I’m not sure if it qualifies as a trend or not, but it seemed like a lot of the marketing information I was getting the fall of 2019 for spring flowering bulbs was passionate about pink. If you think you need a little blush in your garden next spring, here are a few suggestions from the mail order bulb industry.

Colorblends Tulip Blend Beaujolais™

I first learned about Colorblends many years ago when I inquired about the beautiful bed of mixed daffodils in the rooftop garden at Children’s Hospital. Nothing is more boring than a row of unicolored flowering bulbs, but if you’re palette challenged like I am, Colorblends takes the guesswork out of mixing and matching, providing mixed varieties that are guaranteed to blend beautifully. One of their new packages for Fall 2019 was

the Beaujolais Tulip Blend featuring five varieties of single and semi-double tulips in soft pink, mauve, nearly magenta, white and butter-cream flushed with pink. Flowers range in height from 16-22”, bloom in mid-late spring. Designed for a large mass planting, bulbs are sold in lots of 500. If you don’t need that many, share with friends! Visit Colorblends.com.

Brightside St. Louis ‘Pink Impression’ Tulip

Brightside St. Louis is known for their beautiful roadside daffodil plantings each spring, and every fall local gardeners have the opportunity to purchase their standard daffodils such as the Carlton Daffodil and their exclusive Midwest Mix. Each year they also offer a new entry, and this year the highlighted bulb is the ‘Pink Impression’ Tulip. This 19-24” tulip blooms in mid-spring in different shades of rose color. It is said to be very reliable, and tends to come back year after year unlike many tulips. It bears large flowers on sturdy stems that make it a great cut flower. Visit brightsidestl.org or call (314) 772-4646. Order by September 20^th to pick up bulbs in October.

Brent and Becky’s Bulbs Narcissus ‘Mallee’

Brent and Becky Heath are rock stars in the bulb world, and while their mail order catalog doesn’t feature pink, many of its new introductions this

fall blush rose. Narcissus ‘Mallee’ features pure white petals with a frilled, broad pink cup turning yellow at the base. It grows 14-16” tall and blooms in mid-spring. (White Flower Farms also featured ‘Mallee’ in its New Daffodils announcement.) Another pink new introduction, “Lovely Lynden”, bears testimony to the “pink trend theory”—it is already sold out! Visit BrentandBeckysBulbs.com.

John Scheepers

A recent marketing e-blast from this venerable bulb company focused on “Irresistible Pink Narcissi”, and recommends several individual varieties as well as pink mixes such as “The Ravishing All-Pink Narcissus Mixture” and “The Luscious Pink Narcissus Special”, as well as a “Pink Partners” blend of tulips and Narcissi in t

he pink palette. Among the individual varieties, from pale pink cups of “British Gamble” to deep coral-pink cups of “Chromacolor”. And you can’t go wrong with a daffodil named for “Martha Stewart”! It’s the right thing! Visit johnscheepers.com.

Buy Local

Of course, your favorite local independent garden center is also stocked with plenty of bulbs in time for fall planting, and they will certainly be well represented with pink selections as well. Be sure to check them out!

Planting Tips

1. Plant in well-draining, richly composted soil. If drainage is an issue, berms and raised beds are an option. Full to half-day sun is best for strongest stems, but keep in mind this can be under deciduous trees that often don’t leaf out until after foliage is up and running.
2. Plant daffodils by end of October, tulips anytime until ground freezes.
3. Plant bulbs as deep as approximately 3 times the height of the bulb, typically around 4-6”, and approximately the same spacing, pointy side up, or if it can’t be determined, on their sides.
4. Sprinkle some bone meal or bulb food in the hole, and backfill hole.
5. After blooming, leave foliage alone until it browns naturally. Don’t cut or fold and tie.

(Planting tips summarized from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs Spring Flowering Bulbs Cultural Instructions.)