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Should I deadhead naturalising tulips?

crouch.kcrouch.k Posts: 3
in Plants
I know I should deadhead Dutch tulips so that their energy goes into replenishing the bulb.

However, I also have some lovely naturalising tulips. These should, apparently, spread, but I'm less sure what to do with them. Should I let these go to seed, or also deadhead them? I'm not sure if they spread by splitting off new bulbs or by seeding.

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I dead head them all. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I deadhead all of them too. They spread by producing more bulbils/bulbs, but also, allowing them to go to seed means they're wasting energy on that instead of the bulbs being fed for future years   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited May 2023
    I don't deadhead my small ones, T. bakeri "Lilac Wonder" and T. "Little Beauty". Too fiddly! They are naturalising nicely and don't seem to mind other stuff growing up between and over them in the summer.
    Here's Lilac Wonder, last week

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The little ones are certainly easy @JennyJ - I have quite a lot of those, and yes - you can get away with not bothering too much with those. Mine are all in among other plants too, so the foliage gets hidden later.
    You don't notice their stems/dead heads so much as you do with the bigger ones   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • crouch.kcrouch.k Posts: 3
    edited May 2023
    Fairygirl said:
    I deadhead all of them too. They spread by producing more bulbils/bulbs, but also, allowing them to go to seed means they're wasting energy on that instead of the bulbs being fed for future years   :)
    Thanks. Yeah, I wasn't sure whether they were using the seeds to spread or not. If not, I'll deadhead.

    I have these beautiful T. clusiana Peppermint Stick that I would love to see naturalise properly!

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - they'll gradually spread if the conditions suit them  :)
    You can then split clumps and move them if you want. They're quite accommodating. I lose some to weather and those r*ddy grey squirrels, but they're great little plants for the spring garden.

    You can certainly grow tulips from seed, but its a long, slow process, so I doubt anyone does it in a normal gardening sense.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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