Planting Tulip Bulbs

MrsSnakes



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 1100

Message Posted:
25/09/2009 20:18

Please could you keen gardeners here tell me do you plant tulip bulbs and other bulbs the same time of year as you would in the UK?? Do you prune lavenders etc the same time of year or is the gardening season different? It is my first year here so grateful of any advice. Thank you.



Mrs Snakes

bachelibelly


Joined: 04/09/2008
Posts: 275

Message Posted:
25/09/2009 20:27

I would presume so , i have planted daffs two years ago and i presume they flower in march/april as we see the leaves in june, never get to see them in flower as we are too busy in spring in the UK, er selling bulbs .I would expect due to the mild winter that they would flower a few weeks earlier than the UK ,unless you plant them deeper ,double the depth of the bulb (to the top of the bulb) is the recomended depth,regds.

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
25/09/2009 20:29

Ask Hans, DC!



Richard

scruff


Joined: 15/07/2008
Posts: 1070

Message Posted:
25/09/2009 20:31

We found tulips no good here. Although the bulbs are sold, I think it's is too hot & dry for them. Plant all the bulbs as late as possible after some rain. End October or November. I've planted later & they still come up okay.

The best bulbs by far for here are Fresias. Totally reliable & they increase each year. The other bulb I have found that is good is Sparaxis. It will grow in Cornwall but generally it's too cold in the UK. so you may not be familiar with it. Comes in various shades of pinks, reds, oranges & white.

Unlike the UK. lavenders will stay green all through winter but, if they are not pruned, they will become woody & leggy & they gradually don't flower. Prune them in late autumn. November. I have found that they don't last as long, meaning that they have a shorter lifespan here - English lavender that is.

I have also grown white daffodils which come back each year. Try to pick a shadier position. Forget Yellow daffodils - again the summers are too hot & dry.

MrsSnakes



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 1100

Message Posted:
25/09/2009 20:38

Thank you for your help.



Scruff, I had noticed some different bulbs in Lemar and saw Fresias, they are lovely flowers as scented. I will look out for Sparaxis too!!



Mrs Snakes

bachelibelly


Joined: 04/09/2008
Posts: 275

Message Posted:
25/09/2009 20:48

Surely as daffs, tulips etc are Spring flowering they would have avoided the intense heat of the summer and would have benefited from at least a partial rainy period from November till March ,cant see the difference in the flower colour having any germination effect ,although always learning, especially in horticulture.

scruff


Joined: 15/07/2008
Posts: 1070

Message Posted:
25/09/2009 23:18

Since the bulbs are left in the ground, they do not avoid the intense heat of summer. I wasn't talking about the heat at the point of flowering. I know you are supposed to lift some tulips, but I never did in the UK. Far too much work. Despite that, they would come up year after year.

Been here 8 winters now. Trust me Freesias are the best. They obviously enjoy the conditions. The florist type that you can grow outside here can only be grown in the UK. in Greenhouses.

There's no point in trying to grow the same plants that thrived in the UK. Totally different climate & no all year round rainfall. Even here tulips flower late April May don't last 5 minutes because it's too hot by then. Year 2 they don't come up at all. Tulips originate in Turkey, but at a much higher altitude & with rainfall, but these are the species tulips. The ones on sale here are the cultivors bred in Holland.

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
25/09/2009 23:31

RE msg 1, MrsSnakes: A Dutch friend of mine is coming to holiday in Northern Cyprus shortly - I promise you to ask him to bring some Dutch bulbs*, especially grown for (sub)tropical circumstances. It can be done!



* I'll let you know on this board, you call me and I tell you where to collect.



P.S. Any other country in the world where they know all about clogs and flowers..?

kaysera


Joined: 14/07/2009
Posts: 103

Message Posted:
25/09/2009 23:51

Scruff

Can Freesias be grown in pots out there?

scruff


Joined: 15/07/2008
Posts: 1070

Message Posted:
26/09/2009 02:14

Yes they can. Not too small a pot though.

One final thing about Freesias. They really need some support just before flowering because when the flowers come they are quite heavy. I use the link stakes you can buy in the UK. or peas stick would do. If it's windy or wet they can get flattened.

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
26/09/2009 02:29

I told you suspicious, unbelieving poms that Hans would come trumps!



Richard

MrsSnakes



Joined: 19/12/2008
Posts: 1100

Message Posted:
26/09/2009 13:04

Dutch, thank you for your kind offer x



Thank you every one for your helpful advice.



Mrs Snakes