Keep Tulip Bulbs Cold!

One of the most common problems with tulip bulbs is that they don't need that much warmth to start breaking dormancy and begin growing.

So it's not unusual to see tulips growing in the middle of winter during a brief warm spell only to be killed or ruined by a heavy frost or snow a few days later.

To avoid this problem, keep your tulips as cold as possible - as long as possible.

Here's What To Do:

1. Tulips need to be planted in cold soil so they don't send up shoots. Tulips planted in warm soil, or even soil that gets a lot of sun during the day where it can warm up won't do as well.

2. Plant tulips deep! Plant them 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) deep because if they are planted too shallow, it can lead to premature growth. Deep planting also will produce large, uniform flowers for many years, plus deep planting also makes the bulbs less susceptible to mouse and squirrel damage.

3. Mulch the soil - but only AFTER THE SOIL FREEZES. A 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7.5 cm) layer of shredded leaves, wood shavings, or compost in the winter will keep the soil consistently COLD (not warm).

Other Helpful Articles:

How To Buy Flower Bulbs

Confidently Forcing Bulbs - The Best Ever!
Professional tips and insights into forcing bulbs

The First Flowers of Spring
Five delightful plants that flower well before other, more popular spring bulbs

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine

Have great week!

Best Time To Transplant Plants

Typically, gardeners tend to transplant plants, whether they are vegetable, strawberry, tree, shrub, or perennial plants, when they have the time to do it, regardless of the time of day, or the weather.

This is normal, but if you think about it, planning when you transplant your plants is one of the best things you can do because you will ensure your plants getting off to a strong and healthy start.

I mean, why bother with all the time and effort only to have seedling transplants that are going to flag, sag, wilt, and maybe die on you? So let's avoid all this shall we?

The Best Time To Transplant Plants

The best time of day to plant is in the late afternoon when the sun is not so hot, and the wind has calmed down. By taking advantage of this time of day, the new plants have overnight to acclimate.

Strong sun and wind are very hard on new transplants and unless you water carefully, and in some cases provide some shelter from the wind and sun, they can severely wilt. This places your plants under stress at the very beginning of their growing cycle and is not a good idea because sometimes they never bounce back and don't thrive as well as they could have.

Mulching does help since it lowers the rate at which water evaporates from the soil and controls the soil temperature, so that is always a benefit if you must plant in the middle of the day.

The Best Weather To Transplant Plants

Transplants become less stressed when they are set out on a cloudy, calm day. There is some humidity in the air at that time, and no wind will mean less of a chance of the new seedlings getting dried out.

For more Gardening Tips and Gardening Advice visit our main gardening website at Weekend Gardener Monthly Web Magazine - http://www.weekendgardener.net/

Have great week!