tulip data

Hi Jim,
        I'm afraid I can't give you totally systematic data, but I have
grown many many tulips with success over the years, and I'll explain the
best I can.  I garden in east central Illinois, zone 5b.  We have hot muggy
summers that are sometimes very wet, sometimes very dry.  We have winters
that can be very cold for short periods without a snow cover, but we can
also have wet snowy winters.  There are usually lots of periods of thawing
and freezing over the winter.  Spring and fall are beautiful but short and
sometimes rainy.
        The tulip with the very best staying power for me in terms of
reliable bloom every year and spreading is the species tulip Tulipa
turkestanica.  I have grown this tulip both in the ground (amended for
better drainage) and in raised beds. It blooms early, stays in bloom during
light frosts at night, returns reliably every year, and spreads by
self-sowing.
        I have also grown a number of other species tulips over the years
and have had pretty good return on tulipa tarda (also called daystemmon, I
think).  Tulipa linifolia does well for a couple of years in a raised bed
and then starts to peter out, as does pulchella violacea and lilac wonder,
but they are so lovely that I always plant more, so I'm not sure which
plants are from the oldest bulbs still returning and which are from more
recently planted bulbs.
        I also have pretty good luck with the lily-flowered tulips.  For
example, I planted a hundred bulbs along a sunny east fence with daffodils
five years ago.  I used an augur on an electric drill to get a deep hole and
added sand to the bottom of the hole.  (The soil was Illinois loam/clay
amended with sand and leaf mold.) The blooms were not as large or as
numerous last spring as they were the first year, of course, but they are
still beautiful.  It was a mix of different colors (from Van Engelen, I
think). I also have a planting of a hundred full size tulips (the "stretch"
mix from White Flower Farm) that have lasted about the same as the
lily-flowered.
        I have had less good results with some gorgeous double
peony-flowered tulips (angelique and lilac perfection) and some water lily
tulips (kaufmaniana) in terms of return the following year, but the area got
less sun than it should have, so that may have been a factor.
        Years ago in an earlier garden, I had a dozen red Darwins planted in
the needles under a juniper that multiplied every year, year after year.  I
was an inexperienced gardener then, so I have no idea what variety I had;
the bulbs were purchased at a local garden center. Somehow, the conditions
must have been just right.
        I guess my subjective conclusion after gardening for forty years or
so is that tulips in Illinois need to be planted deeply to avoid being dug
up by squirrels and to survive harsh temperatures and/or heaving ground in
winter.  I think good drainage is an important factor is keeping the bulbs
from rotting in wet times and during summer humidity.  Being planted in a
spot that gets good sunlight all season (instead of just sunny in the
spring) so that they can "ripen" in the summer makes a difference too.
Also, I never remove the foliage, but I always remove the finished flower
before a seed pod can form.

Hope this helps.

Dr. Susan Campanini
Coordinator of Instructional Development
Guided Individual Study
http://www.outreach.uiuc.edu/gis
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
302 E. John St., Suite 1406 (MC-433)
Phone:  (217)333-1320
E-Mail: campanin@uiuc.edu
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