SEATTLE — Ciscoe Morris wants to save you from the pain and expense of planting fall bulbs only to have them bloom one year, then fizzle out. "So do you get frustrated when you plant your spring blooming bulbs and they're tulips and they never come back again? Oh la la. Well there are some tricks to make it happen!"
1. Pick the right type of tulip. Ciscoe recommends Queen of the Night and Emperor, they are both good returners.
2. Dig Deep. Ciscoe says to ignore what the packaging says, and dig your tulip bulb bed about a foot deep.
3. Add organic fertilizer. This is key to making the bulbs come back year after year. Don't use bone meal, unless you want to attract the neighborhood dogs.
4. Don't crowd bulbs. Crowded bulbs fight each other for nutrients, and will get stressed then divide. Instead keep them about 6 inches apart from one another, so that each bulb can grow a strong plant.
5. Protect from pests - Ciscoe has a trick to keep squirrels from befuddling him. He uses screening covered mulch to befuddle the squirrels! Chicken wire works, so do the grids attached to plant stakes. Do it right after you put those bulbs in the dirt - those squirrels are watching!
Ciscoe says: "In spring when I see the new growth come up I just take those off, by then, the squirrels will have totally lost interest and I will have a spectacular tulip display right here, squirrel free, and because I've planted them so deep with good fertilizer, they'll come back maybe ten years in a row. Oh la la I can't wait for spring!
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