Other Years

Red Tulips

2022
May 6: A dense clump of plants is up beside the back pond, in the raised bed. They would benefit from thinning.
 
2014
June 20: A few flowers.
 
2013
May 22: Up in the raised bed but not flowering.
September 23: Did fine.  
2012
March 27: Up today in the raised bed.
 
2011
May 22: Flowering as volunteers in one corner of the new raised bed.
 
2010
April 17: They are well up. They began by pushing their way through the soft cardboard.
29: About 2 flowers today.
June 16: I cleared them away and put cardboard and mulch in their bed, and planted nasturtiums there.
 
2009
April 16: Shoots are just up.
May 24: They have been flowering for a few days.
30: About one third of the flowers have faded.
August 3: I have covered their beds in cardboard and mulch. I will see if this loosens the soil, over time.
 
2008
April 4: As the snow melts, it has revealed many shoots of red tulips.
May 16: A few flowers opened today.
 
2007
April 11: The melting snow revealed many sprouts.
May 12: They are almost completely finished.
 
2006
April 2:  The snow has melted and their reddish shoots are visible.
25:  A few flowers.
26:  Half are in flower.
August 1: They did fine.
 
2005
April 3:  Their tips are poking through this morning.
May 5:  The first flowers opened today. They grew rapidly in early April then did little during a cool spell.
June 19:  The leaves are yellowing.
 
2004
March 30:  Dozens of small orange spikes broke through today!
May 16:  Two buds are almost open.
July 16:  Ben is digging the bulbs and will work in compost and replant the larger bulbs farther apart.
 
2003
April 9:  Coming up.
May 3:  One small bud is showing colour.
May 25:  There is still a flower or two, but many buds just withered without developing.   I believe it was too dry.
June 11:  They are beginning to die down.
July 3:  Cleared out by now.   The replacement four o'clocks are doing well, but there are only 4 of them and there is a lot of bare space.
 
2002
April 15:  Shoots are up an inch, when there were none 2 days ago!
May 24:  In flower today, the first day.
 
2001
May 1:  They are in bud.
May 4:  Some are in flower.
July 1:  I have cleared out almost all the stalks.

2000
March 26:  Shoots are poking through in their bed.
April 30:  Sprinkled with super triple phosphate.
May 2:  First open flower.

1999
March 27:  Shoots of the red and yellow tulips are poking through in the garden.
May 1:  First flower.
3:  Fertilized with 10-52-10.
8:  Half the flowers are finished now. I dug out 3 yellow plants that were among the reds.
June 9:  They are dying down. The lower parts of most leaves and stems are yellow.
30:  Dead and gone.
July 23:  I dug up the bulbs in order to relocate them. I dug compost into their old location when I replaced the soil.
25:  I dug compost into their new location.
August 29:  Malcolm Milukshuk (Nakita) planted the bulbs.

1998
May 2:  In flower.

1997
May 24:  Flowers opened today. There are 6 reds together and 1 among the yellow tulips.

1996
May 4:  Doing fine. No buds visible yet. The yellows are ahead of the reds.
28:  In flower for about a week now.

1995
May 9:  Doing fine, with small buds. They are very thick in their bed. I scattered some bone meal there today.
23:  Flowering very nicely. There were 4 red flowers, now marked with ties.
June 1:  I deadheaded them today.
August:  I moved what I think are the red ones to a separate new spot.

1994
April 20:  Visible.
May 12:  Buds.
25:  Finishing flowering.
September 1:  I dug the bulbs, and collected about 35 good-sized ones, yellow and red. The soil in their bed is very thick and clayey; it has never been dug or amended since I started the garden. It is impossible to tell the red tulip bulbs from the yellow.

Yellow Tulips

2014
June 20: A few flowers.
 
2013
May 22: A couple are flowering in the old garlic bed, behind the now-gone sweet pea trellis.
 
2011
April 17: They are up behind the sweet pea trellis.
May 22: Flowering there, and as volunteers in the raised bed.
~July 3: I dug up the bulbs behind the trellis.
 
2010
April 17: Some plants are well up. They are not as thick as the red tulips.
May 8: Flowering.
June 17: Much quackgrass, bachelor buttons, and other volunteers or weeds in their bed.
October 16: I dug the bulbs as part of the installation of the raised flower bed, and planted them today behind the sweet pea trellis, at the south end.
 
2009
April 23: Shoots are just up.
May 24: They have been flowering for a few days.
August 18: I have covered their beds in cardboard and mulch. I will see if this loosens the soil, over time.
 
2008
April 15: A very few shoots are up now.
May 16: First flower, along the path.
18: In flower.
 
2007
April 11: The melting snow revealed some sprouts.
May 12: They are finished.
 
2006
April 2:  The snow has melted and their reddish shoots are visible.
24:  First flowers, among the plants along the garden path.
August 1: They did fine.
 
2005
May 8:  Some opened today.
June 19:  The leaves are starting to yellow.
 
2004
May 16:  During a recent heavy snowfall, while the leaves were still buried, the buds rose above the snow.   The buds are large and standing tall above the leaves.
 
2003
April 9:  Coming up.
May 3:  There is still a nice patch in the grass in the centre pathway.
9:  First flower.
June 11:  They are beginning to die down.
July 3:  Cleared out by now and the replacement poppies and bachelors buttons are more prominent.
~17:  Ben dug the bulbs and replanted the large ones with compost and bone meal.
 
2002
April 15:  A few shoots poking through.
May 24:  Half are in flower today, the first day.

2001
May 1:  They are in bud.
May 4:  They are in flower. There are still many plants in the centre grass walkway.
July 1:  I have cleared out almost all the stalks.

2000
March 9:  Shoots are poking through in the garden's centre pathway.
26:  Shoots are poking through in their bed.
April 29:  One flower.
April 30:  Sprinkled with super triple phosphate.

1999
March 20:  Today I dug up and brought in some tulip bulbs that I buried outside last autumn to force. They were buried beside the house, and covered with straw mulch and soil. They look fine. Tiny new growth is poking through the top of the soil. I put them into the basement clothes closet, where it is cool and dark.
25:  The shoots are pale and about 5 cm high. I put them into a basement window.
27:  Shoots of the red and yellow tulips are poking through in the garden.
April 9:  The flowers from the bulbs I forced are almost finished. They were beautiful, but now they are floppy.
May 2:  Many flowers today, their first day.
3:  Fertilized today with a concentrated solution of 10-52-10. The bulbs that I forced have entirely died back, and the new bulbs in the container are a good size! I fertilized them about a week ago with 10-52-10.
June 9:  They are dying down. The lower parts of most leaves and stems are yellow.
30:  Dead and gone.
July 16:  Stewart dug up the bulbs in order to relocate them.
September 23:  Kyle dug some compost into the bed, and planted the bulbs, closely supervised by me. (Have I mixed up the reds with the yellows?)

1998
March 28:  Appeared in the garden.
May 2:  In flower.
~May 22:  Given some superphosphate and KCl.
June 1:  They did fine.
17:  Largely died back.

1997
May 24:  Flowers opened today. There are 87 yellows.

1996
May 4:  Doing fine. No buds visible yet. The yellows are ahead of the reds, and have spread too near the oriental poppies.
28:  In flower for about a week now.
~June 1:  I moved a few more reds out of the yellows.

1995
May 9:  Doing fine, with small buds. They are very thick in their bed. I scattered some bone meal there today.
23:  Flowering very nicely.
June 1:  I deadheaded them today.

1994
April 20:  Visible.
May 12:  Buds.
25:  Finishing flowering.
September 1:  I dug the bulbs, and collected about 35 good-sized ones, yellow and red. The soil in their bed is very thick and clayey; it has never been dug or amended since I started the garden. It is impossible to tell the red tulip bulbs from the yellow.

Orange Emperor Tulips (T. Hybrids)

Orange Emperor Tulips, 2000

2023
June 29: None this year.
 
2022
May 6: None expected.
14: There is a small clump of them in their old spot, which is now part of the lawn. Unfortunately something nibbled them short. Probably a rabbit, possibly a deer.
August 21: I was going to move them but couldn't find them.
 
2021
December 31: None. They were disturbed too much by the digging of the new front pond.
 
2013
May 22: Flowering proudly in front.
 
2011
May 22: In full flower.
 
2010
April 17: Up.
May 8: Flowering.
 
2009
May 30: Flowering.
 
2008
April 25: Now up.
May 24: 23 flowers!
 
2007
April 23: Up.
May 10: They are flowering.
 
2006
April 14:  Three are up.
May 7:  Five flowers opened today and they are a wonderful bright orange!
 
2005
September 19:  I bought 8 bulbs from Walmart for $3.97.
~22:  I planted them in the new front bed.

Black Parrot Tulips (T. viridiflora)

Black Parrot Tulip, 2004

2011
April 18: I wonder where I moved them to last fall.
June 1: One is flowering in the raised bed.
July 8: I dug for that bulb but couldn't find it.
 
2010
May 8: Budding.
December 31: I had to dig up the bulbs in the fall and move them as part of building the new raised bed. I don’t know where I put them.
 
2009
July 4: They did fine.
August 18: I have covered their beds in cardboard and mulch. I will see if this loosens the soil, over time.
 
2008
April 16: Shoots are visible today.
May 24: First flower.

 
2007
April 23: A few are up.
May 12: Some are flowering and some are still in bud.
 
2006
April 2:  No sign of them.
May 6:  One flower open.
22:  There are still some flowers.
August 1: They did fine. I moved some bulbs to evenly space the plants in their bed.
 
2005
May 10:  Coming along. Some parts of their bed are empty, except for the volunteer Shasta daisies.
23:  First 2 flowers today.
June 19:  The plants are almost invisible, surrounded as they are by volunteer shastas.
July 19:  I cleaned out the bed a while ago and sprayed glyphosate and have begun to cover the area with newspaper to kill non-tulips.
 
2004
June 3:  In flower, with the blossoms well above the leaves.
 
2003
April 19:  Poking through now.
May 28:  One bud looks ready to open.
July 3:  The flowers were on very short stalks.   They are all cleared out and the replacement marigolds have the bed now.
September 3:  Ben dug the bulbs and I counted and weighted them.
~17:  Ben replanted the larger bulbs on the opposite side of the bed, with compost and bone meal.
 
 
 

Sizes of Bulbs Harvested--Black Parrots, 2003
Size	Number	Total Mass (g)	Mean Mass per Bulb (g)
Large	15	311.4	20.8
Medium	17	251.6	14.8
Small	15	191.0	12.7
Teeny	56	457.4	8.2
Tiny	171	452.3	2.6
Totals	274	1663.7	6.0

Black Parrot Tulips, 2000

2002
April 21:  A few shoots poking through.
June 3:  The buds opened today.

2001
May 1:  Up and coming along.
May 14:  Starting to flower.
July 1:  They are dying back but are not ready to clear out yet.

2000
April 1:  Shoots are poking through in their bed.
April 30:  There are multiple plants in each original spot. Sprinkled with super triple phosphate.
May 7:  One flower.
27:  Although they still looked good yesterday, today they look very tired.
June 15:  I left the flower heads on to set seed, but none of them did!
August 23:  I dug the bulbs, and got 97. I incorporated compost and super triple phosphate into the plot as I replaced the soil.
27:  I replanted 32 bulbs.

Sizes of Bulbs Harvested--Black Parrots, 2000
Size	Number	Total Mass (g)	Mean Mass per Bulb (g)
Large	11	282.5	25.5
Medium	13	209.7	15.7
Small	18	170.8	9.5
Teeny	19	109.1	5.7
Tiny	38	50.5	1.3
Totals	99	792.6	8.0

1999
March 29:  No sign of them yet.
April 17:  Shoots have appeared.
May 2:  There are buds forming on the plants. They are not the smooth symmetrical buds of the red and yellow tulips, but are irregular with wrinkles or dots on them.
16:  They have just come into flower. They are a deep burgundy colour.
22:  They made a good cut flower. The petals were thick and waxy, and they lasted several days.
24:  I cross pollinated the garden flowers.
27:  I tossed a little superphosphate on them. They are still all in blossom!
June 30:  They are dying down. The lower half of most leaves and stems are yellow.

1998
~September 15:  I purchased 12 bulbs and planted them.
 

Angelique Tulips (T. hybrids)

2012
December 31: No sign of them.
2011
May 11: No sign of them in the back.
22: Flowering in front, but they may be too crowded now. I dug in the back and the ones there are gone.
 
2010
April 17: Up in front.
 
2009
May 30: Flowering.
August 18: I have covered their beds in cardboard and mulch. I will see if this loosens the soil, over time.
 
2008
April 10:Many sprouts in the main garden bed.
25:Now also in the front bed.
May 24: First flower, in the back.
 
2007
April 19: Up.
May 10: They are flowering.
 
2006
April 3:  Their reddish shoots are just barely up in the back bed.
May 7:  First flower in the back bed and those in front are coming along.
22:  The flowers in the back still look good!
 
2005
September 19:  I bought 15 bulbs from Walmart for $5.97.
~22:  I planted them, some in the front and some in the back.