When to plant tulips in the garden and for distillation by March 8
Tulips are versatile flowers that look elegant and spectacular in both group and single plantings. Today there are many varieties of flowers, but to get large, colorful buds, you need to know when to plant tulips and the intricacies of plant care. They first appeared in the gardens of Europe in the 16th century. Since then, the unpretentiousness of tulips, beauty and earlier flowering have not left indifferent any gardener.
When to plant tulips, we determine the timing
The ideal time for planting is the moment when at a depth of 10 cm the ground temperature is 8-100C. It is believed that they need 20-30 days to form roots.
In the gardens near Moscow, tulips are often planted in August. But autumn planting is more preferable. Many bulbous plants take root well even when planted after frost. According to experienced gardeners, depending on the region, they can be planted in the ground until the end of October, early November.
In central Russia, thaws happen until November, so in a warm autumn, bulbous plants have time to take root even with such a late planting. The propagation of tulips in cold regions must be completed before the end of September, early October. In the southern regions, tulips begin to be planted towards the end of September and continue until early November.
If the plant was planted late or a winter with little snow is expected, it is recommended to cover young plants for the winter with a 5-8 cm layer of mulch: straw, hay, compost, leaves, peat.
Planting tulips late will displace flowering. When planted in late October, they most often begin to bloom only towards the end of May.
Choosing a landing site
Tulips are flowers in which the period of active growth lasts only a few months. During this period, they manage to grow foliage, bloom and form "children". They are considered unpretentious plants.
But for lush flowering, they need special conditions:
- To plant tulips, you must choose the sunniest area in the garden. Without stagnant moisture and exiled winds.
- Soil acidity should be close to neutral, slightly alkaline.
- The humus content is about 10%.
- The soil should be fertile, water and air permeable. An excellent option is loamy, sandy loam soil.
Also, when tulips are planted, it is important to observe crop rotation... It is not recommended to plant them in the place where other bulbs used to grow. The excavated plant can be returned to the same place after 4-5 years.
It is recommended to prepare a plot for flowers 2 weeks before planting. Dig the earth to a depth of 30 cm. If the soil is poor in nutrients, you can add organic (compost) or mineral phosphorus-potassium fertilizers (superphosphate, potassium monophosphate). Add to sandy soil ash, humus. It is recommended to add peat and sand to clay soil. In case of high acidity, add lime, dolomite flour or chalk.
Bulbous plants are often affected by rodents, therefore these flowers are often planted together with hazel grouses (1-3 plants per 1 m2), which emit a specific odor that can scare off mice.
In whatever month tulips are planted, gardeners are advised to pay attention to the size of the planting material. Large bulbs, with a diameter of 4-6 cm (marked on the packaging "1 parsing"), most often bloom in the first year. Smaller ones ("analysis 2") - in the second year of life.
Preparation of planting material
Before you start planting flowers in open ground, you need to sort them out:
- remove sick, damaged specimens;
- divide the bulbs by size;
- to separate specimens that have an appearance atypical for flowers;
- if the bulbs are connected to each other, separate.
Most inexperienced growers wonder how to plant tulip bulbs - with or without husks. In most cases, the husks are not removed from the bulbous. The need may arise only if there is no confidence in the good quality of the seed. There is a possibility of damage to the body of the bulb by diseases or pests.
For the prevention of diseases for 30-60 minutes tulip bulbs can be soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or antifungal drug "Maxim", "Fitosporin".
How and when to plant tulips
Planting material must be placed underground at a depth of 2-3 times the height of the bulb with the bottom down. With a more superficial planting, the flowers may not survive the winter, and with a deeper (more than 20 cm), they form weak peduncles, reduce the number of "children". In this case, they cannot be stuck into the ground and leave part of the bulb open. This planting method weakens the plant, since the root tubercles are damaged when pressed.
Planting tulip bulbs as follows:
- For each onion, make a separate small hole or plant 5-6 bulbs in one large hole. For this, it is convenient to use a landing cone. The distance between the two plants should be 8-10 cm.
- Fertilize if necessary.
- Place the bulbs in the pit strictly perpendicular to the ground.
- For the prevention of fungal diseases, after planting, plants are watered with a phytosporin solution. For the rooting of plants, the moisture in the soil is quite enough. Therefore, watering without using antifungal drugs is not necessary.
If there are smaller bulbs among the homogeneous planting material, when planting in a group, it is recommended to first place the large bulbs in the hole. Cover them with a small layer of earth. And in a new layer, "kids" have already been dropped. They should be buried no more than 8-10 cm. As a rule, their germination rate is no more than 60-70%.
When it comes time to plant tulips, this planting method preserves the young bulbs. In a "common nest" under equal conditions with large bulbs, they can die. Therefore, a shallow fit is more preferable for them.
If there are valuable varieties among the planting material, they can be planted in containers and dripped along with the pot. In this situation, finding and propagating expensive bulbs will be much easier.
If there is a need to obtain the maximum number of bulbs, it is recommended to plant at 1 m2 no more than 50 pieces 1-parse.
For those who are wondering when is the best time to plant tulip bulbs, it is worth doing this closer to mid-autumn.
How often should tulips be replanted
There are many conflicting opinions about when it is best to replant tulips - annually or every 3-4 years. Most experienced agronomists recommend planting flowers in new locations every year. Frequent digging stimulates the plant to form more bulbs and reduces the likelihood of disease.
When flowers grow in the same place for more than 3-4 years, due to an excessive number of bulbs and soil depletion, plant nutrition deteriorates. The seed becomes smaller.
How to get and store tulip bulbs for planting
Tulips go through 2 dormant periods per season - in summer, after flowering, and in winter. At this time, important processes take place inside the plant, laying the foundation for new organs.
Breeding bulbs are dug up in summer, after flowering is complete. At the time of digging, the leaves of the plant should be yellowed, the stem is flexible, and the bulbs with brownish husks. In central Russia, this happens in late June and early July.
The procedure must be completed in a timely manner. Later excavation entails a deepening of the seed, which makes it difficult to find and causes the loss of part of the bulbs. Seed material taken out of the ground ahead of schedule is poorly stored and becomes less viable.
After digging, the bulbs are sorted by size. They are cleaned from the ground and separated. If desired, pickle in a solution of potassium permanganate. Dry in a well-ventilated, shaded place for 1-2 days.
The first month they are stored indoors at a temperature of 20-250C. Towards the end of summer, when the time for planting tulips approaches, they are transferred to conditions where the air temperature is no more than 170FROM.
Tulips are sensitive to moisture content in the soil. For them, both drought and overflow are destructive.
They tolerate cold well. Grow actively at temperatures from 20From to 300C. Therefore, the period when tulips can be planted extends up to November. Young plants can withstand frosts up to - 180FROM.
When to plant tulips to get flowers by March 8
Subject to the rules of agricultural technology, tulips can be grown indoors and get flowers by a certain date.
For forcing, bulbs with a diameter of at least 4 cm are taken. In unnatural conditions, flowers can only form large, healthy planting material. Therefore, foreign producers produce special series of large extra-class bulbs for forcing at home.
To receive flowers by March 8, they must be planted in October or November.
In order for them to sprout and then form buds, they need to go through a dormant period, which should last 3-4 months.
When tulips are planted, not only the timing but also the quality of the substrate plays an important role. The soil for them must be fertile, contain all the micro and macro elements necessary for plants.
Tulips are planted as follows:
- The container is filled with loose soil. The bulbs are planted so that a small portion remains above the ground.
- A space of 2-3 cm is left between 2 adjacent plants.
- For 12-16 weeks, the pot is removed to a cool place where the air temperature does not rise above 90С (cellar, refrigerator).
Plants are brought into a bright, warm room when about 1 month remains before flowering. At this point, the bulbs should have a 5 cm shoot.
Agronomists assure that it is impossible to get flowers for cutting at home in winter. You can grow small buds to decorate the windowsill, but in a bouquet these flowers will not look spectacular.
To collect a colorful bouquet of tulips in the spring, you need to know exactly when to plant these flowers. In all regions, bulbous flowers are planted in the fall, from September to November. A small bud can also be obtained at home. But it must be borne in mind that the planted bulbs in winter go through a special stage in the formation of the organs of the future plant. And for this, planting must be carried out in advance - 4 months before the planned flowering date.