Tulips are growing far too early

Question

am hoping for advice please. My friend is growing tulips for her daughters wedding celebration. Got the variety right for flowering at the right time, planted properly into the border..... It's been so warm that these are growing, and are potentially going to be blooming 6 weeks, at least, early. How can we stop these growing? She lives on the Gloucester/Herefordshire border in the uk. It was hoped these would flower at the same time as the apple trees blossom. Professional growers would have them chilled, but I don't think that's an option. Any advice would be appreciated thanks

Answer 1

If they're in pots and you can chill them, that would do it, but I'm sorry to say, absolutely nothing else will, other than hoping for a sudden change to actual winter weather, which, by and large, we have seen none of in the UK this year other than the northernmost point of Scotland. The problem has been aggravated by the very short cold snap at the end of October, beginning of November - without that, many bulbs wouldn't now be growing and trying to flower. The daffodils are already blooming in parts of the South, many before Christmas, and I saw a photograph yesterday of one in flower in the Midlands. It's unfortunate that you needed them for this spring, because no one could have predicted the current run of exceptionally mild 'winter' weather. However, it's always a risk in the UK when you want certain plants to be in flower at a particular time - even in a normal year, our weather is variable, which is why you often see the description 'spring' or 'autumn' given as a flowering time rather than a particular month.

I'm afraid your friend may have to resort to seeking out professionally grown potted tulips nearer the time of the event, or consider other flowering plants which might be available.