Favorite flower of spring. Narcissus: Growing and Care

Many gardeners grow a darling of spring narcissus. Growing and caring for this bulbous plant from the family of amaryllis is not difficult. In total, there are more than 30 species, of which about 10,000 varieties are bred. The time of their flowering is in May, but there are narcissuses that blossom in autumn. According to the shape of the flowers, they are divided into large-crowned, finely-crowned, tubular, cyclamenoid, terry and others. Most often there is narcissus poetic (ordinary), with white flowers, but there are very interesting colors: orange-pink, greenish-yellow, light cream.

What kind of soil does a narcissus like ?

Cultivation and care begins with the choice of location. The site should be protected from winds, the place - sunny. Suitable narcissuses and partial shade. Groundwater should not be above the level of 60 cm, otherwise the roots will rot. The soil is undemanding, but it is better to work on sandy loam and loamy lands with a neutral reaction. You can deoxidize the soil by adding dolomite flour, ash, lime. The plot for the month before planting should be filled with peat, compost or well-repaired manure. You can make a potassium-phosphorus fertilizer for flowers (2 tbsp / sq. M)

Bulb planting

Daffodils are planted early: from late August to mid-September. Bulbs are inspected, small, damaged and sick are rejected. For planting leave specimens with a diameter of 5 cm or more, with 2-3 vertices. Before sending them to the ground, it is necessary to carry out the treatment with a fungicide.

Every future daffodil must pass to avoid rotting it. Growing and caring for healthy plants is much easier to produce than treating sick planting.

The bulbs are 15 cm deep, the small ones and the children - 10. Large ones can be immersed in 20 cm. A handful of sand rushes to the bottom of the hole, and the bulb is pressed into it lightly. The distance between the plants is 15 cm, between the rows - 20 cm. After the earth is sprinkled, narcissus must be covered with humus or peat. Under winter it is necessary to cover them additionally from freezing by plant residues or a layer of sawdust.

Care for daffodils during the growth period

When the snow cover comes down, you need to remove the mulch, loosen the ground and fill the daffodils with a nitrogen-containing fertilizer. Then two additional fertilizing are carried out: during budding and before flowering. Further care is reduced to regular watering and weeding until the foliage withers. After flowering it is necessary to cut off the ovaries, so as not to weaken the bulbs.

When to dig a daffodil

The most abundant flowering of narcissuses occurs in 2-3 years, so they do not need an annual digging. In one place, flowers grow 4-5 years, their planting gradually thickens, which leads to a reduction in the number of flowers.

If the daffodils are planted, they are excavated at the end of June, when the leaves are withered. Bulbs are separated, cleaned from the ground and dried in a draft. Separate only those children who effortlessly move away from the mother bulb. Within 10 days the daffodils are kept warm, then in a cool room until a new landing at the end of summer.

The remaining plants continue to water and loosen the ground between them.

Reproduction

The easiest way to multiply is to divide the nest. Each year, the mother bulb builds up the peaks, then they become isolated into independent bulbs, and the scales that unite them die. Seed method is usually used for breeding new varieties. Flowering seedlings for 5 years.

A bright place, a little fertilizer, a rare transplant - that's all that a simple, handsome narcissist needs. Growing and caring for it can be entrusted even to the child, and the variety of varieties will create a magnificent spring composition in the garden.