My tulips have grown decent foliage and the flowers have just poked their heads out. However, they are flowering just above the ground, well below the top level of the leaves. It looks quite odd! Why might this be?
Are they the Red Riding Hood ones Grannybee? It's a popular one in lots of gardens. Someone else recently asked the same question
As Dove says, the species ones are short stemmed and flower earlier than the big ones we all tend to think of when we talk about tulips. They're very overlooked - most people haven't seen or grown them - and could do with a few more of us championing their cause! Lots of varieties which are very straightforward
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
My tulips have done the see. They have a normal size red flower which is only about an inch above the ground. They are in a pot and this is their first year. I am wondering if the very wet winter has something g to do with it.
Mmm...some are new and some are old. Can't remember what sort they are...red ones. Not helpful - sorry! I guess that I could dig them up and replant deeper next year ans see if that does the trick. Thanks for your advice guys. I had not realised that someone else had the same problem. Just had a look - identical!
I have some like that, it's just how they are, have yours got a stripey leaf, they are meant to be very small. It's not a problem if you have that type.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
The Red Riding Hood ones have quite distinctive foliage Grannybee - dark mottling on the leaves. They're small - the flowers are on short stems - it's simply the way they grow. The leaves often fold down a bit to show the blooms off more
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Same here. Mine aren't dwarf tulips. They are all different varieties and colours. Without exception they're blooming immediately after popping their heads through the surface. I wondered if I have planted them too shallow/deep or if it's something to do with the weather. They look very odd.
I have the opposite problem, the tulips in my beds grow to at least 18" before they open up, but then they flop over under their own weight.
However, I do have this problem with hyacinths. They flower the moment they see light, but then continue to grow as they flower. I have some hyacinths in pots mixed with tulips and daffodils, and the they usually flower whilst completely hidden under the foliage. By the time they've poked up above the leaves, they're starting to wither.
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Hi Grannybee. Are they new bulbs or have you had them for a few years? How deep did you plant them? And, do you know what variety they are?
I expect they're one of the shorter stemmed 'species' type tulips which flower early.
The taller 'Darwin' and similar types will flower later.
Have a look at this thread http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/problem-solving/tulip-growing-problem/937483.html
I love the little species tulips, they're like the little wild ones that grow on the sunny hillsides in Turkey and around the Mediterranean. There's lots of fascinating information here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/7681988/10-wild-tulips-to-flower-from-March-til-June.html
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Are they the Red Riding Hood ones Grannybee? It's a popular one in lots of gardens. Someone else recently asked the same question
As Dove says, the species ones are short stemmed and flower earlier than the big ones we all tend to think of when we talk about tulips. They're very overlooked - most people haven't seen or grown them - and could do with a few more of us championing their cause! Lots of varieties which are very straightforward
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
My tulips have done the see. They have a normal size red flower which is only about an inch above the ground. They are in a pot and this is their first year. I am wondering if the very wet winter has something g to do with it.
Mmm...some are new and some are old. Can't remember what sort they are...red ones. Not helpful - sorry! I guess that I could dig them up and replant deeper next year ans see if that does the trick. Thanks for your advice guys. I had not realised that someone else had the same problem. Just had a look - identical!
I have some like that, it's just how they are, have yours got a stripey leaf, they are meant to be very small. It's not a problem if you have that type.
Grannybee - are you saying that you had a look at this thread http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/problem-solving/tulip-growing-problem/937483.html
and that you have "the same problem"?
Please read the thread
It is not a problem - they are meant to be like that - they are dwarf hybrid tulips
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The Red Riding Hood ones have quite distinctive foliage Grannybee - dark mottling on the leaves. They're small - the flowers are on short stems - it's simply the way they grow. The leaves often fold down a bit to show the blooms off more
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Same here. Mine aren't dwarf tulips. They are all different varieties and colours. Without exception they're blooming immediately after popping their heads through the surface. I wondered if I have planted them too shallow/deep or if it's something to do with the weather. They look very odd.
I have the opposite problem, the tulips in my beds grow to at least 18" before they open up, but then they flop over under their own weight.
However, I do have this problem with hyacinths. They flower the moment they see light, but then continue to grow as they flower. I have some hyacinths in pots mixed with tulips and daffodils, and the they usually flower whilst completely hidden under the foliage. By the time they've poked up above the leaves, they're starting to wither.
They didn't do this the first year they flowered.