Planting tulips in autumn: terms, rules, recommendations

Tulips are among the first to open a spring ball on the garden plots and urban flower beds. After flowering, the bulbs must be excavated and properly stored. At this time new flowers are born. Planting tulips in autumn begins a new period of their life: they give roots and freeze to show their splendor with the arrival of a new spring.

Choose a place

Planting of tulips in autumn is done on flat areas, hollows and slopes are not suitable for them. They are very fond of moisture, and in Holland during the vegetation period a high level of groundwater is artificially maintained. But during the wintering and thawing of the snow, tender bulbs on boggy soils can bend or freeze. The place should be sunny and sheltered from the winds. Tulips are reconciled and with a shadow, but the size of buds and their coloring will be more modest.

Soil preparation

These bulbs love a light sandy loamy, humus-rich soil. The soil reaction must be neutral or slightly alkaline. In an acidic environment bulbs form flawed buds, incapable of flowering.

Fertilizers are introduced 1-2 months before the time when planting of tulips is planned. In autumn, during digging, a well decomposed humus or mineral fertilizer is laid.

In one place tulips can be grown no more than 4 years. Good predecessors for them - pumpkin cultures, beans, dahlias, calendula, strawberries. The worst are the plants of the Nightshade family .

Sorting and planting tulips

In autumn, the bulbs are inspected for damage and disease. Unsuitable specimens are discarded, the healthy material is sorted by size. Different varieties bloom at different times, so each of them decomposes into its pouch or container.

Large flower bulbs are going to the flowerbeds and flowerpots, and small ones are planted on beds for further development and recruitment.

Immediately before planting, the material is soaked in "Maxim" or in a solution of potassium permanganate. The depth of planting makes up 3 bulb heights, and the distance between plants is 15-20 cm. With the onset of cold weather, the ridges are mulched.

Terms of planting

Plant the bulbs in such a way that they can take root well before the onset of cold weather. Tulips can take 3-4 weeks for this. It is best to take root with a high soil moisture and air temperature of +4 ... + 6 ^о С. Timing varies from the end of September to the middle of October, depending on the terrain and weather conditions.

How important is it to observe the timing of planting tulips in the fall? If the bulbs are planted too early, they can not only take root, but also have time to germinate. In winter, there is a great risk of the freezing of tender young shoots.

At a late planting tulips do not have time to give roots, in the spring they bloom later and give small bulbs.

What to do with the latecomers?

Not everything can be calculated in advance. Sometimes a package with rare varieties comes too late, when the time of planting tulips in the fall has already come. Situations are different: there were not planted tulips, there was a huge sale of flowers and so on. What should I do with these bulbs?

Firstly, strong specimens can be left for distillation. But for this not all grades are suitable, and the bulbs are prepared for this event in advance.

Secondly, you can risk planting tulips for the winter. They should be sloughed by at least 20 cm and covered with bulbs with ordinary garden soil. The planting site must be well covered with plant remains and covered with a film. That the bulbs are not vyprevali, in early spring the film should be removed.