Cheryl,
Even though we grow our tulips in a hightunnel and pull the bulbs at harvest, I can give you a little information regarding field grown tulips. I think Darwins are considered to most perennial. You can expect several years from your tulips if they haven't been planted to shallow. For best results, they should actually be planted 10" contrary to information that is usually given. If the bulbs are planted deep they are less likely to try and make bulbils such as you'll find in shallow plantings. Shallow planted bulb soil is also warmer which also encourages bulb reproduction. As soon as the little sattelite bulbils start to produce, the mother bulb puts all its energy into the bulbils. The bulb will then not bloom the following year; and, the baby bulbs will take at least three years to produce. This is referred to as a blind bulb. Not something you want as a cutflower grower. And, certainly not if you have valuable growing space.

If you have clay soil, you can put 2 to 3 inches of grit in the trench, and put your bulbs on this so that the bulb doesn't come in contact with that hard clay soil.

We have alot of wildlife here as well. The other night we actually had a woodchuck making himself cozy under the hood of our car. He also chewed through some wires which made us NOT SO HAPPY.

Trish

Trish,
Thanks for the information. I had no idea I should be planting at 10", which incidentally, doesn't sound like much fun. I usually go 7-8", but I did notice the bulbils you mentioned around some of the plants. So, they're not as cute as they look! Should I have pulled them? I know it's a little late now. I had such good luck the first year mine bloomed that I thought tulips were a easy flower to grow, and a great kick off to my season, but now I'm wondering if they're worth it. I sure would have hated to have had them all sold and then had this happen. Anyway, your information is much appreciated.
Cheryl

I got two good years of production from Single Late (also known as French, or Scheepers) and Lily-Flowered tulips, but in their third year, many of them had become a bunch of little, non-blooming bulbs, so I dug them up and tossed them out. The Single Lates held their larger bulbs longer than the Lily-Flowereds; some of the Single Lates still had a nice big bulb among the little ones when I dug them up the third year. Besides, they had a virus, or maybe just botrytis, but some of the flowers were too spotted to use, in the second year. They were a good 8" down. Maybe I'll try a few again, planted deeper, in a different spot. I didn't know about planting them 10" down. Thanks, Trish!

The way I had the irrigation set up for them, I could turn their water off and provide a dry summer. They like that. I don't know if it makes them longer-lived, though.

Jeanne

Jeanne,
Isn't that weird that your tulips did the same thing as mine in the second year. I can use a few, but most have spots. My new ones I planted in the fall are doing fine after 3 days of rain, have gotten much taller, and don't have the virus. They are planted at the same depth as the others, about 8". I guess I'll be digging up last years like you did. I'd like to find out what this is though, and if it can be treated.
Cheryl

For what it is worth, all my second year tulips were unspotted except Menton. The others included Ad Rem, Ile de France, and Spring Green. They were all planted near each other and all came from the same vendor so maybe variety also plays a role.

In my house gardens - not for commercial cuts - Queen of the Night (a single late), the Darwin hybrids and those early Emperor (Fosteriana?) tulips have bloomed well for 3 years, though the flowers did get a little smaller.

Just getting 2 years of flowers from each bulb cuts the cost in half so that is what I am going to try to do. The stems seem to be taller in the second year so I want to start adding some each year and so I have a mix of longer and shorter stems when I make up bouquets.
Kirk

Menton had the fewest spots in my lily bed, too. Great variety! Goes GREAT with deep purple, and whites, and yellows, anything but bright pink or bright red. It also had the most big bulbs and would certainly have bloomed again this year, but I'd already planned the space for something else, so out they went. And I didn't trust them not to be spottier this year. Big Smile was pretty good, too.

They all definitely had longer stems the second year, but that's when disease hit hard. It could have been virus, but could also have been botrytis; I didn't diagnose it definitively. It might just have been the weather pattern in that particular year, who knows? My delphs and lupines were covered with powdery mildew, starting early in the season, two years ago. Last year I started spraying them early and that worked. This year there's no mildew to be seen, and I haven't sprayed once. That's what makes me wonder if the spots were botrytis brought on by the wrong weather.

Jeanne