It is impossible to imagine spring without flowers blooming in the gardens with different colors of tulips. In inexperienced gardeners, after the tulips have faded, the question arises what further to do with it. Just forget until the next spring or dig right away? No, even after the end of their flowering, tulips care should be continued to form good bulbs for the next year.
Care for faded tulips occurs in the following stages:
Extra nutrition and enhanced watering
Immediately after wilting flowers, you should remove the flower stem, water the tulips should be continued for another two weeks and must be supplemented, since it is during this period that the bulbs accumulate nutrients.
How to feed tulips after flowering:
- phosphorus-potassium fertilizer with the calculation of 30-40 g per 1 m2, for example, aquarium, solution, crystalline;
- It is impossible to use fertilizers with chlorine and nitrogen.
Cutting leaves
Cut the leaves of tulips after flowering can only be when they are completely yellow. If you do this before, the bulbs will stop in development. Experienced gardeners, not to lose their location, recommend leaving a leaf with a label.
To the yellowing leaves of tulips do not spoil the look of your front garden, they can be pressed something to the ground.
Dug out bulbs
After the leaves completely dry after flowering, spend the digging of the bulbs of tulips, roughly in late June - early July. Find out whether the bulbs are ready by digging one of them carefully, the presence of formed roots and brown spots on the scales will tell about its readiness, or if the ends of the stem and leaves of the tulip can be easily wound on the finger.
The basic rules of scooping bulbs:
- better dig in a sunny day to immediately dry it;
- if in damp weather, then immediately wash with water and dry it;
- so as not to injure the roots, the shovel must be lowered into the ground deeper;
- treat with 5% solution of potassium permanganate;
- select and dispose of diseased and unbroken bulbs;
- it is better to excavate in grades, starting from the earliest.
There is no unequivocal opinion about the need to annually dig out tulips, there are recommendations to do this every two years and even after a longer period. But to keep flowers large, beautiful and resistant to disease, it is better to dig up bulbs every year.
Bulb storage
- Dug out the bulbs sorted into varieties and spread in 1-2 layers in boxes with a mesh bottom, so they do not rot.
- 3-4 weeks (in July) are dried at a temperature of 23-25 ° C with good ventilation at a humidity of up to 70%.
- Then reduce the temperature content: in August - up to 20 ° C, and in September - to 17 ° C.
In the way to store tulips after flowering, it is very important to observe this temperature regime, since it is at this time that the most important processes take place: the formation of the kidneys, the laying of leaves, the flower of the peduncle.
For the duration of storage, you should look at the bulbs, to identify the diseased and then destroy them.
Tulip transplantation
At the end of September, choosing good weather (optimal at 5-7 ° C), the remaining tulip bulbs are planted again in the soil, soaking them again in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. It is better to choose a new place for planting, since in the previous place of stay, the soil is depleted and the number of pathogenic bacteria increases. After the landing of the tulips on the prepared plot to a depth equal to five times the size of the bulb itself, they should be watered abundantly. A little later, feed up with ammonium nitrate and ash, and with the onset of colds, cover with a thin layer of peat or humus.
Observance of these stages of tulip care after flowering and transplanting it to a new place will provide you with blossoming blossom in the spring!