Tulipa sprengeri
totototo@telus.net (Sun, 16 May 2010 14:31:49 PDT)
On 16 May 2010, at 11:46, James Waddick wrote:
Dear friends,
Tulipa sprengeri is just in bud and coloring up. This is our
latest tulip to bloom by far and long after every other tulip has
faded and nearly or totally dormant. In its own way it is a treasure
and I need many more. It is extremely slow to multiply by traditional
division methods here (and I understand this is typical for this
species). I have some seedlings coming along, but I still want more
and to try it in other parts of the garden. Instant gratification (in
bulb terms that means bloom in a couple of years)
Does anyone have bulbs for sale, trade or can suggest a
reasonable source for bulbs of typical or 'Trotter's Form" (which I
do not grow at all) ?
Appreciate any growing hints or even more praise for this
unusual species.
Ah, my favorite tulip, dear to my heart but slowly taking over my garden.
Sow seed in deep flats as soon as it's ripe. Germination next spring. Leave in
the flats at least until the young bulbs go dormant in 2012. (IOW give them two
growing seasons in the flats.) Be sure the flats aren't on soil so the young
bulbs can't escape.
Try to keep the seedlings growing as long as possible. I'm uncertain whether
fertilization is desirable, so you might want to try fertilizing one flat and
not fertilize a second flat, then report back.
In summer 2012, dump out the flats and pick out the small bulbs that have
formed. Plant these out, then sit back and wait. It takes several years before
T. sprengeri reaches flowering size.
If you like to take a gamble, just scatter the ripe seed where you want to
establish this tulip. However, critters like tulip seed and your climate may
not be as congenial to tulips spreading by seed as is our cool Mediterranean,
summer-dry PacNW climate. Many years ago, in a misguided moment I scattered a
large quantity of T. sprengeri on Saltspring Island, but I've never seen one
flower of it at any of the sites I seeded. Life in the wild is hard on plants,
hence you will get better long-term results sowing the seed in flats as
suggested.
Bulbs of T. sprengeri are scarce even in commerce because it has to be seed
grown. Anyone who finds a specimen that multiplies well vegetatively should
take steps to get it into the hands of the Dutch bulb growers, even if you
don't make much money out of the deal.
As for 'Trotter's Form' (named after R. D. "Dick" Trotter, the long-time
treasurer of the RHS), I have a few seed-grown bulbs that purport to be this,
but I see no difference between them and the many other specimens I have. I've
never found a clear, unambiguous description of the difference between run of
the mill T. sprengeri and 'Trotter's Form'.
It's a truly lovely plant, its only drawback being its propensity to spread far
and wide. In the earliest years of the AGS seed exchange (ca. 1950), the then-
director of the exchange, E. B. Anderson, specifically asked that no seed be
sent in of T. sprengeri: it's that easy to grow.
Over and out to Jane McGary.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island