Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Pearls of Minimal Price

What a difference a Spring day makes in April in Iowa! Yesterday we had mild temperatures in the low 60's and a fair amount of cloud cover most of the day, but today we had plentiful sunshine and a high of 75F, one of those days that gives office bound folks the itch to get outside and enjoy the long awaited warmth.... Fortunately the nice weather lasted until I was done working so Hanna and I could get out for a little bit late this afternoon (around 6:00) to take in the fresh air.... And though tonight's featured flower Tulipa humilis v. 'Persian Pearl' had closed up shop for the day, fortunately Fernymoss had the closing shift today, so he got some sunny shots for us this morning before he left for work, so direct any accolades his way for the photos!

We've been eagerly anticipating these blooms for a couple of weeks now since the foliage first emerged in the boulder bed out by the front steps of our house, and now we're fully enjoying their (albeit brief) spectacular show, which serves as a prélude to the blooms of our larger tulips. These tiny tulips tiptoe into the garden to dazzle us every year, and since I first planted these in 2005, they have been gradually naturalizing into a nice colony among the hyacinths we also have planted in this area. That's one thing I really appreciate about Tulipa humilis ...unlike its larger cousins, if happy, it will naturalize for you and provide even more color each successive year. We have two clumps of these that came from an original planting of 10 bulbs, and they have easily doubled over the past four years, even during times when our Darwins perished in late spring cold snaps (think 2007). They're hardy over a wide range of North America (from Zones 3-8), even though they are native to the rocky slopes of Central Asia. Fortunately for us, we don't have to travel far to procure them for our gardens, and though 'Persian Pearl' is a bit harder to find than other varieties, a quick internet search will turn up at least several nurseries who offer them. (I originally got these from Park Seed, but curiously, they aren't on their website anymore ... maybe in the fall, when they concentrate more on bulbs?)

This shot was taken late afternoon on April 21, by an excited Fernymoss who was looking for them to pop this morning, and pop they did!

Every grouping of flowers always starts with a single bloom, and this lovely example shows just how much Persian Pearl loves basking in the morning sun .... their rich hues of magenta-pink just positively pop when offset by the brilliant yellow centers of these blooms ... and if you enlarge the photo (always click through for a larger version!), you can even see the shadows of the stamens against the center, it was that sunny this morning.

As I mentioned earlier, they like company, and I suspect that these two "twins" represent an older bulb that has produced another, smaller offset that is just blooming for the first time this year. These dwarf or "wild tulips" are sometimes referred to as "crocus tulips" and it's easy to see how they got that nickname, since they seem to naturalize much like crocus do, with smaller progeny appearing very close to the parent bulb....

Here we can see a slightly larger "family" has emerged to join the larger party forming around the Hyacinth (Peter Stuyvesant ... more on him in a later post) nearby. Their bright hues provide a beautiful contrast to the deeper shades of violet-purple of the Hyacinths (see the first shot in this post) and are just what I was aiming for when I originally planted these here. It may have just been a "color hunch" at the time, but it has worked out well over the ensuing years....

This spot is apparently the focal point of the party, at least at this point in time! This is where I concentrated the bulk of the bulbs when I first planted them and used the rest a bit further afar to punctuate the Hyacinths. These are bulbs you definitely want to plant in groups so they don't get lonely ... that's the essential lesson we learned early on with planting tulips: planting one or two here and there just doesn't do them justice --they need the company of their relatives to really shine! (The same "rule" seems to apply to many of the other spring bulbs such as crocus and daffodils.) So if you decide to add these (reasonably priced) jewels to your garden, keep in mind that they do best when surrounded by their peers....

This view features the largest concentration of these beauties near one of the foundation boulders of the bed at the edge of the sidewalk where our steps begin, so they're on full display to anyone passing by. And that's something to keep in consideration should you decide to plant 'Persian Pearl' (or any of its cousins) ... they really deserve a position where they will be seen, and relegating them to a position further back in the perennial border really does them, yourself (and potential admirers of your flowers) a huge disservice. With a flower this small (they max out at about 6 inches tops), they positively demand prime eyeball real estate to perform at their best.

To my mind, these are indeed Pearls of Great Beauty at a Minimal Price (American Meadows is currently offering them at $6.73 for a bag of 15) ... and what's even nicer, they only need to be planted about 4-6" deep (unlike the 6-8" their larger cousins demand), so like crocus and other smaller bulbs, you could potentially plant a good number easily in a small amount of time. If you liked what you saw here, consider adding some Tulipa humilis varieties to your garden this coming Fall!

We'll be seeing the other variety we have planted here a bit later (they're not as early), so stay tuned for the début of 'Little Beauty!'

And speaking of little beauties ...here's the puppy fix of the day (taken on 21 April) ... lil Princess Hanna relaxing after a long walk (25 min + !) last night.....

I call this one "Full Stretch Mode"

"I'm trying hard to stay awake, but the snoozies are hitting me right now!"

33 comments:

Roses and Lilacs said...

You're the second one this morning to blog about species tulips. I haven't tried humilis, but I used to have a lot of Greigii and Kaufmannana which I liked. I plan to add more this fall. I'll look for humilis. It's nice to have some tulips blooming early with the daffodils.
Marnie

Annie in Austin said...

The title Pearls of Great Beauty at a Minimal Price is inspired, IVG!
Fernymoss does deserve accolades for the photo with the mostly closed tulips combined with the hyacinths. It's good to see you finally have spring.

I planted a few Tulipa clusiana last fall but no sign until a couple of days ago. One bloomed then was hit by not-springlike 94°F yesterday.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

boran2 said...

Those are gorgeous blooms, IVG. I'm amazed at how far along yours are. And Hanna is such a cutie!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Marnie,
I guess they must be popping for others right about now too, eh? You should give Humilis a try ... it's really been a carefree tulip for us and has survived two disastrous spring re-freezes no problem. I'm not familiar with the ones you mentioned, so I'll have to research them. Too bad you don't have them anymore so you could post them!

I caught your daffodils quickly in passing the other day (and the Herrick poem, I like that one!) but didn't have time to comment yet... sorry!

Just had a thought... I wonder if one can force Humilis... wouldn't that be cool to have blooming inside in late winter?

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Annie,
Glad you liked the title ... I thought it a bit cheesy, but hey, I get that way sometimes, heh. At least no one has called me on the use of "tiptoe" yet, lol.

Wow, 94 already! Ouch. I bet Tulips really hate that kind of weather, and I'm actually amazed you can get them to grow at all in your climate with no prolonged cold season!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hey B2,
Please don't tell me you're still waiting on your crocus! If you do, I'll just cry! These are great little flowers aren't they? Such rich colors ... our bigger Darwins are budding out now so it won't be much longer before they're blooming!

Yeah, proud Puppy Papa I am, I think she just gets cuter all the time, lol. Hard to believe we've only had her 3 months!

Sylvana said...

I almost bought some of these last fall, and now I am kicking myself.
Oh well, there is always this fall!

Gail said...

I love species tulips! They are beautiful in bloom and don't leave an unsightly mess after blooming like narcissus do! Like I really clean the garden beds well! I hope you are doing well IVG...tell Ferny I love the photos! Hannah is too cute! I am going to sleep...these late night are hard on this woman of a certain age! gail

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Sylvana,
Don't kick yourself, just get some for fall as you said! I just checked McClure-Zimmerman (a WI business, btw) and here's a link to their page for these pearls:

http://www.mzbulbfall.com/dp.asp?c=134&P={14D6C794-64DB-47D7-8963-70C418E757B8}

Not a bad price either! I'm going to have to get some different species varieties from them ... they have a great selection!

Iowa Victory Gardener said...

Hi Gail,
As I just said to Sylvana, I've got to get a few more varieties ... we also have "Little Beauty" on the way, but those are the only two we have. Heck, there's no clean up with them, the foliage just shrivels up and disappears... perfect!

We still have so much clean up to do still ... but it decides to rain every Sat/Sun for about the last month ... frustrating! Especially with so much coming up so fast!

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