A friend of mine told me yesterday that she is trying to grow tulips on her terrace on pots. She asked me how deep do the bulbs need to go. Lucky that I have these All Season Guide To Gardening books that Reader’s Digest gave to me for free from old purchases. In the Late Spring guide, it said:
Plant them in autumn, 10-15cm (4-6in) deep, in fertile, well-drained soil in sun. In containers, use a soil-based (John Innes No. 2) compost.
Right, so we’ve established that the bulbs need to be completely buried in the soil. Next dilemma was … should the bulby side go down first? And, is that root or stem sticking out? Aren’t we just spastic gardeners?
I could never grow plants. Either I kill them or they commit suicide! Oh, I do water them … don’t get me wrong … but they still die. Or maybe I water them too much. Ah, I’m not cut out for it, I s’pose.
Whereas one of my aunts, she doesn’t only possess a green thumb but a green hand … in fact, two! Everything she touches, grows and blooms! She used to have these orchids and she waters them down with beer. Yes, beer and they loved it! They were in bloom for the whole year. Except for this cattleya … it only flowers when someone is getting married. Everytime we (in the house) receive a wedding invitation or when we hear of someone getting married, it blooms with 2 or 3 big white cattleyas. It seems to say, use me for your bouquet! A couple of days later, the blooms dry out. Strange, eh?
Anyway, going back to tulips, they are absolutely my favourite flower. They have been subjects to my photography attempts (see below). But then, the gardening book also says that the there are different types. And not all look like the one I really like. The Queen of Night type seem closer, in appearance, to the Holland Tulips but it is described as:
The sheeny flowers of this single late tulip are an exceptionally dark purple-maroon.
Do they only bloom in dark-maroon? What about the yellows, the whites? Oh well. They are still luver-ly!
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Why don’t you give it a try? I used to consider myself ‘the kiss of death’ to plants. But I tried it last year and the plants (well most of them) are stil alive! You don’t have to water them everyday unless the weather’s very very hot. One guide is to feel the soil it’s in, if it’s dry them it’s time to top up otherwise leave them alone. Then give them fertilisers every 2 weeks, less during winter. :tilt:
Thanks for the encouragement, Ms Celia…I will try it one of these days. It would be nice to have something living – apart from me – in my flat.