When and how to plant tulips in different regions, timing

Gardeners are interested in when it is time to plant tulips. After the winter cold, I really want to decorate my dacha with primroses. But in order to get abundant and long-lasting flowering, you should choose the planting time wisely. Tulips are unpretentious plants. Varieties of folk selection are successfully grown by gardeners. But new species require compliance with the recommendations of agronomists.

Why should you plant tulips in autumn?

When determining planting dates, the characteristics of plants should be taken into account:

1. Tulips are bulbous plants. Their wild steppe ancestors bloom in early spring, then accumulate nutrients throughout the spring. At the beginning of summer, the plants shed their leaves and live like this until next spring. That is why it is correct to plant tulip bulbs before winter.
2. Tulips begin to bloom at temperatures just above zero and with short daylight hours. Therefore, plants planted in spring have a disrupted life cycle. They are unlikely to bloom this season. Most likely, the bulbs will not have enough nutrients for a successful winter, so the flowers will be weak next season.
3. You should also take into account the amount of precipitation. If there is a lot of rain at the beginning of autumn, it is necessary to postpone planting until later.
4. It is important to consider the soil temperature when planting. Do not plant bulbs in frozen soil: they will not be able to take root. If the planting time is missed, you should plant the bulbs in a container that must be stored in the basement, and in the spring, move the container with the sprouted plants to the garden.

Bulbs planted on time will successfully overwinter and in the spring will delight the gardener with abundant flowering.

Planting dates in different regions

In different regions, autumn arrives at different times, so there is no strictly defined time for planting bulbs. And in a particular area, it is recommended to take into account the characteristics of autumn weather.

In the middle lane

The best time to plant tulips is from late August to late October. Plants must have time to take root; this is what guarantees that the bulbs will not freeze in the winter.

In outskirts of Moscow

In the Moscow region, early autumn is dry and warm. It is permissible to plant tulips from early September to mid-November.If the weather continues to be warm, planting time can be extended until the end of November.

In the Urals, in Siberia

In the Urals and Siberia, the ideal time for planting is late summer - early autumn. The landing period is very short because winter comes quickly in these regions.

How to store tulips before planting in the fall

After the end of spring flowering, the bulbs are dug up and stored until autumn planting. During this period, it is recommended to follow the storage rules:

1. The bulbs should be cleared of soil and carefully inspected. Those damaged by pests and diseased need to be discarded.
2. Covering scales should be kept in place. It is important to leave the above-ground part (leaves) until completely dry: the nutrients must move to the underground part.
3. The resulting babies should be separated from the mother's bulb: they need to be set aside and raised in school.
4. For disinfection, it is recommended to hold the material in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for 5 minutes. Then you need to dry it on a paper napkin.
5. Prepared tulips should be laid out in one row on a flat baking sheet. It is recommended to cover the baking sheet with a metal mesh on top to protect it from rodents.
6. The container with planting material must be placed in a dry, dark place: in a barn or attic. It is not necessary to observe the temperature regime: the wild ancestors of tulips survive the summer period at high, often unstable temperatures.
7. It is recommended to place mousetraps around for additional protection against rodents.

It is important to store each variety of tulips separately and make a mark on the container with its name.

How to plant tulips?

Properly stored bulbs need to be planted correctly. The beauty of the garden in spring depends on this. Basic steps:

• choose a landing site;
• prepare the soil;
• prepare planting material;
• develop a planting scheme.

There is no need to rush through the preparatory activities: it is important to carry them out efficiently.

Selecting a location

The summer resident tries to plant tulips in a place that is open to view. But the main criterion is not entertainment. Plants require special conditions. At the dacha, a sunny place where the snow melts first is suitable for placing bulbs. But it should be located away from melt water: tulips do not tolerate flooding, they get wet and rot. The surviving plants bloom little and reluctantly, producing small buds.

Land preparation

Bulbous plants receive nutrition from nutrients accumulated in the heads. Therefore, soil fertility is not taken into account first. And you should pay attention to the structure of the soil.

The soil must be light, air- and moisture-permeable. Therefore, on heavy clay and loamy soils, it is recommended to carry out preparatory work: add sand with coarse fractions or neutral peat. Before planting in the garden, it is recommended to apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. Some summer residents use ready-made mineral complexes to feed bulbous plants.

Preparing the bulbs

Autumn planting of tulips is carried out at a quiet time for the gardener: the main work has been completed. But for the success of the event, the following recommendations should be followed:

1. When purchasing planting material from certified garden centers or storing it properly in spring and summer, no special preparation for planting is required.
2. But when purchasing bulbs from hand, it is recommended to check the plants for pest damage or disease. Material that has mechanical damage is also rejected.
3. Be sure to carry out disinfection in a solution of potassium permanganate.The solution should be light pink.

Healthy bulbs planted on time in the spring will delight the gardener with abundant flowering.

Planting scheme

The gardener wants to create interesting compositions from different varieties and hybrids of tulips. To do this, you need to know at what distance to place the plants from each other.

Bulbs have different sizes, so it is recommended to follow the general rule: plant the bulbs at a distance of 1 diameter from each other.

The speed of germination depends on how deep the plantings are. On light soils, tulips should be planted at a depth equal to twice the height of the bulb. On heavy (unstructured) soils, it is recommended to deepen to 1-1.5 heights. These rules apply for planting in open ground. When placing the composition in a container, the depth is reduced by the amount of depth of the container.

Further care

Correctly and timely planted tulips do not require special care: the bulbs will take root well and overwinter. They should not be watered: with excessive moisture they are easily affected by fungal diseases. Rooted bulbous plants overwinter at subzero temperatures without freezing. The gardener must plant the plants correctly: nature will do the rest.

Preparing for winter

Mice love to gnaw onions during the winter without food. Therefore, it is recommended to cover a flower bed with plants with spruce or pine spruce branches 15-20 cm thick: the thorny branches will scare away rodents. In regions with harsh winters, it is useful to cover the plantings with hay on top of the spruce branches: this will insulate them. During winter, you should regularly pile snow on the flower beds and make sure that there is no bare soil.

Useful tips for flower growers

It is useful to replant tulips every year in a new place.After flowering and yellowing of the leaves, they are dug up, dried and then planted in a prepared flower bed. It is recommended to adhere to crop rotation: do not plant after garlic, onions and gladioli, they have common diseases and pests. Tulips are returned to their original place in the 4th-5th year.

The appearance of stripes uncharacteristic for the variety on leaves or flower petals indicates that the plants are affected by the variegation virus. This disease is incurable: all plants are burned and the soil is disinfected.

When digging, children often get lost; the gardener has to sift through the soil to find them. This problem can be easily solved if you plant the bulbs in a special container with holes to drain excess water. The container is buried in the ground to the required depth. Planting in a container allows you to quickly free up space for summer plants, which are grown through seedlings and placed in a flower bed.

Some gardeners plant bulbs in flower boxes. With this method of gardening, planting is done immediately in a container. Then they are stored in the basement or wait until there is stable snow cover and bury them deeper in the snow. In spring, containers are placed in the required places in the garden.