Tulipa sprengeri

[Maren]

Hi, how long does it take for seed of Tulipa sprengeri to come up? I sowed them immediately upon ripening, just before the capsules split. Did I leave it too long? The seedtray contains garden centre seed compost with a sprinkling of vermaculite over the top. It is being kept moist and sits in a cold frame with the vents open. Have I lost them?

[partisangardener]

They germinate with me always the next spring. And of course I left them outside, just dug the pot into the ground only showing the rim.

[tonyg]

Sounds like you are doing everything right, should germinate next spring.  I find they quickly pull down to the bottom of the pot - if left for 2/3 years they will escape through the holes in the bottom of the pot!

[pehe]

I agree with Tony. You do everything right.
Tulipa sprengeri germinate normally easily for me. This spring however only a very few germinated but the pot was frozen and floated with water for about a month. That was just too much. But after a normally wet winter almost all seeds will germinate.
By learning I now use a 30 cm tall pot, and sow the seeds about half way down. I find that they grow faster when sown that deep, but sowing in the surface works too. They flower in about 3 years.
Even in such a deep pot some bulbs will escape in a couple of years.

Poul

[Maren]

Thank you all, your advice is much appreciated. I shall be patient and keep an eye on them.

[Roma]

I usually find self sown seedlings germinating in the garden about February or March.  I should not say this but I have so many now I try to weed most of them out.  

[partisangardener]

Why was this extreme fertile tulip only found once in the wild? Is it really a wild one?
http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/TulipaSpeciesFour

[Maren]

I usually find self sown seedlings germinating in the garden about February or March.  I should not say this but I have so many now I try to weed most of them out.  

Hi Roma, at between £4 and £8 per bulb to buy in this country, I would quite like to have an abundance.

[Rodger Whitlock]

Sow your seeds of T. sprengeri in a fairly deep pot now. They will germinate in the spring. Give them a weak liquid fertilizer with low nitrogen once or twice once they have germinated. Keep them in that pot for at least one more growing season, again with feeding once in a while.

Plant the young bulbs out when dormant after two growing seasons in the original pot.

I advise pot sowing because, in my experience, germination is usually better in the controlled conditions of a pot than out in the rough and tumble of the open garden. Moreover, seedling tulip bulbs are quite small; giving them an extra season in the protected environment of a pot allows them to size up, so when planted out a greater fraction will establish.

Time table

Autumn 2010	sow seeds
Spring 2011	germination
Spring 2012	young bulblets emerge again
Summer 2012	plant out young bulbs after dormancy

[Rob Potterton]

Hello Rodger.
Thanks for the cultivation advise - how many years does it take you to get good flowering bulbs??
Regards Rob

[partisangardener]

What I read the will flower after 3 or four cycles. I killed my first seedlings after 2 years in a pot in the sunniest spot of my garden . They are really good in the forrest shade and shrivel in the sun.

[Maren]

Hi,

here is my first success with sowing these lovely tulips. I counted about 200 seedlings in this tray. Yippee.

[tonyg]

Hurrah!
I would not disturb them while in growth but I grow my seedlings in deep pots ... and they soon get to the bottom, even through the holes.  They like to be planted deeply so they may benefit if you move them to deep pots or even the garden when dormant.

[PeterT]

tip the whole tray onto some 50/50% ji and fine grit in a big deep long tom and they shouldn't escape for another year
 I keep meaning to sow some for gardens I work in but it looks after its self in my garden now. Too deep to dig out -I control it by dead heading

[Maren]

Thank you both for this advice. How deep should the new container be? I have quite a few options.