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Outdoor Bulb Culture: Darwin

Plant in the autumn from October 15th until the ground freezes, setting them 6 inches deep and 3 to 6 inches apart. The smaller early varieties can be [156] planted close together, while the taller growing kinds as the Darwin, Parrot and Rembrandt tulips can be spaced 6 inches apart.

For best results authorities advise new bulbs each year; but in many gardens tulips remain undisturbed for several years and still give fair results; the single early tulips should be lifted annually. Unless the bulbs have to relinquish their space for bedding plants it is better to leave them in the ground until the foliage becomes limp and brown; lift them, however, before the stems dry out entirely as if they are lifted too late the protective skin around the bulb is apt to loosen and fall off which makes the bulb more likely to soften during its dormant period.

The late varieties may be lifted every two or three years and divided, discarding any undersized poor bulbs and replacing them with new bulbs.

Varieties, early, single, April flowering. Chrysolora, yellow, White Hawk, Cottage Maid, rose pink and white, Pink Beauty, bright cherry pink, Queen of the Netherlands, soft rose pink, Yellow Prince, Le Reve, rose, Couleur Cardinal, bright red.

Early Double Varieties. Murillo, lovely pale pink, Schoonoord, best white, Couronne D'or, yellow, Bleu Celeste, deep violet.

Darwin Varieties, May flowering. Wm. Copeland, [157] Mauve, La Fiancée, good pink tinged old rose, City of Haarlem, bright red, Prince of the Netherlands, old rose, Psyche, pale pink, Rev. Ewbank lavender, Dream, pale heliotrope, La Tristesse, dull slaty blue, Margaret or Gretchen, pale rose, White Queen or Le Candeur, La Tulipe Noire, handsome maroon black.

Dido, rose, Baronne de la Tonnaye, vivid rose.

Cottage Tulips, May Flowering. Inglescombe Yellow, also known as the yellow Darwin, Mrs. Moon, best yellow. Inglescombe Pink, salmon pink, Picotee, white margined rose, La Merveille, orange rose suffusion, Pluto, rose pink. Other May-flowering tulips are the Parrot, Rembrandt, and Dutch Breeder types. Their flowers are handsome and combine many rich and bright colors.