Tulip can rightfully be called a favorite of gardeners all over the planet. This flower captivates with its beauty, riot of colors, variety of forms. Achievements of modern selection allow from the first days of spring to the very summer to observe bright flowers of tulips on flower beds, garden plots, balconies. Caring for them and growing them is not a complicated process, but it requires certain knowledge and skills. How to grow a tulip from a bulb to a bud on your own site is described in this article.
Choosing varieties of tulips
To date, many varieties of this flower have been bred. But not all of them are suitable for outdoor cultivation. When purchasing tulip bulbs, check with the seller when this species blooms. For cultivation in an open area, plants are suitable, the budding period of which falls on the end of April - the beginning of June. These are the varieties Diplomat, Oxford, London, Negrita, Aristocrat. If you plant bulbs that are bred for growing in greenhouses in open ground, they will come out weak and sick orthey simply won't rise.
Preparing the soil for forcing tulips
In late September - early October, you need to prepare a site where tulips will grow. The planting location of these flowers must meet the following requirements:
- good lighting;
- protection from cold and strong wind;
- flat surface area;
- fertile soil layer of at least 40 cm;
- good soil properties: looseness, air permeability, moisture capacity.
But the composition of the land in garden plots is not always suitable for growing bulbs. In this case, it can be enriched by applying special fertilizers and dressings (humus, peat, river sand).
How to plant a tulip?
Growing and caring for bulbous plants begins with planting them in the ground. This procedure is carried out in the fall, when the air temperature drops to + 9 ° C. Flowers are planted to a depth of 15-20 cm. There should be a distance of at least 10 cm between them. To prevent diseases, the bulbs can be treated with a fungicide (Fundozol, Euparen, Topsin) before planting. To do this, you need to dissolve 30 g of the drug in a bucket of water and keep the tulips there for about half an hour. If the autumn is warm, then the planting site can be watered.
Tulip: growing and care in the spring-summer period
Tulip shoots appear in March, as soon as warm sunny days come. During this period, you need to feed the plants with nitrogen (30 g), potassium (20 g) andphosphorus (30 g). Dilute all fertilizers immediately in a bucket of water and pour under seedlings.
Tulip grows very quickly in spring. Cultivation and care during this period consists in regular loosening of the soil and timely watering.
When cutting a bud, it is necessary to leave 2 lower leaves so that the bulb has something to eat from and develop normally. If the tulip remains on the stalk until the end of flowering, then after that it is necessary to cut off its seed box so that the plant's strength is not wasted on the development of unnecessary seeds. After the end of budding, tulips need to be treated again with fertilizers based on potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus.
During the yellowing of the foliage on tulips, the bulbs should be dug up and treated with a fungicide in the same way as before planting. Then dry in a dry, shady place for several days. For storage, put the bulbs in a ventilated container or cloth bag and leave until autumn in a dark place.
To make your spring garden bright and beautiful, plant a tulip flower. Growing and caring for it is a very exciting activity. By listening to the recommendations presented in this article, you can grow beautiful flowers yourself.
