It's been a long time since I last forced Tulips. I decided to try again last fall when I spied one of the last bags of 'Lydia' Tulips at the Morton Arboretum bulb sale (they were pretty much cleaned out of everything else). I potted them up, and they bloomed beautifully. I hadn't realized how special these Tulips were until I bought a couple of bunches of forced Tulips from a florist. I was shocked at the difference in size. Compared to 'Lydia,' they were tiny.
On the right is the faded remains of a 'Lydia' Tulip. Notice that the anthers are nearly twice the size of the florist's tulip on the left. Then I remembered something Elizabeth at Gardening While Intoxicated had said about how forced Tulips tended to be smaller than Tulips not subjected to forcing. If this is smaller, how big must these blooms be in the garden?
I'll be making sure I get some more of 'Lydia' to plant outside next year, as well as plenty to force for inside. 'Lydia' is a winner.
31 comments:
I can understand how you'd fall for Lydia -- she is beauteous, indeed. :) I adore tulips.
That's a lovely color! "Lydia" will get added to my ever-growing "wish list":)
What an attractive tulip. Have never forced tulips - must give it a go sometime. What will you do with the bulbs now?
MMD, Go ahead and try planting these Lydia bulbs outdoors! I do this a lot. Most of them return the next Spring. :-) What large blossoms!!
MMD, Lydia is a lovely tulip...and I think I would plant them out in the garden, too. It can't hurt. I wish our local botanical garden sold plants the way others do...gail
Lydia certainly is a beauty. How do you stop the squirrels stealing your bulbs?
That's interesting between letting them bloom natures way and forcing them. I have five children, a cat and a husband, I tire easily with forcing things, LOL!
These are glorious, and I can certainly see how you would be smitten with them. I think I am too.
Yes, I have to agree since I am a
Florist for some reason the greenhouse forced tulip plants are smaller in size. I have to agree
that the Lydia Tulips are much more
impressive.
MMD, these are such a lovely color.And with the size of them a great addition to any garden. Do you remember if the were early, mid or late ones?
She is definitely a pretty tulip.
Lydia will probably be a giant and shine really well in your garden. She is lovely.
Hi MMD,
Lydia is a lovely one and I can see why you're smitten. Those forced tulips that came in the basket I bought were definitely smaller than what they should be in the garden. We hope that once we have them planted outside that next year they'll come back bigger.
I take it you are going to put your Lydia outside aren't you?
They are lovely and so is the book you referred too in your title. ;-)
It may sound strange to you but I, being Dutch, have never ever tried my hand at forcing tulips.
BTW glad that the Simple Mind song brought back such happy memories for you!
Waiting for my forced tulips to bloom and hope I'm as lucky as you have been. Lydia's a beauty ... I'm smitten :)
Lydia is well worth planting either outside or in ... preferably both!
Nancy Bond - Tulips are special flowers, I'm happy to be able to introduce you to 'Lydia.'
Rose - I've seen 'Lydia' offered for sale only 2 places: at the arboretum and in Brent & Becky's Bulbs catalogue. Order early, they sold out the 1st time I tried to order them.
Anna - ordinarily I would pitch forced Tulip bulbs, but these are so healthy & strong, I'm going to plant them in the garden.
Shady - I usually plant only the perennial-type Tulips outside, but I'm sure I could get at least one more season out of these.
Gail - you should suggest plants sales as fundraisers for your botanical garden. It's a win/win situation.
Hi, WWG - to keep the squirrels from digging up the bulbs, I usually put chickenwire down on top of the area after I've planted them. The squirrels don't seem inclined to dig up the bulbs after the winter, but they will nip the plants, so I spray those with repellent. I'm not ambitious enough to bury the bulbs in a wire cage.
Darla - I have only 2 kids, so I'm in the habit of forcing. ;^D
Jodi - they're big, they're pink, what's not to like?
Cathy - thanks for the second opinion. I don't usually buy cut flowers, so it was a double surprise to me.
Beckie - unfortunately, 'Lydia' is a late-season Tulip. I don't have any late season bulbs, as I discovered in my last garden that they tend to get zapped when we get a day in the 80s or 90s as we sometimes do in May.
PG - I can't decide which I admire more, 'Lydia's' looks or vigor.
Tina - I'm going to have to site it carefully in the garden, probably in afternoon shade to maximize the bloom time.
IVG - generally, Tulips tend to get smaller outside with each passing year, except for the perennial types. We'll see how this one does next year out in the garden.
YEH - I am surprised that you've never trying forcing! I thought it was a law in the Netherlands. ;^D
Joey - I wonder why your forced Tulips are so late? My 'Lydia's bloomed a month ago.
Cindy - I hope to have them both inside & outside next year. Of course that assumes that I'll get them ordered in time this fall.
MMD - What a beautiful tulip. I haven't grown tulips because I thought they didn't rebloom from year to year. I'm now thinking they bloom more years than I thought - and what difference would it make anyway. Tulips are lovely.
'Lydia' is gorgeous ~ love the soft pink colour. The photos are beautiful!!
"Lydia oh Lydia, oh have you seen Lydia!" Can those tracings on the outside of the petals count for tattoos, MMD?
Forcing tulips would be the only way to get them here - and with no special 'bulb refrigerator I suppose the pre-chilled bulbs would be the way to go.
Looking back at how many of my Illinois tulips ended up inside rabbits, it would have made sense to force a few there, too.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
You're right! 'Lydia' is a winner!! Such a gorgeous color. I'm anxious to see my new ones in bloom - 'Princess Irene'.
The great thing about tulips is how they make so many little bulblettes. At least the ones that grew at my old house. I think I'd get a bunch of those too.
Lydia is beautiful! Now I wish I'd followed your lead and gotten some of those remaining bulbs!
Good gravy, what did you force them to do? Rob a bank? Watch Teletubbies? Hycuk hycuk... they're very cute.
what a beautiful tulip is this.
Lydia - I will remember that name.
BTW - have you posted about how you forced them?
Thanks for commenting on my blog :)
Pat L. - the Darwin Hybrids, the Fosterianas and the species Tulips are all reliable return bloomers, unlike the Triumph Tulips.
Thanks, Kate!
Annie - no tattoos on this Lydia, but I do like the song. (I'm a Groucho fan.) The deer are also a problem here for Tulips. I'm thinking about moving the Tulips out front to the back garden behind the fence.
Kylee - I used to grow 'Princes Irene' at my old garden. It had a lovely scent.
Cinj - I'll have to look for the bulblets.
Garden Girl - yes, this could have all been yours.
Monica - I always imagine hold a gun to the pot and growling, "Bloom, or else!"
Hi, Ewa - in a previous post about the 'Lydia' Tulips I mentioned that I potted them up in the fall & stuffed them in a cabinet in my unheated garage.
She is a natural wonder (!) and a true beauty! Not only is her color lovely, her size is enormous (now that's NOT a combination we would want for ourselves!!). Is it??!!
But on Lydia, her size makes her Queen of all Tulips;-) Most of my tulips appear to be getting destroyed by those pesky squirrels. I've caught them running with mouthfuls of white, tender bulbs, with the remains scattered everywhere. arrghh!
MMD -- That Lydia is beautiful and wow - she's a big girl! I miss tulips here, so I am always happy to find them on the blogs where the weather is friendlier for them.
Thanks for the link, MMD. The other thing about forcing is that the forcing takes so much energy that the bulbs may not bloom right away the next season, if you plant them in the ground. So some plant them in a less prominent spot.
Jan - those danged squirrels! Makes you want to plant bulbs in cages.
Diana - Tulips are a big help for getting through the winter. When it's snowy & cold, I just need to remind myself that in a couple of months the Tulips will be in bloom.
EAL - thanks for the hint. I think I have just the place for them where they can try to recuperate from their extreme blooming experience.
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