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| "No Dig" Planting of 'Pink Perfection' Tulips |
Digging all the holes to plant 25, 100, or 500 tulip bulbs can be a
backbreaking chore. It doesn’t have to be that way.
More than a decade ago, plant researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, developed a planting method called “top-planting”. It eliminates all the digging and the tulips come back and bloom well for several years.
More than a decade ago, plant researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, developed a planting method called “top-planting”. It eliminates all the digging and the tulips come back and bloom well for several years.
Top-planting, also called “drop and cover,” is a planting
technique that requires a lot less effort.
No
Dig bulb planting is a lot simpler:
Do not over-mulch. Adding more mulch will result in less blooms. Any good garden compost or double ground bark mulch should work. Brent Heath with Brent and Becky’s Bulbs in Gloucester, VA recommends adding two inches of mulch in the fall of each year.
Bulb Spacing: Tulip (or daffodil) bulbs should be spaced 3 times the bulb size or 6 inches apart. That’s 4 bulbs per square foot.
Caveat: dormant tulips and daffodils like to spend their summers in dry soil. Too much irrigation during the summer months may rot the sleeping bulbs.
·
Choose a site in full sun and good soil
drainage.
·
Till the planting area 3 to 4 inches deep with a
roto-tiller.
·
Spread bulb fertilizer and lightly till in the
fertilizer (optional).
·
Set the bulbs on top of the tilled area (no need
to press the bulb into the ground).
·
Cover with 2 to 4 inches of composted mulch or
aged compost.
·
No Dig works as well for daffodils as tulips.
Do not over-mulch. Adding more mulch will result in less blooms. Any good garden compost or double ground bark mulch should work. Brent Heath with Brent and Becky’s Bulbs in Gloucester, VA recommends adding two inches of mulch in the fall of each year.
Bulb Spacing: Tulip (or daffodil) bulbs should be spaced 3 times the bulb size or 6 inches apart. That’s 4 bulbs per square foot.
Tulip
varieties that perennialize well are recommended, particularly Darwin hybrids.
They will regrow and re-bloom for several years. Again, don't forget to add 2-3 inches of new pine bark chips or pine needles to replace
depleted mulch additions from past years.
Caveat: dormant tulips and daffodils like to spend their summers in dry soil. Too much irrigation during the summer months may rot the sleeping bulbs.
