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Community Corner

It's Tulip Time! Tips to Keep Bulbs Looking Good

Area experts weigh in with ideas for planting, retaining and maintaining pretty bulb flowers.

With Holland’s Tulip Time Festival in full swing through May 14, I'm thinking about tulips. With the whipping winds and excessive rains this season, we’ll have to see how they hold up.

It’s not just wind that wreaks havoc on tulips. One year, I planted 100 bulbs in the front and back of my home. Minutes later, my husband and I looked out a window to our backyard and were astonished to witness a squirrel digging and tossing, digging and tossing. Flinging the bulbs straight up into the air, he looked like a gleeful toddler lobbing beach balls. 

I learned then that whatever blooms in the spring, great! Sort of like sending out a party invitation to 50 people realizing maybe 30 will show, and those who turn up contribute to the party’s success.

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Try hot sauce and mothballs

The next season, I had read that sprinkling hot sauce on each bulb would help to deter critters. Of course, it didn’t deter my toddler-age son, who joined me for a bulb-planting session. Playing with the curious, odd-shaped “toys,” he peeled the coverings off each bulb and ended up rubbing hot sauce into his eyes. I had to rush him into the house and douse his stinging peepers with cold water, all the while wondering if the squirrels would have the same experience.

It might be my imagination, but it seemed like more bulbs stayed in the ground that year. As the spring “party guests” arrived, I sprinkled the ground around them with mothballs (and still do that with other flowers).

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This past week, Leslie Cunningham, a flower specialist at , told me that she, too, had heard about hot sauce and mothballs.

“Squirrels and deer love tulips,” said Cunningham of Oakland Township. “So whatever you can try, I say do it.

“I’ve heard of people putting a layer of chicken wire over the bulbs and then topping with soil,” she said, “as animals don’t like the feel of metal when it hits their claws.”

Cunningham suggests using a larger-mesh wire so that the flowers can poke their heads through the mesh when the time comes. Bordine’s also sells Liquid Fence repellents that seem to help keep deer and other animals away.

Deborah Lee, owner of Nursery in Rochester Hills, said it’s a big challenge to grow tulips in the Rochester region. “We have tons of deer in this area,” said Lee, who specializes in large shade and ornamental trees, but is herself a bulb enthusiast.   

Lee, Cunningham and other bulb-plant experts recently shared tips on how, when and where to plant tulips.

“You can buy them in bloom and put them in the ground,” Cunningham explained. “Let’s say you received a tulip plant for Easter. Keep them indoors until they’ve faded and then put them in the ground where they will bloom again next year.”

Jennifer Youngquest, marketing manager at , suggests choosing a spot that has well-drained soil. “You can plant them at the same depth as how they are in the pot,” she said.

“Or," suggested Cunningham, "hold off on putting them in the ground and place them in a mesh-style bag, like an onion sack. Then put that in the garage for the summer and come fall, plant the bulbs.” 

As for when, Cunningham said you could plant bulbs pretty much until the ground is hard. “I planted them at Christmas once,” she said, “and they came up, no problem.” Generally, though, it’s best to plant them in September or October. 

Location, location, location

Where you plant bulbs is as important as when, Lee noted.

“The optimal site for a spring bulb-planting is on the south side of your home where the bulbs will be protected from the harsh winds and the foundation of the house will radiate heat,” she said. “Also, the sun warming the soil will speed up the bulbs’ growth.

"And be sure to look for bulbs that are firm and mold-free with no rotting spots on them.”  

Design and layout also come into play. Bulbs look best when planted in clusters or drifts, Lee said. “Please do not plant them in tidy rows unless your rows are three rows deep,” she said. “They should also be planted in groups of three or more of the same color and variety of bulb — more provides the best visual display.”

She tells garden enthusiasts not to worry about how many bulbs to put in each hole. “There’s no need to even use a bulb planter … just dig a large hole and throw several bulbs in each hole,” she said.

Lee suggests adding bone meal or superphosphate to ensure good root growth.

In search of organic fertilizer? Kris Lieber of in Ferndale has just the thing: Happy Frog Bulb Food.

“It’s naturally beneficial and organic,” said Lieber, who opened Green Thumb a little more than a year ago. "We have fertilizers that take a natural, microbiological approach.

“We stay away from anything that contains higher levels of ammonium nitrate. In the 1940s, ammonium nitrate was used to create bombs and was then repurposed into fertilizer.”

Green Thumb carries mostly organic gardening items and those that aren’t 100 percent organic are what Lieber calls “synthetically mild.”

Remember, too, that different varieties of tulips have different growing times. “Tulips have varying bloom periods,” said English Gardens’ Youngquest, “including early, middle and late spring.”

Karin Johnson, horticulturist and collections manager at Dow Gardens in Midland suggests planting tulips with the pointy end up. “If you’re not sure, plant it on its side,” Johnson said. She also suggests you should plant the bulbs at a depth that is two to three times the length of the bulb. 

Judy Ernst of Franklin is an avid gardener who also volunteers at Cranbrook House and Gardens in Bloomfield Hills. "With gardening, you just have to experiment a lot and not worry about whether something will work out or not," she said. "Just jump in." Ernst planted  a variety of large-size bulbs about three years ago and continues to enjoy their spring blooms annually. 

Johnson and the folks at Dow Gardens are looking forward to some 18,000 tulips in bloom any day now. 

Because tulips are perennials, they will come up year after year, but they won't come up forever. “The hybridized ones don’t last as long, especially the real fancy, ruffled ones,” Cunningham said. “They don’t come back as much. You’re better off with the Darwin series; they do a better job, consistently.”   

Andrea Sperl of Huntington Woods hoped the tulips she planted in her yard would bloom, but she believes squirrels got the best of them.  Not one to give up on the pretty flowers, Sperl volunteers with the , a branch of the Woman’s National Farm and Garden Association. The group sponsors the bear gardens at the fountain at the in Royal Oak. Here, tulips galore brighten the grounds.

"I learned from a fellow member how to roll the tulip leaves and tuck them in when the flowers die off," Sperl said, "because you cannot pick the leaves until they turn brown if you want to keep the flowers coming up the next year." Those browning  leaves also add nutrients to the soil.   

Orange crush

In Birmingham, residents and visitors are taking in a sea of sunset-hued tulips. It all started in the fall of 2009, when staff planted about 4,000 tulips so that in spring 2010, many areas around town bloomed with bright orange “flair” flowers. Last fall, the staff planted 2,000 bulbs in additional locations for a grand total of 6,000 bulbs.

“Mike Jurek, our landscape architect on staff, put together a plan and we went for it,” said Carrie Laird, Birmingham's parks and recreation manager. “I’m glad we did because it looks great around town this time of year.”

Laird said the color and type were chosen because of the tulips' pretty bright orange and yellow hues and because of their height (this type grows to about 15 inches tall).

“We wanted a shorter stalk because the longer type tend to blow over in the wind and lose petals quicker,” Laird said. “This type also has a longer bloom period.” 

In nearby Berkley, you’ll see groupings of pure white tulips that pop against the 12 Mile Road streetscape. 

To get these types of bloom at home, don’t forget to consider the critter factor. Too many deer or squirrels in your neck of the woods? You may want to heed this advice from Cunningham and Lee: Forget tulips and go for daffodils, which critters hate, they say. “You’ll likely be safe with dafs,” Cunningham said.

If you go that route, you can always get your tulip fix at Holland’s Tulip Time.

About Tulip Time

When Tulip Time festival founder Lida Rogers, a high school biology teacher, attended her first festival in 1929, she had no idea that the event would blossom into one of the most colorful extravaganzas on earth. Rogers, who suggested that Holland adopt the tulip as its flower because of the city's close ties to the Netherlands, sparked an event that literally grows on you. Not only do visitors get to immerse themselves in thousands of colorful blooming tulips during Tulip Time, they also can enjoy Netherlands customs and traditions, such as folk dances, parades, music, a marketplace and more.

Some of the highlights include Tulipalooza, an outdoor musical extravaganza featuring regional and national bands, food and beer. The event also will have an 11,000-square-foot heated tent (new this year). Advance tickets are recommended ($12 in advance/$15 at the event).  

The Town Crier Competition invites guests to experience the national flair and talent of professional crying. Period-dressed criers from around the world will compete for best crys, performance and dress.

A Taste of Holland Breakfast showcases a professional baker with tricks of the trade and traditional Dutch cooking methods for goodies such as krakelingen, banket and other delights. Small pigs-in-the-blankets, Dutch Rusk, scrambled eggs, potatoes, pancakes and Dutch cheeses round out the taste-tempting fare.

Meanwhile, a Taste Of Holland Lunch features local culinary experts demonstrating a three-course meal showcasing the tips and tricks of Dutch cuisine. 

For more information, call 800-822-2770 or visit tuliptime.com.

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