Peony tulips are a must for your garden
Peonies are a favorite in many gardens, and for good reason: their flowers have rows and rows of colorful petals, and they're great cut flowers for arrangements and wedding bouquets. Now imagine all that flower power packed into easy-to-grow tulips. When you plant peony tulips in your garden, their large blooms never fail to impress when they appear in spring. But unlike peonies, which are perennials, tulip bulbs usually need to be replanted each fall, so you'll have the opportunity to change up the color scheme of your spring garden and experiment with all the varieties available.
What are peony tulips?
Peony tulips (Tulipa x hybrida) are actually double-flowered tulips, which means they have more petals than regular tulips and are extra showy. They come in red, pink, purple, yellow, orange, and white. They can have a combination of two or more colors, such as 'ice cream' with white petals surrounded by pink and green petals. . Some popular varieties include the soft pink 'Angelique' and the purple 'Blue Spectacle'. You can also find fringed varieties like 'Cool Crystal'.
How to aerate your soil 👇
Growing 14-22 inches tall, depending on variety, each flower can reach up to 4 inches and last up to two weeks in the garden, or a little less in a vase. Most are also aromatic. But no matter which variety you choose, peony tulips always make an impressive display.
How to Grow Peony Tulips
To grow peony tulips in your garden, plant the bulbs in fall in zones 3-7. Choose a location with well-drained soil that receives at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day. Bury the bulbs two or three times as deep. Add a layer of mulch on top of the soil to protect it from temperature extremes. You may want to add some wire netting under the mulch to protect your newly planted tulips from squirrels and other garden animals that like to eat the bulbs.
As temperatures rise in spring, you'll start to see the first green shoots poking through. While the leaves and flowers are blooming, you may have a large animal to keep at bay: Deer see tulips as a tasty treat. You can make your tulips less attractive to critters by using a repellant.
If you want blooms sooner or don't have space to plant them outdoors, try growing peony tulips indoors. By forcing the bulbs early, you can get full, colorful flowers as early as February or March. Flowers last for several weeks indoors and even longer if kept in a cool place.
Other Garden Links 👇
Tulip peonies bring the best of tulips and peonies together as one plant. They're especially stunning in large groups, but even a few in a container will make an eye-catching display, thanks to those full, colorful blooms. Explore and grow dozens of varieties of these beautiful tulips as you pick bulbs for fall planting! You'll thank us next spring.
11 Bulb Garden Design Ideas to Showcase Spectacular Flowers
Use these tips to make a significant impact on your landscape with beautiful spring-blooming bulbs. With a bit of strategic planting, you can enjoy these colorful plants for years.
Add color packets
Small groups of bulbs tucked among perennials, shrubs or rocks make bright accents. Use large-flowered varieties like daffodils, tulips, and alliums, and group several together so they make a strong visual statement.
Combine colors wisely
Bulbs are stunning on their own, but they're even more breathtaking in a colorful combination. Since choosing the best combos that will bloom together can be a challenge, start with prepackaged bulbs in catalogs or at your local garden center.
Other garden Links 👇
Power in numbers
Those big, bold bulbs in the botanical garden are amazing, but recreating that look in your home landscape can be a challenge (not to mention expensive). So use simple combinations of two or three colors arranged in informal patterns and patterns that follow the lines of your beds.
Combine bulbs with early perennial fruits
Pansies are winter hardy and bloom early. Periwinkle, hellebores, and creeping phlox are good companions for your spring bulbs.
Hide the fading leaves
Incorporate perennials into your spring bulb garden layout to help cover the bulbs as their leaves fade. For example, peonies, hostas, and perennial geraniums make excellent choices for covering allium foliage; Brannera works well to cover daffodil leaves.
Create a lawn
Siberian squill, crocus, and grape hyacinth bulbs are spectacular in early spring when they bloom by the hundreds, and they slowly multiply over the years, perfect for creating flowery "meadows" in lawns and under trees. For a natural look, lift them by the handle and plant where they land.
Special Garden ideas for you 👇
Fascinating facts about chrysanthemums
Mark the late perennials
Some perennials, such as butterfly weed and perennial hibiscus, are very slow to re-emerge in the spring. To avoid creating bare spots in your yard, mix in some spring-blooming bulbs. As perennials begin to grow, bulbous leaves begin to fade.
Display unusual bulbs
Familiar favorites such as daffodils and tulips in front of the house are always beautiful. But some more unusual bulbs can make a big impact. For example, a selection of fun fritillarias creates an eye-catching display near a sidewalk. Or plant some foxtail lilies for a stunning accent.
25 tulips to plant
Planting the most beautiful tulips can be challenging because each one looks more breathtaking than the next. Blooming bulbs this spring come in every color of the rainbow and range from classic floral varieties to full-petalled peony tulips and frilly parrot varieties. Choose from these popular tulip varieties
1 Negrita
The large deep purple petals of this tulip variety are stunning in garden beds or borders, especially when planted with spring-blooming plants with orange or yellow flowers. 'Negrita' has strong stems that withstand wind and rain, making it a popular cut flower.
Flowering period: mid-spring
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 16 inches tall
Zones: 3-8
2 Princess Irene
With uniquely colored flowers and a floral scent, 'Princess Irene' never fails to impress. The flowers have orange petals with vibrant purple markings in a classic tulip shape. This is an excellent spring bulb.
Flowering period: Early to mid spring
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 14 inches tall
Zones: 3-8
3 Sweetheart
This Fosteriana tulip variety has large lemon-yellow petals with white undertones. The long-lasting, fragrant flowers pair easily with other bulbs and spring-blooming plants. Here, 'Sweetheart' is shown on 'Mercato' daffodil. You'll definitely want to display this beauty in a vase.
Flowering period: early to mid-spring
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 18 inches tall
Zones: 3-8
Flowers growing tips 👇
4 Jurel
The boldly colored Triumph hybrid 'Jurel' has large white flowers with deep purple stripes. It has strong, sturdy stems, perfect for creating wonderful spring-cut flower arrangements.
Flowering Period: Mid to late spring
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: Up to 20 inches tall
Zones: 3-8
5 Unicum
A very bold tulip in spring, 'Unicum' offers bright red-orange flowers and beautiful cream-striped foliage. This is one of the best perennial tulips that reliably come back every year and bears many flowers per stem.
Flowering period: mid-spring
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 1 foot tall
Zones: 3-8
Menton
This single late hybrid variety is one of the latest tulips to bloom, so it appears in late April and May. 'Menton' has pink flowers with orange and salmon tones, accented with white stripes. Its large flowers and long stems make it a wonderful cut flower.
Flowering Season: Late Spring
Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 2 feet tall
Zones: 3-8
0 Comments