Tulips top off your garden in style PHOTO BY VERONICA YANKOWSKI Each spring, you look forward to the vibrant hues of the tulips you planted last fall. From golden yellow to deep purple, tulips are one of the only flowers to command such a wide range of the rainbow. These beauties can add elegance to landscapes from as early as February to as late as June. All it takes are the right conditions and some attentiveness. These tips from The Old Farmer's Almanac Garden-er's Companion (Yankee), can help keep your tulips in bloom. 1. Plant your tulip bulbs as soon as you get them and water the bulbs directly after planting. Tulips are fickle flora. While bulbs despise continually wet conditions, they need water to start growing. 2. Once your tulip bulbs are snug under the Earth, don't assume they are out of harm's way. If mice and moles have been a problem, put thorny leaves like holly in the planting holes. For those who need to take stronger measures against these rodents, planting bulbs in a wire cage may be the best solution. 3. Conditions like wet soil promote fungus and disease, which can rot bulbs. Tulips need to be surrounded by Earth that is dry or soil that is not continually damp. 4. Tulips should be planted deep - at least 8 inches deep - measuring from the base of the bulb. Remember, it's important to dig even deeper than this suggested depth to loosen the soil and allow for greater drainage. 5. When you plant them, feed them. This goes for perennial tulips. Bulbs are resilient; they have a storage system containing all their necessary nutrients for one year. Feeding them in the fall promotes growth for the upcoming year. Gardeners recommend time-release bulb food, compost or organic material. Here's a last hint for perennial tulips. The success of planting one fall and having these flowers bloom continually each spring depends on your climate. Tulips grow best in arid areas. If you live in a rainy part of the country, it will be necessary to have a great drainage system to keep your tulips happy year after year. It may be to your advantage to plant a wide variety of the bulbs annually to have these beauties bloom from early spring until early summer.