Tulip

Ideal as a colourful focal point in the spring garden, 'Orange Emperor' has striking orange flowers that are often streaked with green on the outside. The Royal Horticultural Society have given it their prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM) which is for plants of outstanding excellence. Tulips are best planted in November as this minimises the risk of attack from the fungal disease, tulip fire, which causes the foliage to become distorted and covered with fuzzy, grey fungal growth and the flowers to either fail to open or to be marked with bleached spots. Any bulbs that become infected with this disease are best thrown away and the ground they were planted in should not be used to grow any tulips for several years. Remove the flowers as they fade to prevent plants wasting energy setting seed.