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Excellent en masse, a windowbox crammed full of the viola all winter on the ground floor, out of which surge these delicious blackcurrant sorbet tulips early in the spring.

This collection contains:
Type Perennial (grown as an annual)
Border Position Container Garden
Soil Type Broad Tolerance
Scent Scented
Site Part Shade
Moisture Moist but Well-drained
Height 60cm (24in)
Sowing, Seeds, Planting Plant tulip bulbs outdoors from October to December, pointy end up 10-15cm (4-6in) deep, 8cm (3in) apart. Layer bulbs to a depth of 25-30cm (10-12in) if room is tight. Remember to add plenty of grit if your soil is heavy. For containers, space bulbs 1-2cm (½-1in) apart if planting in a single layer, give them more room, 2-3cm (1-1½in), if planting in a bulb lasagne. Violas look good edging a border or used to overplant spring bulbs which will happily push their way through.
Care Tips Don't plant tulip bulbs until the cold weather has set in – this helps wipe out viral and fungal diseases. Leave the browning foliage on your tulips until every leaf has died right down – this allows the bulb to store more food and increases the chances of good flowering the following year. Deadhead, or trim violas to prolong flowering into autumn.
Flowering February - May & September - November
Vase Life Tulips make supreme cut flowers. Strip the bottom leaves, tie the stems in paper to hold them ramrod straight and leave to drink for at least 3 hours – or overnight. This helps keep the stems straight, but tulips do continue to grow after picking so curves may appear. If you prefer them bolt upright all the way through their cut flower life, poke a pin or darning needle through the stem, just below the flower and then remove the needle. This disrupts the very active area of cell division, where the main growth comes from after picking. The tulip then won’t develop a hanging head. I only do this with the whopper-headed varieties.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
  • Sow Under Cover/Plant Indoors
  • Direct Sow/Plant Outdoors
  • Flowers/Harvest
Advice & Videos
Protecting tulips from pests

Protect your tulips this spring from their main pests. This short guide shows you how to avoid tulip fire and squirrels.

Sarah's favourite tulip groups

Sarah talks about her favourite types of tulip groups.

Gardening at home with Sarah | May Tulips

Sarah shares her favourite tulips for companion planting, growing in shade and pots.

Gardening at home with Sarah | The best tulips at Perch Hill

In our latest video, Sarah shares her favourite tulips for picking, pots, borders and grass.

Gardening at home with Sarah | Tulips at Perch Hill

Watch as Sarah discusses her favourite varieties currently growing in the gardens at Perch Hill.

Planting numbers for bulbs in borders

A handy guide for how many alliums, narcissi, tulips, snowdrops and other bulbs to plant in your plot.

How to plant and grow tulips

Find out the best way to plant your tulip bulbs for a great display next spring.

How to plant tulips using a traditional bulb planter

On a particularly blustery autumn day in October, Sarah shows you how to plant tulips with a bulb planter.

How to grow tulips in container pots

Sarah shows you a few different ideas and techniques for planting tulips in container pots, for beautiful spring displays in your garden.

Understanding the 15 different tulip groups

The full list of the different tulip groups, with a little specification, as well as an example. We hope from this you can learn a bit more to help...

A guide through the tulip trial beds at Perch Hill

Sarah guides you through the new tulip varieties she is trialling from her most recent trip to the Netherlands (Hortus Bulborum, Keukenhof). She...

Sarah's blog: The Tulip Garden

We had our first light frost this morning, which has made me start thinking about planting tulips...

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