It may seem a little incongruous to be thinking about tulips now. But this is the best time of year to plant them. Tulips are unique in this respect: they are not planted in September along with daffodils and all the other spring-flowering bulbs. They wait until the weather cools and I have even planted my tulips in the Christmas break and they have still flowered on time.

The reason is simple. Tulips suffer from a fungal disease, tulip blight (Botrytis tulipae) and it spreads in warm, damp conditions like most fungi. The symptoms can vary from bulb rot to grey-green lesions on the leaves and may even result in spotted petals.

Planting in cold weather reduces the possibility of getting it. You can discourage the disease by removing tulips after flowering and by planting them in different places each year. Plant at twice the depth of the bulb in frost-free soil and wash your hands after planting bulbs. Most are treated with a fungicide that irritates the skin.

Avoid buying bulbs that show blue mould because these may be harbouring the disease. The best source of tulips is a specialist supplier like Peter Nyssen (www.peternyssen.com/0161 747 4000). It’s possible to buy 100 excellent bulbs for between £15 and £20.

But it’s too late to order for this year so tuck that information away for another year. However you may still be able to find some stray bulbs lurking on the garden centre shelf – although stocks are running low. Tulips come in all shapes and sizes and they can flower from March up until late May. For me, the most useful varieties flower in the last half of April and on into May. They follow on from the yellow daffodils rather than competing against them. May-flowering tulips include the elegant lily-flowered forms. ‘White Triumphator’ the yellow ‘Westpoint’ and the ruby-red ‘Redshine’ are among the best. But I would also like to grow ‘Burgundy’ which is a really sultry purple.

Single-late tulips have egg-shaped flowers and they contain some of the classic varieties including the maroon ‘Queen of Night’, the violet-purple ‘Recreado’ and an old, very-late, blue-mauve variety called ‘Bleu Aimable’. There is also double form of ‘Queen of Night’ called ‘Black Hero’ (pictured right) and this did very well for me in tubs paired with a fringed white tulip called ‘Swan’s Wings’. Fringed tulips have a fimbriated edge to the petals and this gives them a delicate air. ‘Curly Sue’ (a red-purple) is another excellent fringed variety.

But the most colourful tulips of all are the Triumph tulips and these flower in the second half of April. Their thick petals are vibrant and the colour range is greater because this tulip has been intensively bred for the cut-flower market. The Dutch have spent a fortune developing varieties. ‘Barcelona’ is a shocking pink. ‘Cairo’ is a burnished orange. ‘National Velvet’ is a dusky red. ‘Negrita’ is a glowing purple and ‘Shirley’ is a cool-white suffused in purple. Create your own recipe by adding some May-flowering tulips and you can have four weeks of tulip heaven.