Staying power
Lilac Wonder is a tulip variety that can tolerate the Southern climate and produce beautiful blooms for multiple seasons.
Photos by L.A. Jackson
In South Carolina, tulips are such fleeting beauties in the garden. Planted from November into early January, they greet the following spring with dazzling displays of color that, unfortunately, are usually one-off shows because these cold-loving bulbous plants, not used to such relatively mild winters, refuse to answer curtain calls in succeeding years.
However, there is a little-known gang of spunky tulips that rather like it here, so much so that they often stick around to bloom spring after spring.
Welcome to the interesting world of species tulips, often also referred to as botanical tulips. These pretties are not as tall as typical hybrid tulips—most won’t grow over 12 inches high—but they still pack plenty of charm and color to welcome many new springs, even to the point of naturalizing in a proper setting.
The secret of making species tulips happy so they flower each year and even multiply, is to mimic their native growing conditions as closely as possible. This means, along with a sunny location, sharp drainage and neutral soil are the keys to proper development. The drainage requirement can be met in a rock garden setting, raised bed or even containers, while neutral pH can be maintained with the addition of lime to the soil every year or two.
As far as which of these lasting tulips (easy online finds, by the way) to try in our state, consider Tulipa bakeri, aka Lilac Wonder, for starters. With purplish-pink petals surrounding a spot of radiant yellow in each flower center, it is a rather pleasant sight in the spring garden. It only grows to about 8 inches tall, but since it needs less chill time in the winter than hybrid tulips to develop blooms, it can be a dependable repeat performer in the South.
Ditto for selections of T. clusiana, such as the red-and-white bicolor Lady Jane, along with its aptly named lookalike, Peppermint Stick. Tinka is another T. clusiana two-tone showoff with blooms in red and creamy yellow, while Cynthia sports a deeper yellow to go along with the red in its petals.
And spring sunshine will get competition from the bright yellow, sweetly scented flowers of T. sylvestris, a European native made popular by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. It seems to be more forgiving of shade than other tulips, making it a good candidate for a woodland garden setting.
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November in the Garden
•If squirrels have been having way too much fun digging into your newly planted, spring-blooming bulb beds, spread small-diameter chicken wire over the growing grounds and then, for cosmetic appearance, add a light covering of mulch.
•Houseplants should be tucked inside now, but before they completely settle into the new environment, check their leaves for signs of insects or insect eggs. Also, some tender plants might initially lose leaves or have some of their foliage turn yellow. If no signs of insect activity are present, it is probably their way to readjust to indoor living.
•The beginning of this month is the time to force paperwhite narcissus bulbs by planting them indoors in pots so they will be ready as pretty flowering presents by this Christmas.
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Tip of the Month
Looking for a garden-grown Christmas gift? Try herb vinegars. You just need clean bottles—12- to 20-ounce-sized will do—with tight caps or corks, white vinegar and any mix of herbs still lingering in the garden. Parsley, dill, lemon grass, fennel, thyme, chives, tarragon, rosemary and basil are popular choices, but for extra zing, also think about adding cinnamon sticks, hot peppers, garlic cloves, peppercorns or citrus rinds. Prepare bottles early this month and let them steep indoors (not in direct sunlight) to allow tints to deepen and flavors to deliciously meld in time for Christmas.
L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.