The tulip is a beautiful flower that is grown in large quantities throughout the globe. It was brought from Central Asia to Europe in the 16th century, and to Russia under Peter 1 in the 18th century. Today tulips can be found in almost every summer cottage, but not all gardeners know how to properly grow tulips at home in order to start their own business..
Interesting article: When to dig and plant tulips
How to start growing tulips
Subject to the cultivation technology, you can grow a good yield of tulips, for example, an average of 200-300 pieces per square meter is obtained. Tulip is a popular flower mainly in spring, therefore it becomes one of the most popular business ideas..
For tulips, it is best to use a polycarbonate greenhouse. Moreover, there is no shortage of greenhouses on the market. As a material, polycarbonate has established itself for a long time, firstly, it evenly supplies heat to plants, and secondly, it shelters from any bad weather and does not need to be changed every season, for example, like polyethylene.
Everyone knows that the quality of the crop in general depends on the planting material, so you need to buy good tulip bulbs or, if you want, grow them yourself. To do this, a flower is cut from tulips after the second day of its flowering. You cannot touch a flower that has not bloomed, otherwise the growth of the leaf and the enrichment of organic matter in the bulb will stop.
The roots are taken out of the ground in summer, when the leaves wilt and turn yellow. The bulbs, in turn, will turn brown, flattened ones will not fit seedlings, choose only round ones, they will produce a high-quality harvest.
The material for planting must be selected at least 3.5 cm, and preferably 4 cm. When the forcing of tulips begins, it is advisable to peel the planting material, so you can see the affected bulbs, in addition, the “seeds” will absorb more nutrients.
How to store tulip bulbs in winter
During storage in "tulip roots" the substances necessary for the correct development are already being born, therefore this process is one of the most important. When the selection of seeds is complete, we put them in ventilated boxes and take them to another room, maintaining there + 17 + 20 degrees and a humidity of 70%, in such conditions the process of bulb development is beneficial and a good flower will turn out from them. If the temperature is below +12 and above +26, then the flower will develop poorly and it will not be of high quality.
When to plant tulips
So that the planting material is not damaged by rot or disease, you need to treat tulip bulbs when growing at home with a dark solution of manganese or celandine grass, there is an easier option to dip them in hot water + 40%.
Now let’s decide on the timing of disembarkation: it is considered optimal from August to November. It all comes down to when you need a finished plant. If by the new year, then in August, if distilling is done at the end of October, tulips will begin to bloom at the end of January, for the March holidays we plant bulbs in November. This is the latest distillation. It is important to consider in which greenhouse you will be growing tulips..
Planting material is planted in any convenient container: pots, boxes. It is important to know that we add peat, sand, sawdust to the substrate, but manure and earth from the greenhouse cannot be brought in. The substrate from the last time will also not work, because it already contains various harmful bacteria..
We pour about 10 cm of soil into the container for planting, there should be a distance of 1.5 cm between the tulip bulbs.The planting depth is 3-4 cm. Sprinkle with earth on top, then water and take to an unlit shelter for cooling. In order for the bulbs to grow well, develop and begin one hundred percent, the temperature should be as follows: 7-9 degrees Celsius, and the plantings are cooled within four months. Until the sprout hatches, you need to thoroughly moisten the entire greenhouse from floors to walls, and the substrate a couple of times a week. To make the stem stronger, you need to fertilize with a 0.2% solution of nitrate.
How to care for tulip sprouts
It is worth transferring the planting of tulips to the greenhouse 21 days before the time of flowering. In theory, they should grow up to 9-10 cm.If you need to accelerate the growth of a flower, you can cover the boxes with plantings with a dark film until the sprout grows to the desired height.
After 2 or 3 days, the sprouts will turn green, the temperature should be +12 – +14 degrees. On the fourth day, we increase it to + 17– + 18 degrees. Do not forget to constantly water with warm water, as well as fertilize, loosen and weed.
When 2-3 weeks have passed, the tulips will begin to bloom, if you do not have time for the timing and you need to speed up the process, irrigate in the morning and evening with warm water or, on the contrary, you need to slow down growth, then reduce the temperature by 2-3 degrees so that the flowers bloom for a longer time, do not hold the temperature more + 12 in the greenhouse.
How to cut tulips correctly
When the bud starts to take on a particular color, you might consider cutting the flowers. After that, we put them in water +1 – +4 degrees, so they will stand for about 7 days. If you need to store more in terms of time, then we install them in boxes and store them in the refrigerator at a temperature of +1, so the flowers will stand up to 4 hours of weeks.
After the flowers have been cut, they should be watered less. When they turn completely yellow, the bulbs are pulled, dried and taken to where they will be stored. Such material is suitable for growing in a personal plot, but not for early forcing..
Growing tulips at home – a simple process that even novice farmers can do. If you follow all the rules for caring for planting material with your own hands, you can get beautiful flowers that delight others.