25th Anniversary Countdown!

Tulips Have Arrived at the Society Office!

Every year since 1984, Parkinson Society Ottawa has sold James Parkinson Tulip bulbs, because the red and white tulip is the international symbol of hope for Parkinson’s.

Like a tulip bulb, hope is fragile. Easily destroyed, hope must be protected and cherished until it comes to fruition – until it is rewarded with success. Hope for a cure for Parkinson’s can also be spread as easily as planting a tulip. So, we invite you to visit our fields of hope at the Central Experimental Farm and outside our office at 1095 Carling Avenue.

If you would like to create your own bed of hope, please contact the office by email at psoc@lri.ca or by phone at 722-9238, we’d be pleased to help you.

For more information about the James Parkinson Tulip, click here or check out our 25^th Anniversary commemorative scrapbook.

Tulip Care 101

The following are tips on how to create and care for your symbols of hope.

Tulip – a common name for any member of the genus of spring – flowering bulbous herbs, of the lily family. The successful showing of your tulip garden greatly depends on the pre-spring steps of selecting and planting your tulip bulbs. Here are a few helpful hints when planting your tulips this fall:

Planting Bulbs

Select the planting site as carefully as you selected the bulbs. The soil should be fertile and well drained, as bulbs are prone to rot while dormant. Dig and plant tulip beds when the soil is fairly dry. A simple way to test the soil is to pick up a handful, if you are able to crumble it between your fingers; it is dry enough for planting. Wet soil is not as useful for planting as it can pack around the bulb and retard growth.

For unobstructed views of the blooms, bulbs are generally planted along the foundations of homes or in beds or borders. Consider planting them with ornamental grasses and other perennials that will hide the foliage as it yellows.

October is an optimal month to plant tulip bulbs. The soil temperature should be below 16°C (60°F). If the bulbs are purchased before planting time, keep them in a cool, dry area.

Proper bulb depth is another important planting requirement. The general rule is to plant the bulb at a depth of about 2.5 – 3 times the height of the bulb. To establish a tulip bed that is consecutively blooming, consider planting your bulbs in the ground in layers. Remember to space your bulbs at least as far apart as the diameter of their blossoms. When placing your bulbs in the planting hole, remember to plant each bulb pointy end up. For an extra boost to your bloom, work some bone meal or slow release soluble fertilizer and some compost or well- rotted cow manure into the planting hole, then water well after planting. In the late fall a mulch cover can be added to protect the bulbs and prevent the damage from midwinter thawing and freezing.

Tulip Tips:

Taking extra care of your tulips before and after they flower will produce a garden with beautiful blooms for years to come. Keep in mind the following tulip tips:

To prevent accidentally digging up and damaging the tulips when planting summer annuals, mark bulb plantings with a marker such as a pebble or small stake or note their location on a garden plan.

Plant bulbs in a location where companion perennials don’t completely shade the sunlight from the bulb’s leaves. After blooming, the bulbs need sunlight in order to absorb nutrients for the next years flower.

Loosen the dirt around the plants as soon as the green vegetation emerges in early spring. Spring is the ideal time for fertilizing the tulip bulbs. The fertilizer works its way into the soil with spring rains, helping foliage and flower development.

Keep in mind when picking blooms to cut stems above the plant’s leaves, although they may seem unsightly, bulbs need the nutrition from the photosynthesis in the leaves to feed them for the next bloom.

Remove faded flowers to prevent seed formation. This takes energy away from the bulb and may reduce flowering the next year.

Foliage should remain until it has yellowed. At that time CUT the remains at the ground level – don’t pull it up, there is a danger that you will damage the top of the buried bulb.

By following these easy steps to selecting and planting your tulip bulbs in the fall, you will produce an exciting and colourful surprise in your garden upon the arrival of Spring!