Correct storage of tubers, bulbs and rhizomes of various flower cultures is the main condition for obtaining abundant and bright flowering in the new season. If you do not stick to it, part of the material will die, and the remaining copies will give small stems and ugly, often altered flowers. Experienced gardeners in our country share tips on how to save tulip bulbs until spring.
Optimal storage conditions
The main factors affecting the content of bulbs in the winter are considered temperature and humidity. The room is chosen cool and slightly moist, so most often gardeners prefer cellars, glazed balconies or tiny cellars for storing planting material. If you contain flower roots on the loggia, it is strongly recommended to spray them with sprayed water.
How to save tulip bulbs in the winter? What is it worth to keep planting material? For maintenance in the cold season, they use strong cardboard boxes without a glossy finish and drawings or ordinary garden boxes. From above, the containers must be covered with moss or covered with a layer of dry peat and river sand. Summer storage of tulips provides for their timely extraction and maintenance of bulbs in suitable temperature conditions and humidity.
When is the time to dig out flowers for the winter
When deciding how to save tulip bulbs in the cold, you must always consider the timing of their collection. The traditional time for their extraction from the soil is the end of June and the first 20 days of July. Leaves by this time already begin to completely turn yellow, which means that they are ready to give the plant all the accumulated nutrients. The extracted bulbs are thoroughly washed from all the adhering earth and all remaining foliage and the old onion base are removed. If the soil remains, the plant may rot or become ill. How to save tulip bulbs until spring if they are wetted with water? Everything is simple here - you need to thoroughly dry the planting material for several hours under an artificial or natural canopy. According to the rules of floriculture, bulbs cannot be dug up immediately after flowering. But to preserve the decorative look of the entire plot, a little trick is used. Tulips are removed with a clod of earth and set aside to ripen in a dry and slightly shaded place.
The harvested crop must be sorted according to the size of the bulbs. All tiny specimens - children - also should not be thrown away, they will quickly grow to the desired "condition" or can be used for a one-time distillation. The main condition for keeping tulip bulbs healthy and strong until spring is to keep small root scales intact. All sorted materials are placed in separate boxes and transferred to storage in the garden shed.
The temperature should be about 20 ° C, and the end of the summer content of future tulips falls at the end of August, when they need to be transferred to the basement or planted for wintering in open ground. Compliance with these simple conditions and requirements is the answer to the question of beginners about how to save tulip bulbs until spring.