A few tulips that were given to us as potted plants were planted in the garden. When we planted them, they were white, but this year, they are blooming pink. We had no idea that a plant could decide at the last minute how it wanted to appear in the spring. Is this standard? — Lois
A: While it is uncommon for flowers to change colour suddenly and drastically from year to year for a variety of reasons, many seem to do so.
The most typical response, which has nothing to do with your tulips, is rootstock issues. You can be certain that clusters of tiny pink flowers appearing unexpectedly on a yellow hybrid tea rose are on fresh growth shoots emerging from the root stock underneath the graft. With tree peony and herbaceous peonies, which are frequently grafted, this is frequently the case.
When the old blossoms set seed and the new seedlings return to the traits of one of the parents used to hybridise the plant, this is another way flowers appear to change colour. Mothers frequently experience this. The new mum, which is often yellow, surprises gardeners as it crowds out the original plant because the new seedlings are frequently stronger than the original plant. As a fallen tulip seed wouldn’t bloom for years, it seems improbable that this is what occurred to your tulips.
Of course, there is also the matter of soil acidity, which may have an impact on the degree of saturation in particular in the hue blue. Hydrangeas, which are blue in Atlanta and pinky-lavender here, are an example of this.
Your tulips were white and are now pink, which may be the result of the weather. Cold nights may have activated the red pigmentation in the petals if the pink is faint and predominantly on the edges. White chrysanthemum, which become pink or purple at the tips of their petals in the fall due to the cold, are a good example of this. Additionally, the petals of tulips can shatter and develop vibrant colour streaks. A virus typically causes that.
Despite this, breeders are aware that tulips and irises occasionally revert to a different hue, usually white, for no apparent reason. Irises have even been known to change colour over time, turn white, and then, after being separated and replanted, return to their original hue. Nobody is certain what causes these changes, but it is unquestionably a mechanism of pigment genes being activated (or inactivated) by some mechanical or environmental element.
A: I cut my lawn yesterday, but to my dismay, it’s just covered in weeds I can’t identify. I’ve always used Weed-B-Gon diligently to keep the weeds under control. These weeds often form tiers of three leaves that range in size from approximately the size of a dime to smaller and are borne on short stems with small, rough-textured leaves. They produce tiny, purplish-pink blooms. Do you know if Weed-B-Gon will keep them under control, and if not, is there anything else I can use to destroy them besides Roundup? — Clyde
A: What you’re describing sounds like Lamium purpurea, or dead nettle. It is an annual and a member of the winter annuals category. Winter weeds that are annuals begin to grow in the spring after germination in the fall and winter. Gardeners are frequently taken aback by how swiftly these weeds appear to appear overnight, not realising that they may have been developing steadily all winter. After blooming in the spring, they pass away and go dormant for the summer, only to reappear in the fall or winter when fresh seeds begin to sprout.
They should be pulled now to stop seeding because they are simple to remove. Use a broadleaf weed management treatment like Weed-B-Gon if there are too many to handle by hand. Avoid using Roundup since it also kills grass. Use a pre-emergent herbicide in the fall to stop the seeds from sprouting during the winter if you can’t get to them before they set seed. Speedwell, shepherd’s purse, and chickweed are among the winter-germinating seeds that can be controlled with pre-emergents, which should be treated in September.
Last Saturday, I removed some of the largest, healthiest dead nettles I have ever seen.
A: Each year, I have a few tulip patches that have many leaves but no blooms. Is there a way I can fix this? Why do you believe that is taking place? — Joni
A: It is challenging to maintain a decent stand of tulips blooming these days since they have been overbred and selected for colours and bloom size rather than lifespan. Some can be resolved in as few as two bloom seasons. The enormous, bloom-sized bulbs you planted typically result in a large number of extremely small daughter bulbs that aren’t big enough to blossom. The primary bulb is crowded by these tiny bulbs, which starve it and make it unable to bloom. This also occurs when tulips are buried too deeply.
Digging up the clump will allow you to sort the bulbs by size, retaining only the largest for replanting. Tulips are relatively contractile, which means that as the roots constrict, they draw the bulbs deeper into the ground. Therefore, you will have to search extremely far to find the bulbs.
I have lilac bushes; when should I prune them? I wish to make them smaller because they have gotten too big. How far can I cut them back? — Rianne
A: Lilacs should be clipped as soon as their blooming period is over, just like all spring-flowering shrubs. You will forfeit the flowers for the following year if you prune them later in the season.
Eliminate any dead branches first. Then remove skinny suckering stems all the way to the ground to somewhat thin the remaining branches. The top growth can then be pruned back by a few feet.
It is preferable to use pruning shears and snips to shape the extremely brushy Palabin lilacs with their tiny round leaves rather than cutting off entire branches if you have any of these plants. The majority of people trim this kind of hedge with hedge trimmers, which is good, but I like a more natural appearance, which can only be achieved by using snips and trimming by hand.
Can red tulips turn yellow?
There is nothing wrong with you. These kinds of colour changes are typical. They frequently arise as a result of a genetic mutation, an environmental reaction, or a virus. In reality, the streaked tulips that led to the Tulipomania obsession in Holland in the 1600s were brought on by a virus.
What is causing my pink tulips to turn purple?
The most likely cause of a plant’s purple leaves rather than its usual green colour is a phosphorus deficit, as you may have noticed. Phosphorus (P) is a mineral that all plants require to produce energy, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids.
Compared to older plants, young plants are more likely to show symptoms of phosphorus deficiency. Some plants may become deficient in phosphorus if the soil is chilly early in the growing season.
Too little phosphorus may cause the underside of marigold and tomato plant leaves to turn purple, while other plants will become stunted or will take on a dull, dark green hue.
What’s causing my tulips to yellow?
You may be overwatering your tulip plants if you see the leaves turning yellow before the tulips have even blossomed. Where there are cold winters and mostly dry summers, tulips thrive. Tulip bulbs should be thoroughly watered after planting, and you shouldn’t water them again until the spring when you see shoots emerging. In the absence of rainfall, around an inch (2.5 cm) of water every week is sufficient at that stage.
Similar to this, if you planted your bulbs in poorly drained soil, they can be overly damp. To prevent rot, tulips need to have excellent drainage. By incorporating copious amounts of compost or mulch, poor soil can be improved.
What’s causing my tulips to turn green?
Bulbs may start to dry out beneath the soil without an inch of hydration every week from a mix of rainfall and additional watering. Before the leaves start to turn yellow, you might not know what’s going on.
If you dig close to a bulb and discover that the soil is powdery, water right away. It may be too late to resuscitate brittle roots and shrinking bulbs, but it’s worth a shot.
This is unlikely to occur in cooler places unless there is a rare, protracted hot and dry spell without additional irrigation.
This is a little more likely in the spring for plants growing in warmer climates, especially if the bulbs are planted too shallowly, another potential factor we will cover momentarily.
Disease
Bulb vulnerability to disease could be caused by moisture and heat stress. If bulbs are placed too tightly together, an infection that could be bacterial, fungal, or viral could spread more quickly.
Particularly for fungi, close planting may result in a humid climate that favours their growth.
Additionally, occasionally the bulbs we purchase have viruses that are hidden until growth issues develop.
The term “disease” refers to a broad group that encompasses illnesses like the tulip breaking virus, botrytis blight, or bacterial soft rot.
Rotting at the bulb level, distorted and discoloured leaves, rotting stems and leaves, and discoloured and damaged petals are all examples of damage.
Disease-related leaf yellowing or damage brought on by pests carrying diseases is likely the source of leaf yellowing that is accompanied by malformation, tissue softening, or wilting.
For assistance in confirming the presence of a disease and potential treatments, speak with your local agricultural extension of a land grant institution or horticultural organisation.
Inadequate Drainage
Before planting tulips, make sure to amend the soil in your yard with sand or compost to prevent water from ponding. Otherwise, you risk discovering that the roots and bulbs have already rotted through before you even see the wet, yellow leaves.
Insufficient Sunlight
Tulips need full sun, as was previously stated. They benefit from partial shade in warm climates to protect them from the harsh noon sun.
Plants that receive insufficient sunshine, however, are more likely to have leaves that are extremely pale green or even yellow.
If your perennial plants are entirely shaded, as by a sizable shrub, for instance, you may wish to move them in the fall to a sunny spot.
Your garden notebook may be useful in this situation. Use it to keep track of the amount of sunlight that falls on different areas of your garden throughout the year, and note how that light is affected by the shade that big trees and other plants cast as they leaf out in the spring and summer.
Nutrient Deficiency
Plants can occasionally provide subpar outcomes if their nutrition is inadequate. Nitrogen-deficient tulips may have yellow leaves.
This is a difficult decision because the nitrogen content of soil can vary throughout the growing season, making it impossible to evaluate it precisely with a soil test alone.
If everything else appears to be in order, you could try enriching your soil each spring and autumn with a dose of all-purpose, balanced, slow-release fertiliser, as directed on the package.
Oversaturation
You might find oversaturation at the bulb level, which shows up above ground in the shape of yellow leaves, if there is a large late snowfall or a spring wet spell, or if you provided more than one inch of water each week during the growing season.
By making several deep holes in the garden soil at least four inches away from the plants’ boundaries, you can attempt to save them. To loosen up the situation, add some sand or compost and pray for the best.
Pests
Tulips are generally resistant to pests, but stressed bulbs, such as those brought on by excessive heat or wetness, may be more susceptible to infestation, particularly by sly underground worms.
These tiny, worm-like, soil-borne parasites munch on bulbs until they are obliterated.
The stem and bulb eelworm, Ditylenchus dipsaci, is one to keep an eye out for. Deformed, stunted, yellowed on top, and rough leaves are among the earliest telltale indicators of trouble.
The Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) specialists warn that this bug is disastrous. Affected plants must be removed, not composted, as this could encourage further spread throughout the garden.
There is no practical home remedy, so commercial producers utilise a complicated hot water treatment to get rid of it.
As preventative measures, the RHS advises investing in high-quality bulbs and following hygienic gardening techniques. For three years, avoid planting in the impacted regions.
Shallow Planting
Bulbs are less likely to die from heat and dryness when planted at the recommended four to six-inch depth.
People in warmer climates swear by planting bulbs eight inches deeper than is advised, keeping them well shielded from extreme heat.
Even with the greatest procedures, though, bulbs occasionally wind up in awkward positions.
When you planted other things in the same bed, you might have unintentionally disturbed them, which is why this happened.
They may also somewhat climb up due to the winter’s alternating wet and dry weather, particularly if they were recently planted in the previous fall.
Plant carefully and per the directions. Late winter strolls in the garden. Before the winter dormancy breaks, cover any bulbs that have surfaced with garden soil or compost.
Why do tulips’ colours change?
The aroma of this double tulip, “Creme Upstar,” is pleasant. When the late spring flowers open, keep an eye out for a colour change; the cream, apricot, pink, and rose-colored blossoms becoming richer and more intense as they get older.
Our gardens are ever-evolving. Not only do our flowers blossom and then pass away; many also undergo colour changes over the course of their very brief existence. It’s fascinating to watch them transition from pastel tones to richer, warmer colours and finally to muted, subdued hues as they become older.
Rose aficionados are aware that some roses can suddenly change colour. A bush that had vivid pink blooms one year can have peach or apricot blossoms the following year. Or a plant having roses in three different colours on the same bush can suddenly produce just crimson ones.
When a grafted rose emerges from below the graft union, the swollen-looking area where the rootstock and scion were attached, several kinds of modifications may take place (the top part of the plant that produces the leaves and flowers).
Rootstocks take control, especially if the higher branches are killed by cold weather. Rootstocks are often harder or stronger than the scions anyway.
Color changes can occur naturally in some cases. On a red Knock Out shrub, a lone branch with pale pink blossoms was once seen by the people who created Knock Out roses. They produced the novel, shell-pink cultivar Knock Out ‘Blushing’ by grafting the aberrant branch known as a sport onto another rootstock.
The weather can also alter colours. Flowers can become faded by direct sunlight and hot temperatures, while their colours can become richer and deeper in mild weather.
As a flower ages, its colours likewise change. For instance, “Joseph’s Coat” rose buds are typically cherry red. As they unfold, the cores are visible and take on coral tones. The blossoms turn red once more as they develop. The white flowers on the hydrangea ‘Vanilla Strawberry’ open to pink centres that eventually turn deep strawberry red. They develop a parchment-colored hue if uncut for a winter garden.
Of course, we can also alter the hues of hydrangeas. Blue flowers turn pink when the pH of the soil is increased, or made more alkaline. Pink flowers turn blue or blue-lavender when we lower it (raise the acidity of the soil). But with white hydrangeas, it doesn’t work.
Even worry has the power to change the hue of flowers like iris and peonies. A plant may have to work harder to generate new roots or leaves due to differing quantities of water, too much or too little sun, or transplanting them, which takes some of the energy that would otherwise go towards petal hues.
Viral infections are what give stunning flowers their vibrant patterns. The viruses cause appealing stripes, specklings, and featherings to “break” into the hues. Today, professional tulip growers intentionally introduce some diseases to produce mosaic designs like peppermint-stick patterns.
Additionally, bulb producers have created a number of “Tulips that can change colour that may be planted in the fall for a spectacular spring display. When flowers mature, they take on a quite distinct appearance. Here are a few different kinds to try:
“World Expression” is a tulip that begins as a light, buttery yellow and changes to rose-red “flames at each flower’s base. The reds deepen and the petals become more white as they get older.
‘Suncatcher’
‘Suncatcher’ has strong stems for a spring cutting garden when planted in the fall. Each tulip has a cherry red splotch on its bright yellow base.
In “Banja Luka”
Large, explosive red and yellow feathers on this tulip make it stand out in the garden. The mid-spring blooms linger for a very long time before opening.
‘Caramba’
Each “Caramba” bloom is a little bit unique from the others thanks to hot pink and white stripes and swirls. Bulbs should be planted in the autumn for mid-spring blooms.