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northernrose

gardencottage5gardencottage5 Posts: 1
in Problem solving
How much cold Northern rain can I expect potted tulips to withstand? I potted a mix of bulbs in medium/large containers last autumn with a generous addition of horticultural grit mixed with the bulb compost and lots of crocus and iris shoots are now visible. Rain here in the frozen North West is typically of biblical proportion, and this winter is no exception. I have plastic bell cloches to use when the downpours are at their torrential worst but I'm concerned the tulip bulbs, being at the lowest level in the pots  may rot. I'm new to gardening. Advice gratefully sought, please?

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's why I never put them in with anything else.  :)
    They need a really free draining medium, while most other bulbs can manage with even very wet winters.
    I keep mine against the house wall, or even in the greenhouse during the worst of the winter weather. 
    Even with that, most don't tend to last well - if you get a couple of seasons that's pretty good. The species ones are a far better bet, as they will multiply, but they also need decent drainage. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • BiljeBilje Posts: 811
    I'm in the NE currently got biblical rain too! I have potted up tulips every year left out in the open. I don't add grit they're potted half and half home produced compost and bought compost. I've never had a problem with them rotting. Your pots will be no wetter at the bottom than the top if your pots have drainage holes. I do depot them in summer, save the larger bulbs then store for repotting in November, as Fairygirl says they don't last forever. I'm not personally keen on mixed planting. Tulips do show later than daffs and crocus I also have clumps of garden planted ones which regrow. Don't fret I'm sure they'll be fine. 
  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,134
    It's usually not rot that kills tulips slowly over successive winters--they just don't get enough sun to feed the bulbs properly, so they dwindle and gradually die out. They are very hardy and resistant to cold winter weather, since they come from mountain slopes. I remember being very surprised to learn that tulips never ever rebloom in California--the reason is that they aren't given a period of winter frost, which is necessary for flower buds to form. 

    IMO, some varieties are more persistent than others. I have got a few varieties to rebloom and sometimes even multiply in an open border, in limy clay--though I haven't trialled that many (lack of space and time). These were: 'China Pink'; 'White Triumphator'; 'Bleu Aimable'; 'Angelique'. Yours should be fine, even with all the biblical rain...They do prefer good drainage though.
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