Every fall I plant lots of tulips--usually at least one hundred, if not more.  Every spring I wait eagerly for them to appear.  When they finally burst open I invariably look around my yard and say to myself, "I should have planted more tulips."

I am fortunate because the neighborhood cats augment the paltry efforts of my two resident felines and control the number of small rodents who dig up or feast on tulip bulbs.  The squirrels occasionally try, but overall, they seem to lack the focus to dig down far enough to uncover the deeply buried tulips.  On the off chance that the local squirrels have been breeding a super strain of offspring who do have that kind of focus and determination, I also cover the newly-dug earth and sprinkle it with mint or cayenne pepper.  Generally speaking, if I install one hundred tulips, at least ninety of them will sprout, which, all things considered, is a pretty good return.

The problem is the hundreds of tulips that I have installed in years past.  After the first year their rate of return is rather small, despite the fact that I buy strains like the Darwin hybrids that are reputed to have the best chances of longer term survival.   

If I had a dedicated garden helper I could have him or her dig up the tulips after they have bloomed and the foliage has ripened.  The liberated tulips would then spend the summer in a cool dry place awaiting autumn and reburial.  Unfortunately I don't have such a person, so the bulbs stay in the ground.  They are all in beds that also contain a mix of perennials, annuals and shrubs, so they don't always have the hot, dry conditions that maximize the chance of rebloom.

If I really wanted near-total rebloom, I would buy only species tulips like the small clusianas or pulchellas.  This year I even purchased some of the former to see how well they will fare in my yard.  But I am partial to big, bold tulips, so the majority of mine are the more statuesque varieties, which means that I have to resign myself to a degree of unreliability.

The brilliant spring show is worth the investment.  Next fall I just have to remember to save my pennies and buy at least two hundred.