Tulips are without a doubt a very popular bulbous plant all over the world. You have a burning desire to make a beautiful flower bed on your site that will delight you in the spring, and have looked after new varieties for yourself, but doubt when tulips are planted? This article will help you understand this issue, and blooming flower beds will appear every year.
Let's start with perhaps the most common mistake novice flower growers make. Seeing tulip bulbs in the store in early spring, many are “tempted” and buy. Having planted them in their garden, they look forward to beautiful flowering and are very disappointed when they receive only green leaves. Why is it so? In 95%, the bulbs do not have time to take root and release only foliage. Don't be too upset, the tulips will bloom next year.
When should tulips be planted?
In order to see beautiful flowers in spring, you need to plant tulip bulbs in autumn - in September, October. At this time, there are many times more planting material, and the choice of varieties is very diverse.
When planting, you should focus on the temperature of the soil, which should be between +4 and +10°C. The bulbs take root well at a temperature of +4°C. It will be good if at least 3-4 weeks pass from the moment the tulips are planted to the onset of persistent frosts. During this time, the bulbs will have time to take root well.
When tulips are planted, they are deepened into the ground by 5-15 cm, depending on the variety and size of the bulb. In other words, this will be a third of the height of the bulb so you don't deepen them too much. In the classical literature, it is recommended that the area where the bulbs were planted be mulched with straw, peat or loose leafy soil. And if in your lane there are very severe frosts - cover with a layer of leaves or spruce branches, this will protect the plants from freezing. In the spring, be sure to remove the shelter so that the sun's rays can warm the soil.
And do not be afraid that your sprouts will look out of the ground early, they are frost-resistant and will withstand frosts down to -12 ° С.
When tulips are planted, in no case should fresh manure be brought into the ground! This will lead to infection of the bulbs with fungal diseases or rotting. If you want to nourish the soil in which you will plant the planting material, then it is better to prepare the beds a few weeks before planting by digging up the soil with compost and remove the roots of the weeds. Top dressing of tulips will need to be done in the spring.
The soil in which the plants will be planted is also paid attention when plantedtulips. Light sandy soil is best for bulbs. And if the earth is very dense and heavy, this can be solved by adding river sand, adding compost or adding loose fertile soil.
Now you can easily answer the question: "When to plant tulips - in autumn or spring?" In conclusion, I would like to draw your attention to the planting material. If you have hybrid varieties of tulips, it is recommended to dig them out (in June) every year in order to preserve the variety. Ordinary and unpretentious varieties can grow without transplanting in one place for several years.
