Living in Vermont-what to plant for/in spring

Richardsonsbride

I am moving to Vermont and of course it's too late to plant my favorite, tulips. What suggestions do you have for late flowers or spring planting in New England?

 Are there late plantable tulips?

Thank you!!

nitaw

I can't be of much help to you since I live in the South. I don't know what I'd do with the winters you all get! LOL

First things first - find out your zone. Knowing your zone will help you in understanding what plants work and what don't in your area.

http://www.gardentimeonline.com/VermontHardinessZoneMap.html

What you could do to grow tulips is plant them in containers and transplant them into your garden once they bloom or once the ground thaws. You have a pretty long winter, so I think doing that would give them plenty of chill time. Tulips aren't really reliable here in TN. We have better success with Daffodils.

Next, my suggestion is to go to a bookstore and pick out a local gardening guide. My gardener's bible is the Tennessee and Kentucky Gardener's Guide by Judy Lowe. The local gardening guides will give you great information on what willor won't work in your area.

Hopefully a more knowledgeable gardener will chime in on this thread. I'm a novice!

Richardsonsbride

Thank you so much! This ia great start. I honestly never thought of growing indoors (silly me). I will check out that website :-)

nitaw

Here's a link I found for forcing indoors.

http://www.wcfcourier.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/article_f11f53a6-ba73-11de-b0f4-001cc4c002e0.html

laddiebug

About the forcing tulips indoors, I don't think it is necessary in New  England because of the winter that you do get. Forcing them indoors is more for the southern states where they do not get enough cold time to fufill their requirement. If the bulbs are already outside in a pot then you should be fine. If they don't bloom this spring, there is always next spring when you'll be more prepared for it.

Nitaw's suggestion to go to your local bookstore, or even your closest botanical garden, and find a plant book for your area is a great idea. It will tell you exactly what plants can and can't grow well in your area and is just an all around useful guide to have around.

A quick Google search brought up Best Garden Plants for New England. Try finding that one as a start.

 Good luck.

Richardsonsbride

Thanks ladies!

I went to my Co-op food store floral department and found some tulpis that come in little puts, you put compost on them and keep them in a cold dark place (gives instructions) then 10 weeks later they  can be planted. So when we finally move into the new house I can start those.

Thanks for the advice, it's really kind of you :-)

laddiebug

Richardsonsbride:

Thanks ladies!

I went to my Co-op food store floral department and found some tulpis that come in little puts, you put compost on them and keep them in a cold dark place (gives instructions) then 10 weeks later they  can be planted. So when we finally move into the new house I can start those.

Thanks for the advice, it's really kind of you :-)

Don't forget to keep the soil damp to the touch.