Lengthening the Tulip's Flowering Season i By J. h. Perry, 



Massa- 

 chuse ts 



BULBS THAT ANY AMATEUR CAN GROW SUCCESS- 

 FULLY—HOW TO LENGTHEN THE SEASON OF BLOOM 

 AND HOW TO INCREASE YOUR FAVORITE VARIETIES 



TULIPS make an excellent first crop 

 for flower beds, which are not oc- 

 cupied permanently by other 

 plants. But like other spring 

 flowers, the tulip comes quickly and 

 quickly is gone. The season we cannot stay, 

 but with a little thought and planning we 

 may lengthen the period in which the tulips 

 are with us and make them last, in the lati- 

 tude of Massachusetts for instance, from the 

 latter part of April till the early part of 

 June. 



To accomplish this, the location of beds 

 and the different varieties of tulips must 

 be considered. For very early tulips, 

 select a bed close to the unshaded southern 

 wall of the house. Here the flowers 

 will begin to open about 

 die of April. 



But before the tulips are 

 gone in this first bed, tulips 

 should begin to blossom in 

 bed number two. This also 

 may have a southern exposure, 

 but not near the house; it may 

 be shaded part of the day by a 

 neighboring tree or shrub; or it may 

 be on the east or west side of the 

 piazza, where it receives the sun only 

 during half of the day. In a like manner 

 by selecting beds with different exposures, 

 we may have a prolonged succession of 

 May flowering tulips, those in the bright, 

 sunny bed beginning to bloom just as the 

 last of the early tulips are passing. Among 

 the May flowering tulips the Darwin tulips 

 are preeminent. These I cultivate for use 

 especially on Memorial Day, and nearly 

 every season I succeed. This is brought 

 about by putting them in a bed on the 

 northeast side of the house where they are 

 shaded by the house a large part of each 

 day during the fall and winter; in the 

 spring also the leaf covering is allowed to 

 remain on this bed much later than on the 

 others, thus keeping out the warmth and 

 holding in the frost and delaying the growth. 



It is a common idea that the culture of 

 tulips, year after year, is accompanied by 

 considerable expense, because many believe 

 that it is necessary to buy new bulbs every 

 year. If certain very simple principles 

 are followed, the quality of the bulbs may 

 be fully maintained, and the number will 

 increase, for they multiply like other 

 bulbous plants. 



From fifty bulbs of Pottebakker Yellow 

 bought more than fifteen years ago, I have 

 had flowers every spring since, and so with 

 others. But not only has the quality been 

 maintained, but the bulbs have multiplied 

 many times. If all the bulbs which have 

 come from the original fifty Pottebakker 

 Yellow had been saved and treated in ac- 

 cordance with the principles about to be 



given, they would amount now to 

 thousands of first sized bulbs. 



The time to plant tulips is Octo- 

 ber. When bulbs are allowed to 

 remain in the ground through the 

 summer, they begin to put forth 

 their roots early in October. But 

 beds may be occupied by plants 



Tulips give the greatest variety of color of all trie bulbs and by planting the early and late kinds bloom 

 can be had over the longest season (Rose Luisante) 



which continue to blossom through October; 

 in that case the tulips may be planted as 

 late as November. It is not necessary to 

 follow the principle of the rotation of crops 

 in tulip culture. 



While a bed of mixed tulips is better 

 than none at all, nevertheless such a bed 

 is lacking in harmony and design. The 

 whole has a chance effect. Not so when 



93 



a bed is planted with one variety. The 

 effects of harmony, uniformity, color, and 

 mass are concentrated. A bed made up 

 entirely of Kaiserskroon is very effective. 

 Or if you think that a bed of a single kind 

 may be wanting in variety, it is possible 

 to arrange the tulips so that the bed shall 

 be, as it were, a great flower on your lawn, 

 the centre of one color and the border, rep- 



