The idea of creating a unique flower with black petals originated in the 16th century, when bulbous plants brought to Europe gained unprecedented popularity. Experienced flower growers share how black tulips were brought out and what is needed for their cultivation at home today. Growing your own mystical variety, of course, is quite difficult, but even a beginner can use ready-made onions.
The story of the mystic varieties
The first relatively successful attempt to create pure black tulips belongs to an unknown Dutch breeder who presented his brainchild in 1637 during the magnificent festival in the city of Harlem. However, the plants he bred were non-ideal. The color of the petals was black and purple, and in bright light - dark purple. This was followed by almost three centuries of fruitless attempts to improve color. The black tulip remained an unattainable dream for collectors. Already in 1891, the famous breeder Krelag introduced to the public a new kind of bulb flower, which was named La Tulipe Noire. The new product was also not completely black. The petals were purple, but were clearly darker than their predecessor. Thanks to Krelag, the most common varieties currently created were: Black Parrot, Black Pearl and Black Beauty. The most popular black tulips (even in bright light) were brought out by the grower Grulllemans. The name of the amazing variety received the corresponding - Queen of Night. It should be noted that a pure black plant without the use of chemical treatment, nature will not allow to create, probably never. Therefore, those who want to get unique flowers should use one of the existing varieties.
Black tulips are easy to grow
For planting bulbs, you need to choose a suitable place in the garden or in the summer cottage. Tulips look very good against the background of a lush green lawn, however, for the integrity of the composition, 30 to 50 plants will have to be planted. We need to ask what exactly the black tulips will be: the photo will help to find out not only the appearance, but also the size of the flower. For medium and large garden varieties, bulbs are planted to a depth of 10-13 cm, adhering to the distance between plants of 7-10 cm. Sand is necessarily poured onto the bottom of the hole. This is done to better drainage and prevent souring of the roots. Black tulips are sprinkled on top with a mixture of sand and fertile soil. So that the heads of the handsome men do not fade, after flowering, the entire stem is immediately removed, leaving only two sheets for the normal nutrition of the daughter bulbs.
After flowering and yellowing of the leaves, tulips are dug up for winter storage. Before you hide all future planting material until next year, it must be dried in warm partial shade. If watering was sufficient, then you can get two or three daughter bulbs. To combat fungal diseases, tulips are treated with fungicide. For storage use gauze or unpainted calico bags that are hung in a well-ventilated area. The ideal temperature is 16-20 degrees.
Attention: if black tulips suddenly blossomed with flowers covered with attractive white veins, this could be a manifestation of a dangerous disease - “variegation”. Affected plants and bulbs must be removed, otherwise the virus will destroy all available plantings.