Pansy Universal F1 Mixed
84 plugs - £9.99
120 mini-plugs + 30 FREE - £15.99

Tulip Sorbet Blend 12 bulbs £8.99

Tulip Purple Passion Blend 18 bulbs £8.99

Tulip Passion Blend Collection II 54 bulbs - 18 of each £18.99

Tulips are amongst my favourite flowers of any type, they manage to balance symmetrical perfection with a faultless elegance of proportion with that indefinable delicacy and vulnerability that the finest flowers have.

Best planted in groups of one variety, this applies to all bulbs, but more so for tulips than any of the others, why anyone should buy a bag of "mixed varieties and colours" is beyond me.

Take care if you have yellow tulips and daffodils, they can get rather mixed up when flowering together.

Of the other colours, traditional large reds are very robust and will grow in most places, but the finest to my eye at least are the white and pink lily-flowered varieties. These have rather taller thinner flowers than most tulips with a slightly out-turned tip to each petal.

Grown in containers for the house tulips are an extravagance as you need a large container and the flowers are rather short lived if you bring them into the warmth. I'd never be without a couple of large bowls of my favourites though, bring them indoors in the day and place them outside somewhere sheltered in the evening. If you have a cool (non-heated) conservatory, all the better.

 The shops and markets in spring will be full of freshly cut tulips of the common shapes and shades, so go for something a little out of the ordinary. Smaller species tulips are becoming more commonly available, they don't seem to do so well indoors but are ideal for a large outdoor container, just outside the front door is one of the best places to appreciate them as often as possible.

Tulip Care

Plant - In containers, borders or beds, NOT in grass

Depth - 5-8" of soil above the top of the bulb, less in clay, more in sandy soils, can be planted on a bed of grit or gravel if rotting is a problem. Squirrels may dig the bulbs up, if this is a problem, bury chicken wire (large gaps) about 2" below the oil surface above the bulbs.

Depth in containers - 2-3" of compost above the bulbs, in very large pots, a double layer can be planted with the lower ones growing up through the ones above, this gives a greater density of blooms at flowering time.

Cultivation - after flowering, remove seed heads so not to waste resources, water once with double strength liquid fertiliser, plenty of it to reach the bulbs and roots. Leave leaves to die down naturally, they can removed when completely brown and can be pulled up easily. Tulip leaves are less obtrusive than other bulbs foliage.

Container cultivation - if the containers are to be brought indoors, grow them on somewhere cool but sheltered a cold greenhouse, conservatory or similar is ideal. Let them grow as tall as possible before bringing them indoors as they may get leggy and even not flower if brought in too early. They will last longest in a cool but bright position.

After the flowers are over, put them outside in a sheltered position and grow / water / feed as normal for bulbs. They will not perform as well the next year at all, so don't even bother trying, bulbs for indoor containers should be bought fresh each year. When the leaves have died down, they can be left to dry out and planted in the garden in the autumn as outdoor bulbs. They won't be very good in year 2, but will be fine from 3 onwards.

Tulips to Buy

Planting in containers

The key point to remember is that these are temporary plantings, so you can plant the bulbs very close together, almost touching, for the maximum density of flowers. Buy the largest bulbs you can afford, smaller ones just don't perform as well and the smallest may produce lots of leaves but no flowers at all. After flowering plant them in the garden as soon as you can, they won't perform as well next year, you need to start with large bought ones again.

Bulb fibre is often recommended, but is only really necessary if the bulbs are to be planted in bowls without drainage. I've always treated bulbs like any other container plants and use ordinary potting compost in containers that have drainage holes and get excellent results.

   If you start before about the middle of September (but the sooner the better), you can have Spring Flowering Bulbs for the house in flower at or just after Christmas. If you can get them planted before November, then they will have a chance to start growing before it begins to get very cold which will help them to flower all the earlier, they'll certainly be up early in the new year and long before the outdoor ones have woken up.

Daffodils / Narcissi | Hyacinths