The first thawed spots on spring snow reveal strong light green sprouts-arrows, and the soul immediately becomes lighter: spring has come! And these are her first harbingers - tulips. They were created to delight us with their brightness long before the queen of the garden, the rose, will grow and blossom, cheerful asters or strict dahlias will open. How to care for tulips, your favorite spring flowers? Like all living and beautiful, they respond to care and affection, and from indifference wither and die.
It is no exaggeration to say that caring for them is a year-round process. Even in winter, under the snow, tulips love to be fed once or twice, sheltered from severe frost. But the main concerns about the flowers are, of course, in a different season: planting, flowering and transplanting. At what point do you start talking about how to care for tulips? Probably better in the fall, when the bulbs are laid. In central Russia, the optimal planting dates for this crop are considered to be the end of September - October.
First of all, it should be remembered that the tulip loves lighted areas and good, light soil, best sandy loam. Fissures with a depth of 15-20 cm are best shed with a hot solution of manganese, since flower bulbs are very vulnerable to harmful fungi and bacteria contained in the soil. They are planted by eye, at a depth of about three heights of the bulb itself, at a distance from each other of at least 20 cm and sprinkled with earth.
It is advisable that the tulips go under the snow already sprouted, and for this it is important not to miss the planting dates. If you do not have time - it's okay, only in this case the flowering will begin later than usual. How to care for tulips in winter - this is already a little said above. It will be very useful to make one of the special fertilizers for onion flowers directly in the snow. The next top dressing will be needed already at the beginning of flowering. In severe frost, it is advisable to pour more snow on top or cover the landing site with straw.
Care for tulips in the spring is to avoid stagnation of bulbs to prevent stagnation of melt water, as well as drying out of the soil. They need to be watered constantly, even during flowering and always after it, so that the leaves that feed the bulbs do not dry out ahead of time. It is also necessary to ensure that the flowering heads do not reach the stage of seed bolls. The flower began to fade - it must be broken off right away, leaving the green leaves - the bulb should receive food from them: after all, under the ground, there is an active formation of children and the growth of the bulb itself.
In summer, care work continues. The dried leaves are gradually removed, and by the end of June it is time to dig up the tulips. After sorting, removing diseased specimens, the bulbs are placed in a basket for drying, placed in a well-ventilated place, but not in the open sun. Those who know how to care for plants at home are well aware that not a single flower can withstand direct sunlight, drafts, or sudden changes in temperature. Tulip is no exception.
And then again, autumn! Again, it's time to think about planting at the right time, about leaving in the winter, taking care of the first sprouts in the spring, and, of course, about how to care for tulips during the flowering period. And so it will be ad infinitum, as long as there are real connoisseurs of this flower in the world that carries joy in itself.