Tulip variety Black Parrot belongs to the class of parrots. This is a late-flowering, unpretentious, perennial, bulbous plant. With proper care and timely planting, tulips bloom profusely and delight gardeners with dark burgundy and unusually beautiful flowers. Black Parrot blooms closer to summer. Tulips are grown to decorate the landscape or for sale.
Description and characteristics of the Black Parrot tulip
Black Parrot blooms at the very end of May, once, but abundantly. Flowering duration is about 2-3 weeks. The flowers are large, up to 10 centimeters in size. The petals of the flowers are sinuous, corrugated, reminiscent of the plumage of exotic parrots. The color is dark burgundy, turning into purple, with thin greenish areas visible somewhere. The flower has zigzag edges of the petals. The diameter of the bud is about 20 centimeters.
This variety grows up to 45-50 centimeters. Black Parrot has a tall, erect and strong stem. The leaves are oblong, smooth, green, slightly bluish. About 2-4 leaves grow at the bottom of the stem. Black Parrot likes well-lit places, but can grow in partial shade.
Origin story
Black Parrot is originally from the Netherlands. This variety was bred in the first half of the 20th century through genetic mutation. The source material was the natural gene pool. Most garden parrot tulips originally from Central Asia. From there they came to Europe in the 17th century, and then these beautiful, elegant flowers that did not require too much care were noticed by Russian gardeners. Black Parrot is grown for landscape decoration or as a cut flower for sale.
Planting a parrot tulip
Black Parrot is propagated using bulbs (from the mother and the children that grew up near her). Tulips are planted in soil fed with organic matter and mineral fertilizers. Bulbs for planting are taken dense, without damage, without overgrown roots and stems.
Black Parrot blooms at the end of May. When the plant blooms (mid-June), the bulbs are dug out of the ground. They are dried, heated all summer, and then stored in a cool room until the end of September, and then buried in the ground again. Until the plant completely withers, its stem cannot be cut off.The nutrients must return to the bulb and replenish it with energy for new growth.
Black Perrot is dug up every year in the summer and buried again in the fall. Every 3 or 4 years, choose a new place for the flower bed.
Selecting and preparing a place for planting a flower
Black Parrot can grow in any soil, but prefers well-fertilized, loose, well-drained soil. Tulips can be planted on loam and sandy loam soil. Too clayey soil is diluted with sand and peat. The plant loves alkaline or neutral soil. If the soil is acidic, add a little lime or wood ash to it.
The area for planting tulips should be protected from the wind. There should be no tall plants nearby. The sun's rays should fall freely on the tulips. Usually flowers are planted in special flower beds. The ground in such an area is leveled, all large lumps are broken up. If the surface is uneven, with pits, the water in the flowerbed will stagnate, causing the bulbs to rot.
Preparing Tulip Bulbs
Before planting, the bulbs are placed in water for 2 hours. A few drops of Fundazol are added to the liquid to disinfect against fungus and diseases. The bulbs can be “pickled” for 60 minutes in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Landing technology
Black Parrot bulbs are planted in the fall, when the soil temperature drops to 10 degrees Celsius. In the Middle Zone this time corresponds to the second half of September, the beginning of October. The bulbs are buried in the ground to a depth of 10-15 centimeters. It is desirable that the distance between neighboring plants be from 10 to 20 centimeters. After planting, tulips are watered moderately. Before frosts, the ground above is mulched with sawdust or a layer of spruce branches.
The flowerbed turns out to be very beautiful if you plant varieties of white tulips next to Black Parrot. There should not be more than 40 bulbs per square meter.
Plant care
Black Parrot is recommended to be watered regularly during dry seasons. The land where this plant grows needs to be loosened, fed and weeded to remove weeds.
Watering and fertilizing
During dry seasons, it is recommended to water tulips. Watering is carried out once a week. For an area of 1 square meter you need 6 liters of settled soft water.
During the autumn planting of bulbs, the ground itself is pre-fertilized with organic matter, potassium and phosphorus substances. In early spring, tulips are fed with nitrogen (ammonium nitrate, ammonium nitrate), phosphorus (superphosphate) and potassium (potassium sulfate). At the moment of planting buds, the roots of the plant are fertilized again. To feed flowers, you buy complex fertilizers in the store (Kemira, Universal 2, Azofoska). After fertilizing, tulips are watered generously.
Wintering
In winter, plants are covered with a thick layer of mulch. The soil is mulched with hay, peat, sawdust, straw, dry leaves, spruce branches. When the snow melts and the air temperature warms up to 10 degrees Celsius, the mulch is removed from the ground. The plant must be allowed to germinate.
Possible diseases and pests. Tulip protection
Black Parrot is susceptible to various diseases (fungal, viral, non-infectious). Diseased plants are removed from the flowerbed so that they do not infect healthy flowers. To protect tulips from diseases, preventive measures are taken. Before planting or after being removed from the ground, the bulbs must be soaked for 60 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate or treated with fungicides (Fundazol).
Diseases and control methods:
- Viral (August disease).
Affects the bulb, stem and flowers. Brown spots appear on the plant. Diseased tulips are removed from the garden bed and destroyed. The remaining ones are treated with disinfectant solutions (potassium permanganate, soda solution).
- Fungal (fusarium, gray rot).
The disease affects the bulbs. They begin to rot and dark spots appear on them. A tulip affected by the disease grows poorly and has small flowers. Diseased plants are removed. The rest are sprayed with a solution with the addition of Euparen or Bordeaux mixture.
- Non-infectious (“calcification”, tumors or bluing of bulbs, drooping flowers, blind buds).
Each type of disease has its own causes. For example, drooping flowers occur when there is a lack of calcium in the soil. The disease can occur if the bulb is dug up too early, and it does not have time to ripen and accumulate nutrients. To prevent disease, you must first select high-quality planting material. It is recommended to fertilize the soil on time.
Pests of tulips can be slugs, snails, aphids, mole crickets, nematodes, and onion root mites. Insecticides are used to control insects. The soil is regularly dug up, loosened, and pests are removed from it.
Ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate is added to the root. These fertilizers nourish plants, but create unfavorable conditions for insects to breed.
