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Found in Country Life Oct.edition

7 comments


Tom Coward (head gardener Gravetye Manor, West Sussex) writes – Its best to plant Tulips quite deeply
(about 10" down) which gives the bulb a better chance of repeat-flowering in future years.
The other advantage of this method is that it prevents grey squirrels digging up the bulbs.
Andy Jeavons ( Preston Rock Garden) please note.

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Diane Tom Coward wrote an article on'Bring me sunshine' about yellow in the garden.
The Horticultural tip No 42 on Tulips on the same page was written as always by Steven Desmond and did not mention 10" repeat flowering or squirrels and I quote

"There is such a wide variety of tulips; now is the time to decide what you want and to plant them in the garden
Tulips come in all shapes and sizes, for use in many locations. It's now time to plant them. For container displays, choose compact cultivars of a reliable disposition such as the double pink Peach Blossom or the visually refreshing Spring Green. Plant the bulbs good and deep, and regularly spaced, in a loam-based compost, intermingled with forget-me nots if delicate sentiment is desired. In the open ground, mark the position of each bulb with a small cane before filling in with any bedding plants. It's something of a careful operation, but the results will reward your patience SCD".
Hope this helps with any confusion as to who said what!

3 Nov, 2012

 

It must have been an updated article. It is definitely in the October 31st edition of 'Country Life' on page 58 and was copied correctly by me.

4 Nov, 2012

 

Look again Diane, a sold magazine cannot be updated unless they redo the print run and re issue it?

4 Nov, 2012

 

I don't have the actual magazine but just to add to any confusion (sorry!), this online article seems to contain the same quote about 10" and squirrels:

http://www.countrylife.co.uk/gardens/article/530457/Plant-next-spring-s-tulips.html

I didn't think I had a problem with squirrels in my garden (I've only seen one, once) but I've been re-doing my pots to plant up some tulips over the last few days and have found quite a few peanuts buried in the containers lol, so maybe I do after all ;o) Anyway, I couldn't plant that deeply in my containers even if I wanted to as they're not big enough!

4 Nov, 2012

 

gosh that is very deep. we have lots of squirrels [7+ all together] and they dont seem to dig deeper than 3" in the garden though deeper in the soft compost of the pots.

I have always followed the rule of plant to a depth of x3-4 the size of the bulb. the tulips all come back every year. some I wish would die away but nope year on year. I must try and dig them up next year.

just curious what is Andy's take on it?

5 Nov, 2012

 

Thanks Geranium, the confusion is in the issues November's issue also talks about planting Tulips which I had not got around to reading.

5 Nov, 2012

 

I've just been planting some so was interested in the tips :)

5 Nov, 2012

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