When to plant tulips

Tulips are one of the most cultivated bulbous plants not only in Russia but all over the world. Many people mistakenly believe that they come from Holland. However, few people know that the homeland of the original botanical species, and not the varieties that are the results of the work of breeders, is Western and Central Asia. Tulips are available in many color variations and forms, care and cultivation, including ensuring abundant flowering, is impossible without high-quality planting material and timely transplantation.

Boarding time

When tulips are grown outdoors, their bulbs are usually dug up after flowering.

Flower bed with tulips

They are then replanted in spring or fall.

This is done for:

• rejection of diseased specimens and selection of strong healthy planting material;
• protection from winter cold onions in some regions and preserving them in favorable conditions;
• preventing the natural burial of the bulbs to such an extent that it is already difficult for them to germinate;
• optimal soil preparation for spring flowering.

When the bulbs are ready to plant

Tulips grow from bulbous shells. Each bulb, which is a modified shoot, produces one flower. Its center contains the rudiment of a flower bud, which is surrounded by future leaves. From the bottom, called the basal plate, roots will grow. The outer dense scales protect the inner tissue, which stores the supply of nutrients, from injury.

The structure of the tulip bulb

When flowering ends, the old bulb dies off, a new one forms in its place, around which children can already form. It is the young onion with the children that gardeners dig up and save until planting. Children will serve for the propagation of plants.

When it is time to plant tulips, it is determined taking into account the climatic conditions of the area and the current weather.

General landing dates

For Siberia, the Urals, the Moscow region and other regions united by similar climatic conditions, there are optimal planting dates.

The timing of planting tulips in different regions of the Russian Federation

calendar dates, you need to pay attention to specific weather conditions.

Reasons for planting tulips in autumn

Despite the possibility of planting plants in autumn and spring, there is practically no choice for specialists when to plant tulips. Many people prefer autumn planting.

For the northern regions, it is already at the end of August, for the rest - in the fall, the time comes when to plant tulips. This will match their life cycle as much as possible.With a decrease in temperature under natural conditions, the bulbs actively begin to take root, drawing nutrients from the ground, they, in turn, will give the plant the strength to bloom with the arrival of spring. Summer is a period of rest for them.

Tulip fields

This is why tulips transplanted in the fall months grow rapidly and form luxurious flowers. If planted in spring, flower buds may be paler and stems weak and stunted. The natural life cycle of the plant is disrupted, it will take about a month for good rooting, only then the tulip will grow.

Agricultural technology of autumn planting of tulips

Weather factors that determine when to plant tulips are characterized by relatively low air temperatures and cooling of the soil to + 10 ° C.

In this case, they proceed from the following considerations:

1. If you start planting prematurely, the bulbs can germinate before the frost arrives and will not survive the winter;
2. Cold soil minimizes the risk of transmission of fungal infections, and vole mice that like tulip bulbs become less active.

How and where to store bulbs until autumn planting

Growing tulips from a bulb requires keeping it in good condition before planting. After digging, the onion is cleaned, treated with fungicides and dried. Spoiled onions are discarded.

Basic rules for the preparation and storage of planting material:

3. Drying of the bulbs is carried out for 6-7 days in a dry place, but protected from direct sunlight. For example, on the veranda of a house. If there is a barn in the country, then you can dry it there;
4. The first 10-15 days the storage temperature is maintained at 24-28 ° C, then –18-20 ° C, a week before planting - 12-15 ° C;
5. The air humidity is maintained at 65-70%, which will prevent the bulbs from drying out unnecessarily. However, excessive dampness will lead to the onset of putrefactive processes;
6. The best storage containers are wooden or cardboard boxes, baskets with air access. Sometimes the bulbs can be placed directly on the shelves. If the second layer is laid, then newsprint is placed first. To protect against rodents, nets with bulbs are hung on the walls;

7. Planting material should be checked regularly, removing damaged specimens.

Drying the bulbs

How to plant tulips correctly

In addition to the correct timing, you need to know how best to plant tulips in order for them to feel comfortable. The success of bulb germination depends on the planting depth.

It is determined by its diameter (D) and soil type:

• in loose sandy ground - 3D;
• in clay soil - 2D.

Tulips are usually planted in parallel furrows, at least 0.2 m apart.

Procedure:

1. If planting is carried out in dry soil, it is pre-moistened;

2. Sprinkle the bottom of the groove with sand;
3. The bulbs are placed with their sharp tips up, each after about 10 cm;

Planting tulips in furrows

4. Then they are lightly sprinkled with ash and a little sand is added to the groove between the bulbs;
5. Furrows are completely buried with earth, leveled and watered.

Soil preparation

What kind of soil do tulips need? They grow well in normal garden soil. Clay (with stagnant moisture) and too sandy soils are most difficult to tolerate. In such conditions, cultivation of tulips is problematic, they bloom poorly. A permeable, nutritious alumina soil that is neutral to slightly acidic is ideal.

Chalk is added to acidic soil, river sand is added to clayey soil.

About a month before planting, the earth is dug up, and later fertilizers are applied:

• ash;
• peat or leaf compost;
• superphosphate.

Seat selection

Tulips love sunny places, with a flat surface and not blown by the winds. They can be planted in separate beds or combined with other plants.

When and how to plant tulips in spring

The disadvantage of spring planting is that in most cases tulips do not bloom at all, and you have to wait for their flowering only next year. Sometimes, with a sufficiently early planting, already in March, and favorable spring weather, tulips can have time to gain strength for flowering. Some gardeners plant them even in winter, in the spring they only move them into open ground. Then there is a high probability of solving the problem of how to grow blooming tulips in spring.

Proper storage of bulbs for spring planting

If it is assumed that the time will come only in spring when it is necessary to plant tulip bulbs directly in open ground, then they need to be kept in the same containers as during summer storage. The only difference is that the storage temperature must be between 0 and 3 ° C, otherwise the bulbs will germinate earlier than necessary. Home rooms cannot be such a place, only a cellar or basement.

Laying bulbs for winter storage

For those who grow tulips for sale, they can be planted in the greenhouse much earlier than natural climatic conditions allow.

Preparing for planting tulips in spring

To prepare for planting, the following steps are taken:

1. If the bulbs were stored in a cellar at a low temperature, then they are sufficiently hardened. When buying ready-made planting material in the spring, you should put it in the refrigerator, away from the freezer, a day before planting;
2. Then immerse the onions in a potassium permanganate solution for half an hour or treat with fungicides;
3. Sort out the bulbs and remove diseased, spoiled, dried out. If it is possible to sort the bulbs, then the largest ones are selected.

Soaking the bulbs in potassium permanganate

Planting bulbs in the ground

Outdoor landing is carried out according to the same rules as in the fall. The soil is prepared in the same way.

How to grow tulips in pots is determined by the goal of the gardeners. If it is necessary to distill plants for subsequent transplantation, then small pots are taken. If you intend to use potted beds, containers are selected of the appropriate size, because this will be a permanent habitat for flowers.

Since the key to successful flowering is early planting of bulbs in spring, and the weather does not allow this, planting in pots and then transferring them to the ground can help to achieve effective and rapid rooting and adaptation.

Planting bulbs for forcing

A drainage layer is laid in the pots, then the substrate is poured. You can cook it yourself by mixing peat with sand in a ratio of 5: 2, or buy it at a store. Then plant the onions and place the pots in a cool (about 15 ° C), well-lit place. In the open soil of the garden, such tulips should be planted together with an earthen clod.

Care after landing

In order for tulips to bloom, planting and care in the open field must be accompanied by the observance of some rules:

1. In autumn, you will not need to care for the planted tulips, except for covering them after the onset of frost with a 5-cm layer of dry grass, pieces of bark, peat, etc.;

2. In spring, when it is necessary to actively grow flowers, they must be regularly watered, but do not allow moisture stagnation and water ingress on the growing ground part of the tulips. Moisture should be supplied mainly to the roots;
3. Wet soil must be loosened and weeded;
4. After the sprouts appear, tulips are fertilized with preparations containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. You can use special complex fertilizers for bulbous flowers.

Watering tulips

To prolong flowering, different varieties of tulips are planted and enjoyed in their vibrant colors and varied forms in the garden from May to June. Tulips are truly beautiful when the plants are strong and the flowering is plentiful, which can be easily maintained with proper care.