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Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Susan Reimer
Faithful readers of Garden Variety know that I have had no success with tulips in the ground.
Something always eats the bulbs before they have a chance to sprout.
An attempt to grow them in pots one season didn't work either. They rotted.
This year, with cheap bulbs and tons of drainage, I tried again.
Success!
Now, of course, I am regretting the cheap bulbs.
If I had known this would work, I'd have planted nicer tulips.
Susan Reimer has spent 16 years writing about raising kids - among other topics - in her column for The Baltimore Sun. And every time son Joseph or daughter Jessie passed another milestone - driver's license, college, wedding or a move to a new military duty station - she has planted another garden. Now she will be writing about those gardens - and yours - here on Garden Variety. 
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Comments
Treat them as annuals and toss when they have finished blooming, then upgrade next fall when you plant again!
Posted by: Dahlink | April 8, 2010 5:49 PM
Susan, the cheap tulips are still beautiful! :)
Posted by: Sheila | April 8, 2010 10:35 PM
Your tulips are better looking than mine. I don't know what our problem is --- ground too wet? Bulbs in burnout season? But bulbs that have produced lovely flowers for several years have produced are very weak-looking, spindly-leaved, small-flowered offerings.
I've read that tulip bulbs only produce well for a limited number of years. (Don't remember how many) I've rejected that because if that's the case, I'm going to have to plant only the cheapest bulbs, since I won't be able to justify the cost of really nice bulbs as an investment.
Eve. There is a school of thought that tulips should be treated like annuals and replanted every year. That's what they do in display gardens. Yours are prolly worn out!--Susan
Posted by: Eve | April 9, 2010 12:08 PM