If you decide to plant spring flowers in your garden, the question of when to plant tulips will definitely arise. The growth and blooming of spring flowers is influenced by many factors, but the planting time of the bulbs is one of the most important. Let's try to figure out how and when planting material is planted. Before you grow tulips, you need to learn a little about the features of their agricultural technology. You can grow them in a single planting, but they look especially beautiful in multiple plantings. When to plant tulips in this case? About this a little later, and first - a little about the quality of planting material. It is very important to sort the dug and dried tulip bulbs by size (for professionals they are called “parsing”). According to the existing international classification, there are such parsings: extra, 1 parsing, 2 parsing, 3 parsing, a baby of the 1st category and a baby of the 2nd category. Depending on the size of the bulb, the time is determined when it is most appropriate to plant tulips, because the smaller the bulb is, the less its frost resistance and the longer it will take to root. Especially this condition applies to plants intended for distillation. Dismantled bulbs are placed in wooden crates and left for storage in a ventilated and dark room (shed, basement) until the fall. In the first time after digging, the temperature is 20-22 ° C, and after it is reduced to 16-17 ° C. When storing bulbs, avoid significant temperature fluctuations.
Many beginner flower growers do not know when to plant tulips, and do this in the spring, buying bulbs of dubious origin in the markets. As a rule, having planted such bulbs, they wait for their lush flowering in the same year and, without waiting for beautiful flowers, refuse to further grow tulips on their site. And the reason for poor flowering is that any plant (especially with a short growing season) immediately after planting begins to “hurt”, which affects its appearance. Tulips planted in early spring can only bloom in their full beauty only next year. The situation is even worse with plants that are transplanted into the open ground immediately after flowering. Such plants can generally die.
Having decided that it is not advisable to plant these plants in the spring, try to find out when to plant tulips in the fall? Bulb planting dates have a fairly wide range. They are completely dependent on the climatic zone of residence. Dates of landing by zone:
- northwest: September 5-25;
- average: September 15 - October 10;
- southern: October 10 - November 25.
Tulips can be planted until the soil at a depth of 10 cm has a temperature of at least 6-9 ° C. Up to 60 large bulbs are planted per square meter. Having determined the period when it is most appropriate to plant tulips in your climatic region, prepare the soil. A couple of months before planting the bulbs, add the main fertilizer to it.
Many who want to get tulips in the winter (during distillation) are also concerned about the question of when to plant tulips for distillation. Planting periods vary depending on the period by which you want to receive a blossoming flower. Under normal conditions, bulbs selected for winter distillation are stored until the onset of cold weather. Then the bulbs are placed in dark rooms with a low temperature (up to 9-10 ° C). When distilled for the New Year, the bulbs are stored up to 16 weeks, and by March 8 - up to 22 weeks. In early October, the bulbs are planted in a fertile substrate, which is watered daily. During this time, the bulbs take root. The temperature in a dark room should be 4-9 ° C. After rooting of the bulbs, their growth is inhibited, reducing the temperature to 0.5-2 ° C. Tulips are expelled, transferring them to a warm (up to 12 ° C) room with 6-10 hours of lighting 4 weeks before the holiday date.