Darn it. This letter arrived at my desk in early October and got lost in the shuffle of column ideas written on bits of paper and press releases from shameless PR firms.
Donna wrote about her trial and error with tulip bulbs and found a tulip with which she has had great success.
Worth sharing.
In this neck of the woods we may feel like it’s chilly all winter, but we really don’t have the chill to make tulips come back the second year. Personally, I treat tulips as an annual bulb. They bloom beautifully the first year. If they aren’t devoured by squirrels, then we get a paltry version of them the next year.
But Donna swears by Tulipa clusiana “lady or candy tulip.”
Her note stated that they aren’t as grand as regular tulips but the fact that they come back year after year in this climate makes up for that.
She orders from www.highcountrygardens.com.
A web search turned up info. that due to low-chilling needs the tulip will even produce multiple years in the Bay Area.
It also spreads underground and will replicate without being invasive. Maybe we could even give up a few to the squirrels if it multiplies.
Thanks Donna.
