Planting tulips. preparatory process.

In central Russia, these flowers are planted at the border of the first two autumn months.

Soil and fertilizer

The soil chosen for planting tulips in the fall should not be overfilled with organic fertilizers. For example, even a little manure can cause root rot and damage to bulbs. Other substances can distort the flower stalks or the shape of the buds. Green manure and disinfected compost, on the contrary, have a positive effect.

Fertilized neutral or alkaline soil should be plowed and then fertilized with mineral matter. When preparing for planting in flower beds, humus should be added to the soil, 2-3 months before planting.

In tulip-producing countries such as the Netherlands, organic fertilizer was previously considered harmful, but a small amount of humus has been proven to have an excellent effect on flower growth. Also, when planting tulips, they like to use mineral fertilizers there, which prolong the flowering time and increase the strength of the stems.

Treatment

Bulb seeds of tulips are treated with special substances that increase their resistance to disease and protect against harmful insects. Proper care of the bulbs before planting is the key to future seedlings, their size and health.

Instead of manganese, foundationol, vitaros, epin, karbofos can be used. When creating a solution, it is necessary to observe the following proportions: manganese - 2: 10000 (g / ml); fundazol - 30:10000 (g / ml); Vitaros - 20:10000 (g / ml); karbofos - 20:10000 (g / ml); epina - 1 drop per 2 liters of water. In addition, the soaking time is different for substances - 30 minutes for everyone, but an hour for foundationazole and a day for epin.

Landing details

Cultivation begins, depending on the area of ​​​​growth, from early September to mid-November. Depending on the variety, it should be expected that the plants should take root before the first frost. A soil temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius is considered the best for planting, and 5 degrees is the most favorable for growth, in addition, the earth must be sufficiently moist.

It is advisable to plant tulips in varieties, starting early and ending with later ones. Beds should be made a dozen centimeters or more high to reduce the amount of liquid in the ground. In warmer areas, you can reduce the height. The width of the beds is more than a meter, with indents of 40 centimeters from each other. In wet, swampy areas, it is necessary to raise the ground level.

On the ground, transverse marks should be made every 20 cm, then holes should be made with a shovel, with a depth of the same size. River sand should be poured down, you can mix it with peat in equal proportions. The bulbs are placed on this mixture, pushing them a little deeper, after which the pits are filled up. To separate the varieties, the interval between the pits should be increased to half a meter. The pits are made in the same way, regardless of the total number of seeds.

When creating holes, it is better to remove the pre-fertilized soil in a separate pile. Thus, the bulbs can be covered with soil, without the need to separately fertilize.

For heavy soils, mix the earth with humus. For every square meter you need at least 10 kilograms of organic matter. In the same mixture, you can add mineral fertilizer in full. The bulbs are laid in the same way on the sand, but are not pressed in, and then fall asleep.

For large plantations, the plow method of creating furrows should be used. As a rule, furrow planting produces a large number of bulbs suitable for growing next year. Between beds should receive 50-60 cm, and between seeds - 12-15 cm. Also, this planting method allows you to automate the care of flowers.

The composition of the soil affects the depth. For light soils - deeper, for humid climatic conditions - less. Also, well-warmed and warmed soil requires small beds. At the end of the planting of flowers, the soil should be mulched with a small layer of humus. To protect against drying out, you can use cereal husks instead of humus.

Most of the soil needs top dressing. Saltpeter, ammonium and potassium nitrate, phosphates and wood ash can be used as fertilizers. Fertilizers are distributed as follows (per square meter): 10-12 grams of saltpeter, 50 grams of phosphate, 40 grams of potassium sulfide, 0.2 kg or more of ash. Distributed fertilizers should be carefully scattered, and in the early stages of growth, while the bulbs are still deep, you can dig up.

A bright round dance of tulips in the flower beds will always delight the people around them if the plant's nutrition contains microelements necessary for vegetation. Without mineral nutrition, the bulbs develop poorly, do not form children and flower ovaries, and produce only ugly leaves. Feeding tulips in the fall will be discussed in this article.

Tulips need complex fertilizers with various trace elements: boron and zinc, manganese and magnesium, iron, molybdenum, calcium and potassium, phosphorus, zinc and copper. The role of each element is very important for the life of the plant, since they act on it in their own way, and they cannot be replaced. It is important not only how to feed the tulips in the fall, but also what dose of fertilizer the plant will receive. If you overdo it and apply too much fertilizer, this will lead to diseases and a decrease in the plant's immunity to adverse environmental factors.

The composition of complex fertilizers should include the following trace elements:

Fertilizers for lily flowers

Before you apply fertilizer for tulips in the fall, you need to familiarize yourself with simple rules. Top dressing is carried out:

It is important to know. Tulips are not fed in autumn with fresh organic fertilizers (fresh manure), they contain a lot of nitrogen, which is unfavorable for plants, can lead to their diseases and death.

Of the inorganic fertilizers, nitrogen is found in ammonium nitrate and urea, phosphorus in superphosphate, potassium in ash, potassium salt, and potassium sulfate. Of the complex fertilizers, Nitroammofoska and Nitrofoska are used.

Even 2 months before planting tulip bulbs in autumn, the soil is prepared: dug up with fertilizers (per 1 m²):

What fertilizers are applied in autumn under tulips:

• Kemiru Universal-2 to activate budding and increase the saturation of the color of green mass and petals;
• complex fertilizers with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nitrate (1:2:2) - 50 g / m²;
• ferrous sulfate (500 g / m²) to eliminate iron deficiency;



• sprayed with weak potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) to eliminate manganese deficiency;
• potassium magnesia or dolomite flour to replenish the earth with magnesium;
• spray and water the soil with copper sulphate to eliminate copper deficiency and protect plants from diseases, dissolve the sulphate in hot water;



• zinc sulfate to eliminate zinc deficiency;
• boric acid after the 3rd leaf is formed on the plant to replenish the soil with boron;
• chalk along with irrigation to replenish the soil with calcium;
• molybdic acid ammonium to eliminate the lack of molybdenum;
• 30 days before planting in autumn: peat or humus - 10 kg / m², chalk, wood ash - 200 g / m².



Fertilizers for forcing tulips

To obtain strong rooting, strong and tall stems, large bright buds, exclusion of diseases, especially rust, bacteriosis, late blight, fusarium and brown rot, wilting:




In autumn, tulips are fed during the first half of forcing:




During the second half of the forcing, feed:



After that, many gardeners do not feed them. But in order to protect the bulbs from diseases and to accumulate useful elements in them, superphosphate and potassium nitrate are added to the soil before winter in the same dosages as during flowering.

When to plant tulips? Is autumn planting important for tulips, or maybe it can be done in spring? How to plant tulips correctly? How deep should the bulbs be planted? The answers to these questions will determine how our flower garden will look in the spring. Tulips are bulbous plants. It is best to plant them in the fall. Why is it better to plant tulips in autumn? The answer is simple: because the bulbs overwinter in their natural natural conditions, which in the spring will provide optimal germination and beautiful flowering.

When to plant tulips in autumn, in what month? In the Kuban, the best time is mid-October-first days of November, and for central Russia - a month earlier. In fact, we plant tulips before winter. Before the onset of cold weather, they should take root, but not grow.

How to plant tulips outdoors in autumn

They are among the first to bloom when other flowers have not yet risen or even planted. They look very beautiful blooming when planted in heaps, groups. The larger the group, the better impression it makes. How to arrange them will tell you the taste, as well as the place allocated for landing.

Soil preparation

I will not reveal any secret to you if I say that before planting tulips, you need to prepare the soil. It is best to do this two weeks before planting. What kind of soil do these flowers like? Loose, fertile. The place where they will grow must be sunny.

If the soil is dry, then first it must be well moistened, and only then only dig.

If you have dense soil on the site, then add sand to the hole or trench before planting - flowers love loose soil. I also add wood ash - this is both a good fertilizer, as well as additional protection against various diseases. Tulips are more suitable for alkaline soil, and ash just deoxidizes the earth well.

Regardless of how you arrange the bulbs - in rows or heaps, I advise you to sprinkle them with a small amount of humus or compost, and then cover them with earth on top.

And do not forget, they need the sun, and the breeze, so as not to disturb. If the site is at least partially closed from the sun, then the stems will stretch, thin, twist, and the bulbs will not be able to accumulate an adequate supply of food for themselves.

The site should be flat, with good subsoil. The roots of tulips go to a depth of a little more than half a meter, so if you have groundwater close to you, then the bulbs will get wet and die. In this case, you will have to plant tulips on a hill.

Processing bulbs before planting

When we dug tulips after flowering in summer, we dried them well and sorted them. Large bulbs separately - we will plant them in the most prominent place - they will bloom, delight us. Small or medium-sized ones will not bloom in spring, therefore, as experts advise, it is better to plant them in an inconspicuous but sunny place.

This is how I roughly sort the bulbs, after drying into three parts - large, medium, small.

From medium bulbs, next summer we will get large ones with a planted flower arrow. And from small - we get medium. That is, for small children, it may take at least two seasons until they bloom.

I plant tulips not in rows, but in round clearings. I think they look more natural this way.

Unfortunately, tulips are prone to fungal diseases. Therefore, before planting them, the bulbs should be kept for at least half an hour in a solution of some fungicide, for example, Maxim, Fitosporin or a weak solution of manganese.

Planting tulips in autumn in the ground or baskets for bulbs

A convenient device for planting - plastic baskets with a slatted bottom. They are convenient in that they help form flower arrangements in a flower bed, facilitate the process of digging out bulbs after flowering is over. Usually you can buy special baskets 6-7 cm high. The average height of a large bulb is 4-5 cm. This means that the hole should have a depth of 12-15 cm.

For several years now I have been using special plastic baskets for bulbs for planting in the fall. But I always have a lot of tulips, so plus I use plastic boxes for vegetables for baskets, but not high, but with the lowest sides.

The time to dig tulips out of the ground in summer is much less with this method of planting. There are practically no unearthed or accidentally left. Even damaged by a shovel or pitchfork does not happen, since I actually dig out a box or basket, and only then shake out the contents on the ground.

I really like this way of planting tulips. Even if I sometimes do not have time to dig the bulbs in time in the summer, I leave them not dug out for another year, I am sure that they will not deepen, they will not go anywhere.

If you plant bulbs without baskets, then there is a good helper - a cone with a measuring scale, the purpose of which is to dig holes of a given depth.

Well, if you don't have baskets or a cone, it doesn't matter. You can do without them. In the area where I planned to plant them, I dig round or rectangular holes.

How deep to plant tulips

When planting tulips, you need to know the basic rule. Planting depth should be equal to the height of the bulb multiplied by three.

This depth guarantees good flowering, the appearance of a large bulb, strong, not very small children. A shallower planting will give you a small flower and, accordingly, not a large bulb.

Distance between tulip bulbs when planting

According to agrotechnical rules, there should be a distance of 10-15 cm between the bulbs. But purely aesthetically, blooming tulips look more beautiful, located close to each other, like a living bouquet. If you dig bulbs every year, and experts advise you to do just that, then do not be afraid to plant them with a distance of 5-6 cm from each other.

How to water tulips

Now a little about watering. Should I water newly planted bulbs? It all depends on soil moisture. If the soil is moist, then watering is optional. But in the case of landing in dry ground, it is necessary to shed a hole or groove well.

Tulips should be watered regularly, plentifully during the period of active growth, during budding, flowering, especially in dry years. Moisture should penetrate to the depth of the roots (0.5 m), and not just wet the ground. After flowering, watering stops.

Is it possible to plant tulip bulbs in spring

You already know that autumn is considered the best time to plant bulbs. But what if for some reason we did not have time to do this? Store the bulbs until spring in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment.

It happened to me once ... True, a friend shook her head and said that her bulbs had rotted in the refrigerator (she kept them in a plastic bag). I, given her bad experience, folded the bulbs in a bag of thick paper. I looked there from time to time. But there were no rotten bulbs. There were a few soft pieces, I threw them away. Maybe they would have rotted later, I don't know. Didn't wait. Landed at the end of February. I did not notice any special problems with flowering, with the timing of flowering. They bloomed at the same time as the neighbors.

So in February-March, the planted bulbs also take root well. Checked. When I name the dates for planting tulips - February-March, I mean, of course, the Kuban. To the north during these months, the soil is usually still covered with snow and planting is out of the question.

Flower growers from any region should be aware that the daytime air temperature when planting tulips in spring should reach + 8-10 ° C.

Fertilizing tulips during planting, during the growing season, after flowering

Ordinary tulips are practically not whimsical. It is enough to add ash, humus or compost to the hole when planting.

But for varietal tulips, a more thorough inspection is needed. They need to be fed with mineral fertilizers 2-3 times per season.

The first top dressing can be carried out even in the snow - scatter dry fertilizer - about 2 tablespoons per 1 sq. m.

The second top dressing - after emergence of shoots. The complete mineral fertilizer Kemira Universal is best suited. Prepare the solution according to the instructions, water the tulip seedlings at the rate of 2-3 buckets of solution per 1 sq. m.

The third time I advise you to feed after flowering, but no later than 2 weeks later. Dissolve 1 matchbox of any phosphorus-potassium fertilizer in a bucket of water, such as potassium monophosphate. Pour the tulips that have lost color with the solution.

How to grow large tulip bulbs

When we sorted the bulbs, we knew that only large ones would bloom next year. The size of the flower depends on the size of the bulbs, however, varietal characteristics still play a role here.

I will share one secret on how to get large bulbs and, as a result, large flowers. Sometimes this is important when you are going to propagate some wonderful variety, or you are selling bulbs. Professionals use a term such as decapitation - the removal of flower heads. I also advise you to use this technique.

How to properly decapitate? Let the flower bloom, admire its beauty. Make sure that the varietal characteristics are present, there is no stem curvature, that is, the flower is healthy. 3-4 days after the opening of the bud, remove the flower. At the same time, the mass of the bulb by the time of digging will increase by 30-40%.

Growing and caring for tulips is not a tricky business, suitable even for beginners. This flower is associated with the onset of spring, with the first warm rays of the sun. Today, the tulip is perhaps the most popular, widespread decorative bulb culture.

Tulips bring into our lives an atmosphere of celebration, a joyful anticipation of the new garden season. These spring flowers delight with a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Tulips of different classes adorn the garden from the snow melting to the beginning of summer.

But modern technologies now make it possible to grow this flower almost all year round. Tulips are among the best forcing plants. All the secrets of growing these amazing flowers in agricultural technology are based on knowledge of the biology of the tulip, as the most typical representative of the bulbs.

In autumn, from the moment of planting, active root growth begins, and a seedling emerges from the bulb, reaching the soil surface. And in this state, the plant hibernates! And in summer, the tulip falls into a state of deep dormancy, but this peace is only apparent: a new flower is formed in the mother bulb during this time.
The success of growing tulips depends on the right choice of planting site and proper soil preparation.

Selection of varieties for forcing

For forcing by the New Year, only those varieties can be used, the cooling period of which lasts at least 16 weeks, that is, early flowering. For early (by January) forcing, varieties such as Brilliant Star, Dixis Favorit, Christmas Marvel, Most Miles, Lustige Battle, Olga, Epricot Beauty and others are suitable.

Most forcing varieties are suitable for forcing tulips in the medium term (for example, by March 8), in particular, tulips from the class of Darwin hybrids: Diplomat, London, Oxford, Oxfords Elite, Parade, Scarborough, Vivex, Eric Hoffsier, Apeldoorn, Apeldoorns Elite and many others.

For forcing by April, the following varieties are used: Ad Rem, America, Apel-dorn, Apeldoorns Elite, Burgundy Lace, Vivex, Gordon Cooper, Deidrim, Kis Nelis, Lin you der Mark, London, Oxford, Oxfords Elite, Parade, Fringit Elegance, Hibernia, Eric Hofsier.

Varieties suitable for forcing by May 1: Aristocrat, Diplomat, London, Negrita, Oxford, Parade, Temple of Beauty, Hibernia. In addition to those mentioned, many other varieties can be used for distillation.

Location selection

Often, due to unsuitable growth conditions created for the tulip, the bulbs rot and nothing grows. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to choose the appropriate place for planting tulips. It should be well lit and protected from strong cold winds. If there is not enough sun, the stems of tulips will stretch and twist, and the bulbs will not be able to accumulate an adequate supply of nutrients.
The site must have a flat surface and a permeable subsoil. The depth of the tulip root system in the soil is 65-70 cm. Therefore, the groundwater level should not rise above this mark. If the water rises higher, then this will lead to stagnation of water in the cavities, soaking and death of the bulbs.

When choosing a site, the size of the fertile layer is important, which should be at least 30 cm.
And the last thing to think about when choosing a place to plant a tulip is a good predecessor. It can be any flower or vegetable crop, except for bulbous and nightshade, whose viral diseases are transmitted to tulips.

Soil preparation for growing tulips

The main condition is good physical properties of the soil: sufficient moisture capacity, friability and air capacity, and natural fertility is replaced by fertilization and top dressing. The best soils for tulips are highly cultivated, humus-rich sandy loams and loams with a neutral reaction of the environment. Other soils are brought to the ideal by special techniques.
The disadvantage of sandy soils, in terms of growing tulips, is their rapid drying and nutrient poverty. More frequent watering of plants and regular top dressing can smooth out these defects.
Heavy clay soils need a more radical improvement: the introduction of coarse river sand (up to 20 kg per m2), peat, manure or other organic materials that increase water permeability and improve air access to the roots. If peat is used, neutralize its acidifying effect with lime (40-50 g per m2) or chalk (300-500 g per m2) - tulips grow best at a pH of 6.5-7.8. During the growing season, heavy soils need more frequent loosening.

Top dressing tulips

The first tillage for tulips is carried out in the year of planting in the spring to a depth of 30-35 cm with the incorporation of organic fertilizers (except for fresh manure), which, depending on the initial fertility of the land, must be applied from 10 to 50 kg per 1 m2. Fresh manure, if necessary, can also be used, but not earlier than a year before planting, in the fall. The second time they dig up the earth 20-30 days before planting the bulbs already to a depth of 20-25 cm and fill with mineral fertilizers at the rate of 30 g / m2 of double superphosphate and 40 g / m2 of potassium salt. On light soils, it is recommended to use a potassium fertilizer that does not contain chlorine - potassium sulfate - at a dose of 20 g / m2. Nitrogen fertilizers should be added directly when planting the bulbs (10 g/m2 of ammonium nitrate) or in the spring as top dressing. Mineral mixtures of the following composition can be used for tulips: on light soils - 6% nitrogen, 18% phosphorus, 18% potassium; on heavy soils - 12% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus, 18% potassium.

planting tulips

The optimum temperature for good rooting of tulip bulbs is 6-10 C. At lower or higher values, roots form worse. Therefore, tulips should be planted when the temperature drops to 9 C in the soil at a depth of approximately 15 cm. In the middle lane, this usually happens in the second or third decade of September. You can plant until mid-October, but this is the deadline for planting, since the rooting process takes 2-3 weeks and must end before the onset of stable frosts. Early flowering tulips are planted one to two weeks earlier than late flowering tulips.

Inspect the bulbs carefully before planting. Their skin should be clean, without spots, and the bulb itself should be hard and heavy. Remove the skin from suspicious ones and, if there are spots on the white surface, destroy the bulb. For prevention, treat healthy bulbs with 0.2% foundationazole for 30 minutes, dry and plant. After wet processing, the bulbs are planted immediately, as moisture contributes to the formation of roots. The depth of planting and the distance in a row directly depend on the size of the bulb, the larger it is, the larger the feeding area it needs. Typically, planting depth is defined as 3 bulb heights and density as 2 bulb diameters.

Tulip Care

With good soil preparation, it is insignificant. If the autumn is dry, then the plantings must be watered, and so that the moisture soaks the ground to a depth of roots - 35 cm. Then they are mulched with weathered peat with a layer of 3 cm. In mid-October, 15 g of ammonium nitrate per 1 m2 is added for better root growth. With the onset of frost, they cover with spruce branches - from mice and in case of a little snowy winter. Bulbs in autumn not only take root, but also form a sprout that almost reaches the surface of the earth. That is why in the spring so early, almost directly from under the snow, tubules of tulips appear. In severe winters, the flower bud can be damaged.

In spring, spruce branches are removed. This period of intensive development also accounts for the maximum need of plants for nitrogen, which we must immediately satisfy by carrying out the first top dressing at the rate of 40-50 g of the active ingredient of nitrogen fertilizer per 1 m2. After 10 days, the same is fed again with nitrogen fertilizers with the addition of potassium sulfate - 20 g, and after another two weeks - with one potassium sulfate, also 20 g per 1 m2. In the future, the soil is constantly loosened, especially heavy, and weeding is done in a timely manner. Tulips are also given 3-4 deep waterings. To soak the soil by 30 cm - the depth of the main mass of tulip roots - it may be necessary to pour several buckets of water (40-60 l) per 1 m2. On light soils, water more often, but with less water than on heavy soils. Moreover, they are watered until the yellowing of the aerial part begins, approximately within two weeks after the end of flowering. It is at this time that the growth of new bulbs continues. Faded flowers must be pinched off. This technique is called decapitation. For a bouquet, tulips are cut with one or two leaves, otherwise good bulbs will not work.

As a preventive measure, periodically carefully inspect the plantings and immediately remove plants with developmental abnormalities or signs of disease along with a clod of earth. This prevents the spread of infection, if any.

Tulip bulbs, digging and storage

During storage, stage by stage, the processes of formation of the future plant continue to go on in the bulbs. And so it is necessary to provide suitable storage conditions.

Dig up the bulbs at the time of yellowing of the aerial part, without waiting for complete drying. Otherwise, the nest will crumble, and some of the bulbs will remain in the ground. In the middle lane, usually at the end of June-mid-July. Nests are selected from the ground and placed in slatted boxes for drying, which should take place outdoors in the shade for 1-3 days.

Before placing the bulbs in storage, they are treated with a 0.2% solution of foundationazole, as described above. Then next spring, before planting, dressing is no longer carried out.

In the first month after digging the bulbs, in order to continue the development of the rudiments of the future flower, they should be kept at a temperature of about 22 C, humidity not more than 70% and intensive ventilation. Then the temperature is gradually reduced to 15-17°C, and the intensity of ventilation is reduced. The storage room for bulbs should be dark, without a source of daylight.

reproduction

Propagated by tulip bulbs. They are planted in autumn, at the end of September. Planting depth depends on the size of the bulb, but not more than three times its height. With a deeper planting, the bulbs become smaller. After planting, the bulbs are mulched with peat or compost. It is better not to mulch immediately after planting, but when the soil freezes to a depth of 1-2 cm. Dig up the bulbs after the leaves turn yellow. They are dried, cleaned of old scales, sorted by size. Before planting, the bulbs are stored in boxes with a layer of 2-3 bulbs. The storage temperature should be around 20°C. Small bulbs grow on spare beds. They are sown in rows of 1-2 bulbs (double row) to a depth of 5-7 cm. The buds that appear in spring must be plucked, leaving a peduncle.

Tulip varieties

About 3,500 species and varieties are registered in the International Book of Tulips. But the most common varieties are only about 150. All of them are good for growing in gardens and flower beds. But not all varieties are suitable for distillation, but only some.

Varieties of tulips suitable for distillation. "Apricot Beauty", "Christmas Marvel" and some others. In February - early March, most varieties of the Darwin hybrids group bloom. Suitable for late distillation in April-May are "Parade", "Diplomat" and "Oxford".

fringed tulips

Among the thousands of varieties of tulips, there is a small group of those that invariably attract attention, causing surprise and admiration. These tulips are called fringed. Their flowers are notable for the fact that along the edges of the petals there is a fringe of hard needle-like outgrowths of different lengths sticking out in all directions. At the top of the petals, the fringe is thickest and longest.
Among the 53 varieties of fringed tulips, there are early, mid-blooming and late, some of them are suitable for forcing. Tulip "Fringed Beauty" is not only fringed, but also super terry.
The flowers of fringed tulips are hard to the touch and especially durable, and, therefore, resistant to rain, wind, and sun. They keep their perfect shape until the last second of their life, both in the garden and in the bouquet. Fringed tulips are of great interest to amateur flower growers because of the exotic shape of the flowers.

Planting material preparation

During the entire forcing process, the tulip feeds only on the substances accumulated in the bulb, so the success of the forcing largely depends on the planting material used. The bulbs used for forcing must be absolutely healthy, without mechanical damage, and have a rounded shape. Bulbs "extra" or 1st parsing weighing 30 g are suitable for distillation - for varieties from the class Darwin hybrids and at least 25 g - for varieties from other classes. It is not advisable to use bulbs of smaller parsing, as this drastically reduces the decorative qualities of flowers and the number of flowering plants.
Before planting for forcing, it is advisable to clean the bulbs from the outer covering scales. Firstly, by removing the scales from the bulb, it is possible to identify spots of the disease that have not been noticed until that moment and promptly discard the affected bulb. Secondly, a bulb without covering scales takes root faster and easier, the presence of dense scales leads to the fact that the roots begin to grow along the bulb, thereby pushing it to the surface, which ultimately affects the decorative qualities of the tulip.

Whole distillation cycle can be roughly divided into three stages:
1. Storage of bulbs after digging out of open ground.
2. Rooting (at low temperatures).
3. Actually distillation (growing tulips in a heated room until flowering).

Preparing bulbs for forcing start even during their growth in open ground: plants intended for forcing are carefully cared for, which will contribute to increased accumulation of nutrients in the bulbs. Care consists in the implementation of a full range of agrotechnical measures and mandatory decapitation.

The most important at the first stage of distillation (during storage of bulbs) is the temperature regime. By changing the temperature in one direction or another, you can control the development of tulips and, to some extent, the timing of their flowering. The temperature effect on the bulbs during their storage consists of two stages: the first is exposure to high temperatures, the second is low temperatures.

The mode of storage of bulbs prepared for forcing differs slightly from the mode of storage of bulbs that will be planted in open ground. The storage mode differs significantly only for those bulbs that are intended for early and late forcing. After digging the bulbs, which is carried out at the usual time for tulips, they are stored at a temperature of 20-23 ° C for a month. This temperature is considered optimal for the formation of flower primordia in the bulb. Then, during the month (August), the temperature is maintained at about 20 ° C, and in September it drops to 16-17 ° C. Such storage temperatures approximately correspond to the average temperatures in these months, therefore, during storage, no special equipment is required to maintain the specified regime in the storage. Minor deviations from the specified temperatures do not have a significant effect on plants. However, with significant temperature deviations in any direction, the processes of laying the flower primordia in the bulb slow down or anomalies appear in the form of "blind" buds.

The difficulty of forcing for the New Year lies in the fact that by the time the bulbs begin to cool, all parts of the future flower must be fully formed in them. In the middle lane, the beginnings of a flower are fully formed by mid-August, and with a cool and rainy summer, this period can move back another month. To speed up the laying of all the organs of the flower and start cooling the bulbs at the scheduled time, there are two ways: agrotechnical and physico-chemical. The agrotechnical method consists in the fact that tulips are grown under a film and the flowers are decapitated. This method allows you to speed up the process of laying all the organs of the future flower by 2-3 weeks.

The second way is to dig up the bulbs early. The bulbs are dug up as soon as yellowish spots appear on their covering scales. Then the bulbs are kept at a temperature of +34 ° C for a week. This temperature also helps to accelerate the process of laying the organs of the future flower in the bulb. Bulbs prepared in this way from mid-August until planting are stored in the lower section of a conventional home refrigerator.

The purpose of this preparation is to delay the development of leaf buds in the bulb and thereby enable the rudiments of flower organs to form faster in it. Planting and rooting bulbs

The substrate for planting bulbs can be any moisture-absorbing and breathable material with a neutral reaction. It can be pure river sand (used by Dutch flower growers), a mixture of sand and peat, pure peat, vermiculite, perlite, or a mixture of sand and garden soil. Even sawdust can be used as a substrate for distillation, but they do not retain moisture well, so frequent watering will be required during the rooting period. In addition, the substrate for distillation must have a neutral reaction (pH - 6.5-7), so sawdust and peat must be limed. Garden soil in its pure form, without any baking powder, is also not advisable to use, since it becomes very compacted during irrigation.

Optimal for forcing is a substrate of the following composition: 2 parts of garden soil, 1 part of well-rotted manure or compost and 1 part of river sand. It is useful to add wood ash to this mixture. It is better not to use land from greenhouses, greenhouses, as well as poorly rotted manure - this is a favorable environment for the development of pathogens.

The prepared substrate is poured into containers (pots, boxes, bowls) by 2/3 and slightly compacted. The bulbs are laid out on the surface of the soil at a distance of 0.5-1 cm from each other, while slightly pressing their bottoms into the soil. Then the bulbs are covered to the very top with prepared substrate or clean sand to the edges of the container. It is important that homogeneous planting material is planted in one container - to ensure its simultaneous flowering. After planting, the bulbs are watered abundantly. It is advisable to pour them with a solution of 0.2% calcium nitrate (20 g per 10 liters of water). If after watering the tops of the bulbs are exposed and the soil has settled, the substrate must be topped up. It is important that there is a small layer of soil above the bulbs, otherwise, when they take root, the bulbs may bulge out of the ground. After that, the containers with bulbs are transferred to the basement, cellar or other room with a temperature of 0 to 10 ° C (the optimum temperature is 5-9 ° C).
Until mid-December, the bulbs need to be watered weekly and the air humidity in the room should be maintained at least 75-80%. Rooting and germination of tulips, depending on the variety, lasts from 16 to 22 weeks. By the end of December, the temperature in the room where the bulbs are stored is lowered to + 2-4 ° C and maintained. Such a decrease in temperature will prevent the tulips from stretching the sprouts.

Forcing mode

As a rule, tulips are transferred to a heated room for distillation 3 weeks before flowering. But it should be borne in mind that the earlier the forcing is carried out, the more time should elapse from the moment the tulips are transferred from a cold room to a warm one, and vice versa. Usually, by the time the plants are transferred to a warm room, tulip sprouts reach a height of 5-8 cm.

Containers with rooted bulbs are transferred to a room with a temperature of 12-15 ° C, while the lighting in the first 3-4 days should be weak. If the tulip sprouts have not grown enough, they are covered with dark paper caps, which are regularly removed and ventilated. After 3-4 days, the temperature is raised to 16-18 ° C and full lighting is given, while it is desirable to additionally highlight the plants for 3-5 hours a day, and if there is a lack of sun, this is simply necessary, otherwise the tulips will be very stretched.

When the tulip buds are colored, the temperature is somewhat reduced (up to 14-15 ° C), which will extend the flowering period of the plants, the peduncles will be stronger, and the flowers will be more brightly colored.

Plants are watered daily and occasionally fertilized with calcium nitrate. Top dressing has a positive effect on the decorativeness of tulips and increases the number of flowers. It is advisable not to keep containers with flowering plants in the sun, as this shortens the duration of flowering.

Growing bulbs after forcing

There is an opinion among flower growers that the bulbs used for forcing are not suitable for further cultivation and are easier to throw away. But if you wish, you can grow them.

When forcing low-growing varieties of tulips (with short peduncles), flowers from plants are usually cut off without leaving leaves on the bulb. In this case, 3 weeks after cutting, the bulbs are dug up. If, after cutting the flowers, leaves were left on the bulb (when growing varieties with long peduncles, for example, from the Darwin hybrid class), then they continue to be watered and kept at maximum light until the leaves turn yellow. In this case, quite large replacement bulbs and a large baby can be obtained from some varieties.

After digging, the bulbs are dried for 2 weeks at a temperature of 24 ° C, then a month at 17-20 ° C and then until planting in the ground - at a temperature of 14-15 ° C. This storage mode allows you to keep the bulbs in a normal state before planting (they do not dry out and do not start growing prematurely).

After forcing, the bulbs are planted in open ground at the usual time for tulips. It is not advisable to grow the bulbs used for early forcing, as they do not form large replacement bulbs and produce few large babies. It takes more than one year to grow such bulbs before they bloom.

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Fertilizers for tulips are usually applied in autumn and spring. Top dressing is needed to get healthy and profusely flowering plants. Without fertilizer, tulips grow frail and form "blind" or small buds. When fertilizing plants, certain proportions should be observed. Tulips are better underfed than overfed. In addition, it is impossible to make organic and mineral substances on the same day. After top dressing with one type of fertilizer, several weeks should pass. It is recommended to introduce trace elements during heavy watering.

Agrotechnics for growing tulips involves the introduction of organic and mineral fertilizers into the soil. Top dressing introduced into the soil has a positive effect on plant growth, budding and abundant, long flowering. Plants need a standard set of minerals - nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, as well as organic top dressing (manure, chicken manure).

Thanks to nitrogen-containing fertilizers, tulips grow well, gain green mass, their leaves have a healthy green color. With a lack of nitrogen, flowering is later and short-lived.

Potassium has a positive effect on the condition of the bulbs and the formation of new babies. Potassium top dressing provides long and lush flowering. Thanks to her, the color of the petals becomes rich and beautiful.

Phosphorus affects the growth of the root system. This trace element works in tandem with potassium. Together, these substances provide the plant with long and abundant flowering.

Tulips need much less: calcium, copper, iron, boron, zinc, magnesium. With a lack of trace elements in tulips, the leaves turn yellow, they droop, their heads hang down. Zinc and copper are considered medicinal substances. They support the immunity of tulips, make them resistant to fungal diseases. Various trace elements, as a rule, are part of complex fertilizers.

Tulip leaves can look pale if the soil they grow in is too acidic. Flowers love alkaline or neutral soil. You can correct the acidity of the soil by adding a little lime or wood ash to it.

Resistance to diseases is increased by drugs such as potassium permanganate, copper sulfate and boric acid. These substances must be mandatory for any gardener and gardener.

What fertilizer to apply under tulips when planting

In order to get healthy tulips with beautiful flowers, it is necessary to apply fertilizer in the fall - when the bulbs are planted in the ground, and in the spring - when the vegetation comes to life and begins to grow. Tulips are fertilized with minerals (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus) and organic matter.

Fresh and insufficiently rotted mullein is not recommended to be introduced into the soil under the bulbs. Organics are applied a few months before planting tulips. In the process of decomposition, organic fertilizers are a breeding ground for a huge number of microorganisms, in addition, they attract pests. If bulbs are planted at the same time as fresh manure is applied, they can get sick or be attacked by pests.

What to feed in autumn?

Bulbs are buried in the ground in late September or early October. They are first placed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for etching. Before wintering, tulips need to be fed with organic matter (compost), potassium and phosphorus. The land is fertilized a month before planting the bulbs (in August). For 1 square meter of soil take 10 kilograms of compost, 200 grams of wood ash and 30 grams of potassium and phosphorus. You can take 50-100 grams of complex fertilizers.

Potash fertilizers make plants resistant to low temperatures and fungal diseases. Potassium contributes to better rooting of the planted bulb. Phosphorus makes the root system stronger, increases resistance to adverse weather conditions.

In addition to top dressing, the bulbs need protection from rodents. They can be sprinkled with red pepper or smeared with Vishnevsky ointment. It is recommended to spray the bulbs with kerosene. The unpleasant pungent odor of these substances repels rodents.

Some gardeners value planting material very much, so the bulbs are planted in a metal, plastic mesh or container dug into the ground. Such fences protect the bulbs from rodents and provide better water drainage.

spring

With the advent of spring, the soil is fertilized with nitrogen substances. Nitrogen provides plants with growth and growth of green mass. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied in the spring, during the loosening of the soil. As top dressing, urea or ammonium nitrate solution is used.

With a lack of nitrogenous elements, the leaves of tulips turn yellow, and the stems themselves do not grow well. Having received top dressing, the plants immediately come to life, their leaves acquire a beautiful green color. True, nitrogen should not be applied in the fall. During this period, plant growth slows down, and the bulbs planted in the ground at the end of September need to take root, absorb more nutrients and prepare for wintering.

In spring, flowers are fertilized with potassium and phosphorus. Top dressing is applied several times. The earth is fertilized at a certain moment in the development of plants (the appearance of the first shoots, the moment of budding or flowering).

The nuances of feeding

Tulips fertilize three to five times per season. Organic or mineral fertilizers are used as top dressing. Each period of plant development requires a certain feeding.

If organic fertilizers are used, the amount of minerals can be reduced. Organics contains the whole complex of useful substances, including trace elements. Additionally, it is recommended to add wood ash, dolomite flour to the ground. Wood ash enriches the soil with potassium.

Dose of fertilizers per 1 square meter:

• rotted manure - 1 or 2 buckets;
• wood ash - 200 grams;
• dolomite flour - 500 grams;
• double superphosphate - 50 grams;
• potassium sulfate or potassium nitrate - 30 grams;
• ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate or carbamide - 25 grams.

You can use complex fertilizers (Nitrofoska, Nitroammofoska, NPK). In this case, 100 grams of fertilizer are taken per 1 square meter.

Forcing

Tulips usually bloom in May and bloom until mid-June. However, in greenhouse conditions, these plants can be made to bloom much earlier, for example, by March 8th. Previously, the bulbs should lie in a cold room for about 10-16 weeks. Low temperatures contribute to the formation of substances that affect the further process of plant growth. Then the bulbs are transferred to a warm room. For distillation, rotted manure (1 bucket), wood ash (500 grams), calcium nitrate (20 grams) and mineral fertilizers are applied per 1 square meter of soil.

Dosage of fertilizers per 1 square meter:

• potassium - 20 grams;
• superphosphate - 20 grams;
• nitrogen fertilizers - 30 grams;
• water - 10 liters.

During the budding period

Feeding solution:

• nitrogen - 20 grams;
• potassium - 30 grams;
• phosphorus - 30 grams;
• water - 10 liters.

During flowering

During the flowering period, tulips need a lot of nutrients. These days they are regularly, but moderately watered, and potash and phosphorus top dressings are added to the ground. For 10 liters of water, take 30 grams of potash and phosphorus fertilizers.

After flowering

As soon as the tulips fade, the ground is watered with a solution of boric acid. For 1 liter of water take 10 grams of boric acid. Then they wait for the stems and leaves of the plants to dry completely. At the end of June, the bulbs are dug out of the ground.

Tulips need not only top dressing, but also regular watering, loosening the soil, weeding the land from weeds. It is desirable to irrigate flowers in the morning, tulips should not be heavily flooded with water, otherwise the bulbs will begin to rot. The land near the plants is freed from weeds so that they do not take away nutrients.

in the greenhouse

When growing tulips in a greenhouse, you can achieve earlier flowering. In order to get tulips in early spring, the bulbs are buried in the ground as early as October. Plants are pre-planted in boxes, they are placed for several weeks in a cold dark room, where the air temperature is 7-9 degrees Celsius. During this period, the plants are watered once a week.

Then the bulbs are transferred to a heated room and create the effect of the onset of spring. The air temperature should be 15 degrees. Plants are watered daily. In warm soil, tulips begin to grow and bloom early, for example, in early spring.

In the open field

Tulips planted in a flower bed or in a garden bed need to be watered during a dry season. Watering is carried out in the morning, every 2-3 days. On 1 square meter goes from 6 to 10 liters of water. The land near the tulips is loosened and cleared of weeds.

After the end of flowering and when the leaves and stems are completely dry, the bulbs are dug out of the ground. This procedure is carried out in late June or early July.