Are you hot-natured or cold-natured?
rasmitty
11 years ago
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kayjones
11 years agojkayd_il5
11 years agoRelated Discussions
What can you do to improve the odds of Tulips naturalizing?
Comments (10)There are never absolutes in gardening - there are too many variables to track. For example, here in Zone 5 I've seen gladiolus (identified as zone 8 plants) come back without being dug over winter - for at least 3 years in a row. There are a number of reasons why that happened; however, it would be accurate for somebody to say that's not something you should rely on, or not something that would go on forever given slight variations in weather patterns each year in a certain climate. So when it comes to tulips... yes, perennialization is possible, and yes it is difficult. A tulip population you think is going strong could be knocked down by a "bad year" due to particular weather conditions, and it may result in the next year's bulbs being too small to bloom - while it's likely another "bad year" will occur before that they are able to gain adequate size. So from the perspective of some gardeners, those tulips faded away after a few years as they "lost energy" and will not return. But, you could have your tulips planted in a fortunate location - or intentionally given a very ideal growing environment - and have them return for decades, or multiply enough that they can get through the "bad years" and maintain blooming populations. In truth, tulips are capable of perennializing, it is just a big challenge to create the proper conditions and may not be worth it to you or most gardeners. I've observed a white Darwin tulip coming back year after year for at least 20 years now, at my parents house where I grew up; they were planted when I was 4 or 5 years old and a single bulb became a clump of 5-10 coming up from one spot. Recently while visiting and doing some yard work for my parents, I dug the clump to spread the bulbs out, and found they were wedged between two massive roots of a honeylocust tree, and in soil that contained a curious amount of sand, from a sandbox that had once been nearby. It's my guess that the tree roots kept the bulbs from working their way to the surface over the years as bulbs often do - so my guess would be yes, planting deeper is helpful. The sand apparently also helped. The growth of the tree also raised the garden 6-7 inches over the years so they were planted in a raised bed, which seems to have helped. If I were to try to replicate those conditions, I'd mix sand with the soil, use a raised bed, plant around rocks/objects (which may maintain depth but may also concentrate natural precipitation), and take advantage shade from a tree that leafs out relatively late - so it lets sun in when spring is cool, but as the days grow longer the plants get more shaded to slow their retreat into dormancy. ... It's accurate to say that tulip bulbs "die" and grow new bulbs each year. A bulb's basal plate is a modified stem, while the bulb itself is made of modified leaves evolved to wrap around each other like the layers of an onion, called "scales." In the case of tulips, that stem grows up through the bulb, through the ground, up above the ground, and terminates in the flower. That is the end of the stem. The bulb itself cannot continue - it must "branch." In any case, during blooming the bulb's energy stores are just about completely drained. After flowering the bulb then begins new growth in the form of a new bulb (or numerous bulbs) that either originate from inside the mother bulb, inside its dying layers but outside the living ones, or possibly just outside the bulb's outer tunic altogether - but in any case attached to its base, and composed of cells from and genetically identical to the parent plant. It is asexual reproduction. Does this progression represent the "death" of the parent plant to create new plants, or is it just a transition from one year's growth to the next? You'd have to be a philosopher to answer that question. But it doesn't matter; the point is that tulips DON'T get to keep any stored energy any longer than 1 year; they have to to re-gather resources during the period between blooming and dying back to dormancy. And that's why tulip perennialization is difficult in climates that are less-than-ideal for tulips; unlike larger plants that get more and more established though time by getting deeper roots, larger sizes and better energy-storing capabilities - therefore being more and more able to survive unexpected adverse conditions - tulips are never any safer than they are the first year, and therefore being in imperfect conditions can be much more detrimental. If they came back 2 years, they could come back forever - but that's a matter of chance....See MoreWinter Sown Tomatoes - can you do it 'naturally'?
Comments (4)I think that the problem would be that too many seeds would germinate in too small an area. That said, if you break up the tom and sread the seeds out, it'll prolly be ok. I got tons and tons of volunteers in the compost bin and all over the bank yard and TONS of cherry toms to harvest. No big ones tho, interesting eh?...See MoreCleaning your kitchen - What natural products do you use?
Comments (30)Very true, kfhl - many air fresheners work by using nasal anesthetics to keep you from smelling whatever you're trying to cover up. Now that I have very few things that are chemically scented in the house, walking past the aisle of air fresheners actually burns my nose. We use natural beeswax candles if we want to use one - but that's usually saved for power outages. As far as the free and clear products are concerned...you can't be certain that it is safe for allergy sufferers. My husband is actually allergic to many components of commercially produced free/clear products - including a chemical that is frequently added to such products to 'remove' the other strong smells in the product to create a 'fragrance free' item - in lieu of adding a 'fragrance'....See MoreBest Natural Herbs or Remedies For Hot Flashes?
Comments (1)I have the same question. I see this was asked a year ago. Did you find anything that worked?...See MoreMarilyn Sue McClintock
11 years ago
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