Kirna manor gardener advises waiting to plant tulip bulbs

Kirna manor gardener Eneli Käger advises waiting for a proper overnight frost before planting tulip bulbs, ERR reports. The bulbs can be planted in early autumn, but putting them in too soon may expose emerging shoots to spring frosts.

Käger said tulips are best planted from around late September through October, when the soil is about 9 degrees Celsius. If they begin growing too early, spring frost can damage the tips and leave the plants more susceptible to disease. At Kirna, gardeners cover the bulbs with a mixture of sand and ash.

The manor’s beds will contain tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, which have different planting times. Given the large quantities involved, the garden team settled on a compromise and used dry days to get the work done. This year, volunteers are planting 98,000 bulbs in Kirna’s tulip garden.

Käger said bulbs and seeds are generally planted at a depth about three times their size. A tulip bulb is roughly 2.5 to 3 centimetres long, so she plants it 8 to 9 centimetres deep.

Many garden owners are using the sunny early-autumn weather to prepare for winter. Järva County rose grower Ülle Lepp also planted tulip bulbs on Saturday, replaced one rose with a hydrangea and cut off spent rose flowers.

Lepp said she does not usually cut back roses for winter, removing only very thin shoots and shortening long, dark-red shoots by 15 to 20 centimetres so they can mature before winter. She protects the graft union by mounding soil or mulch around it.