Jane,
Interesting. It might take around 7 years for tulip to bloom from a seed?
It was disappointing that common tulips did not bloom in Southern
California due to a lack of lower temperature in winter. I kept tulip
bulbs in the refrigerator over a month before planting. A nursery store
delivered
tulip bulbs earlier by the end of September to allow enough period to keep
them in the refrigerator. I thought there is something wrong.
Later I found more attractive species tulips originally from similar mild
winter Mediterranean climate area. I tried to plant various species,
Tulipa sylvestris, clurisiana, humilis and saxatilis without any chilling
treatment. Bulbs were small enough to plan in a shallow wooden container.
They bloomed! Tulipa sylvestris was the first tulip to bloom in January to
February. Species tulips are more beautiful and they will come back year
after year just like perennials.
I searched for more interesting rare species tulips in Mediterranean Basin
area, however bulbs were not available. I bought seeds of Tulipa cretica
and red tulip from Israel, Tulipa agenensis. It has been over three years
now.
Unfortunately they did not work or I misplaced them during moving. Last
fall I found bulbs of Tulipa cretica which are in bloom now. Clusiana
started opening this week. I contacted the nursery in Israel that I
purchased tulipa agenensis seeds if they have bulbs. I'm not patient
enough to wait another 7 years. They have three years old tulipa agenensis
bulbs. It will take another few more years to bloom, but it is much
quicker than starting from seeds.
*Makiko Goto-Widerman*
Makiko Floral Design Garden Club 501 c 3
5950 Alpine Road
Portola Valley, CA 94028
(650) 275-4334
MFDgardenclub@gmail.com
On Thu, Apr 4, 2019 at 6:29 PM Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> wrote:
> About 10 years ago I started growing tulips from wild-collected seed. I
> don't have horticultural tulips in the garden because I worry about
> introducing viruses (which can also affect Lilium). More recently Kurt
> Vickery has offered seeds of many Tulipa species through his late-summer
> list. Many of them are beginning to mature and flower now. The
> raised-bed side of the bulb house is very colorful with red tulips --
> some very large -- and numerous bulbs of an old Archibald collection
> from western Iran, which I think is Tulipa montana. The latter
> multiplies fast and is a beautiful color. On the other side of the bulb
> house, where I keep plunged pots, the curious Tulipa regelii has just
> finished flowering (yes, hand-pollinated), and now I'm enjoying a lovely
> pink one, received as Tulipa rosea. Pink is not a common color in wild
> tulips, and this one is an example of the annoying disconnect between
> author and editors in Diana Everett's "The genus Tulipa: Tulips of the
> world" (Kew 2013). Everett keeps the name T. rosea, but the assiduous
> lumpers at Kew put it with T. korolkowii and it is tucked into the
> section with the latter as running head. My three seedlings are
> identical in color and form, and have very narrow, glaucous leaves with
> strongly ruffled (crispate) margins. There's also a very tiny Tulipa
> cretica in first flower, only about 7 cm tall, in contrast to my old
> plants (Archibald seed) which are almost three times as tall in flower.
> Probably the little one will be larger in subsequent years.
>
> A couple of years ago I made an open raised bed especially to hold
> mature, larger tulips. Three or four species are in there now, doing
> well. One is Tulipa rhodopaea, one of the "Neotulips" that are believed
> to be descended from garden introductions in the former Ottoman Empire.
> It is deep rose-pink, on tall stems, and I assume came from the Rhodope
> Mountains. I added some rocks and mat-forming little plants to extend
> the season on this bed, some crocuses for early and fall bloom, and some
> extra small Narcissus such as N. calcicola. Also trialing there are a
> few aril hybrid irises ('Cythe' has done very well) and Juno irises,
> growing in the background.
>
> It can take quite a few years for tulips to flower from seed, but if you
> have the space and patience, it's well worth it.
>
> Jane McGary, Portland, Oregon, USA
>
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