulb planting a breeze and how to grow beautiful tulip flowers.

The Right Start: Buying High Quality Tulip Bulbs

All tulips are the same right? First off, friends don’t let friends buy bulbs from home improvement stores: #1 bulb buying rule ;). The quality bulb you put in will drive the quality flowers your garden puts out. With bulbs, size matters!! Small bulbs are usually cheap, or on sale at home improvement gardening areas, and typically measure 10cm or less in circumference. High quality tulip bulbs are typically 12+ cm, with a firm, solid skin and a hefty feel and weight. And make no mistake, this may seem like a small size difference, but the end result will differ dramatically. Large flower bulbs of the Darwin variety will produce blooms the size of tennis balls and be an amazing show stopper in your spring garden. Here at Celtic Farm, we import our Dutch Bulbs every year, and have never been disappointed. See our post on all types of Spring Flower Bulbs.

Tools for Tulip Planting

Tulip planting is an art rather than a science, and the art of bulb placement is varied. Some gardeners use a bulb dibbler, others a bulb planting tool. Some prefer a hand shovel or garden scoop, going plain simple. Here on the farm, we plant en masse, and dig a large flat bottom trench to place our bulbs..

Planting Tulip Bulbs: Tips For The Gardener

Tulips are easy to grow compared to other plant varieties, but require plenty of sunlight and well-drained soil to produce the best flowers in spring. Scope out your planting area, and avoid ares that have puddles of water 5–6 hours after a hard winter rain. If you don’t have a choice, you can amend the soil with organic material to raise the level 2–3 inches as well as provide a mulch layer to absorb water. Tulips love the sun, but in zones 7+ avoid planting exposure where the will be subject to excessive heat, usually a south-facing wall or fence. Plant your bulbs 4 to 6 inches apart and offers shelter from the wind for taller varieties.

Just a quick guide to help you get some amazing tulips!