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Tulipa (Italian rendering)
(the Italian rendering of the Turkish tulbend, a turban, which the flower resembles). Dalmatian Cap; Tulip. Including Orithyia. ORD. Liliaceae. A genus comprising, according to Mr. Baker, upwards of sixty species of very beautiful, hardy, bulbous plants, inhabiting Europe, North Africa, Western and Central Asia, and extending as far as Japan. Flowers erect or very rarely nodding, showy; perianth deciduous, campanulate or nearly funnel-shaped; segments distinct, erect or erecto-patent, sub-equal, often spotted inside near the base; stamens six, hypogynous, shorter than the perianth; filaments more or less complanate, attenuated or shortly filiform at apex; anthers oblong-linear, erect, the cells laterally dehiscing. Leaves linear or rather broad. Stem simple, few-leaved, one, or rarely two or three, flowered. Bulb tunicated, the tunics sometimes woolly within. "In the middle of the seventeenth century, Tulips became the object of a trade such as is not to be met with again in the history of commerce, and by which their price rose above that of the most precious metals. It is a mistake, however, to suppose that the high prices paid for bulbs--amounting, in some instances, to 2,500 and even 4,600 florins--represented the estimated value of a root, since these large sums often changed hands without any transfer of property. Bulbs were bought and sold without being seen--without even being in existence. In fact, they were the subject of a speculation not unlike that of railway scrip in this country at no very distant date" (Lindley and Moore). Tulips still take front rank amongst the most familiar and beautiful of hardy, bulbous plants. Many hundreds of varieties have been raised by means of careful hybridisation; and they are mostly offered at prices that place them within the reach of the average amateur gardener.
Propagation. New varieties of Tulips are obtained from seeds, and some of the species which increase but slowly by offsets may be similarly raised. The most general method of propagation for perpetuating varieties is that of offsets, which are generally produced in fair quantities. Seeds may be sown in boxes of light, sandy soil, about February, and placed in a cold frame, where they will germinate in due course, and may be protected during the following winter. The next season the young bulbs should be planted in a prepared bed outside, for growing on into a flowering size. This takes four or five years, and the first flowers which appear are usually self-coloured; after another period, the length of which is quite an uncertainty, these flowers, which at the first are called "breeders," break into other colours and markings, which admit of their being placed into one or another of the several classes adopted. The process of raising flowering bulbs of Tulips from seed is, therefore, a very slow one. Offsets may be detached from established bulbs, when they are lifted, and grown by themselves until large enough for flowering. The chief supplies of Tulips are imported from Holland, where,--with other, commonly called, Dutch bulbs--they are grown in immense quantities for exportation to all parts of the world. When young seedlings and offsets are raised in gardens, they should be planted in a border or bed prepared with sandy loam, leaf mould, and light manure, and provided with efficient drainage, which, if possible, should be secured by selecting a position where the subsoil is gravelly. A situation exposed to sun and air is preferable, but sheltered from rough winds, which blow the plants about, and break their leaves.
Cultivation. Planting of all kinds of Tulips is best performed in October, and early in November; the bulbs should be placed from 3in. to 4in. deep, to preserve them against injury from severe frost; a little sand round each is generally recommended, but in light, sandy soil this need not be considered absolutely essential--except, perhaps, with scarce sorts or valuable seedlings. Planting with a trowel is best, as the soil is better adapted for the roots to enter than when a dibber is used. A distance of 6in. between the bulbs is sufficient; but when there are not many to be planted they may be more widely disposed. In the spring, so soon as the flowers begin to expand, a light awning placed over the bed will preserve those of any particular variety for a longer period than if they were exposed; but flower-beds filled with Tulips for a spring display cannot receive such attention. The bulbs may be lifted after the foliage turns brown and the stalks become limp, and placed in a cool, airy place, not in the sun. When thoroughly ripened, they may be stored in drawers or bags, where provision can be made for air circulating amongst them, until planting time again arrives. If it becomes necessary to lift the bulbs to clear flower-beds for summer occupants, they should be planted again in reserve beds, and allowed to ripen there. The arrangement of colours, and the selecting of showy varieties which flower at about the same period, are matters of great importance in planting beds of
