This article throws light upon the top four types of multi flowered tulips. The types are: 1. Fringed Tulips 2. Kaufmanniana Tulips (Tulipa Kaufmanniana) 3. Fosteriana Tulips (Tulipa Fosteriana) 4. Greigii Tulips (Tulipa Greigii).
Type # 1. Fringed Tulips:
These cvs have petals with crystalline fringes, single flower, mid to late season with variable length. Honey (White), Canary (Red with yellow fringes), Fabio (Red with yellow combinations of white, yellow, green and red inside), Curly Sue (Deep violet colour) etc.
Type # 2. Kaufmanniana Tulips (Tulipa Kaufmanniana):
Cvs of this group are very early flowering and dwarf (20 cm) exterior of flower has bright carmine blush.
Type # 3. Fosteriana Tulips (Tulipa Fosteriana):
These are early flowering, very broad leaves, green or gray green sometime mottled or striped. Stem medium to long and large elongated flower.
Type # 4. Greigii Tulips (Tulipa Greigii):
The cvs have usually mottled or stripped foliage, leaves usually spread out and bend down toward ground. Late flowering with variable shape of flower. Tulip grows happily in temperate region as bulb requires low temperature to break the dormancy. Thus, it can be forced also to regulate flowering for longer duration.
Cool temperature (20-25°C) and ample of sunshine is good for plant growth and flower production. It blooms in spring season so rains, frost or hailstorms during this period are not desirable. Tulip being a bulbous crop, soil should be deep, friable, loose, and sandy in texture which is good for its growth and bulb production.
It prefers neutral pH and hence soil with lower pH can be corrected by liming. The soil with higher pH can be corrected to certain limit by adding gypsum in the soil. The quantity of these will be determined by the severity of acidity or alkalinity.
Propagation:
Tulip is propagated vegetatively by off sets of bulbs which are separated from mother bulbs and planted to grow into full-fledged bulbs. Seeds for propagation are used by to grow seedlings into flowering bulbs by breeders.
Planting:
Tulip bulbs are planted in fall i.e., November and December and produce flowers during spring. Two planting methods are used depending upon the purpose of growing i.e., for landscaping or commercial. Best landscape effects are created by planting in groups of 5-13 or more at close distance of 15 cm or when planted in informal designs under deciduous trees in different colour combinations. Single row planting should be avoided.
For commercial planting, long beds of 100-200 m and 1 m wide are prepared about 15-20 cm above the ground and bulbs are planted at distance of 10 cm and 15 cm deep. Each bed is separated with about 30 cm wide furrows used for irrigation. Due to close planting initially one or two weeding’s are required.
Later on it is not required. For forcing the tulips in the field, it is covered with polythene during January to March so that early flowering and early harvest of bulb is achieved. These bulbs are against forced. Mainly forcing of tulip is done by progressive growers having cold rooms and green house facilities.