Where and how to save tulip bulbs until spring

Tulips are usually planted in the ground in late autumn, but it happens that for some reason this could not be done. In this case, it is necessary to decide where and how to preserve the tulip bulbs until spring, so as not to leave the garden without these beautiful flowers. Saving planting material, and so that the bulbs threw flower arrows is not a simple matter, having a number of subtleties. But subject to these features - not very troublesome.

Features of growing tulips

To admire the magnificent flowers of tulips every year, after flowering the bulbs, you need to dig, sort and pickle every year (or at least a year later). Otherwise, over time, they are affected by various diseases, pests are planted in the beds and plants weaken and may die. In addition, replacing onion bulbs tend to bury deeper into the ground every year and, after a few years, extracting them becomes problematic. It is noticed that if you grow tulips in the same bed for several years without digging, then their varietal properties are lost over time.

Therefore, in order to preserve these beautiful flowers in the garden, in late June and early July (when the leaves begin to fade), ripened bulbs should be dug up, sorted by size and stored until autumn. They are usually planted in late autumn before the onset of steady colds. For about three or four months, planting material must be properly stored at home.

Tulips in winter feel great on the beds. In case there is little snow, it is better to cover the plantings with tops, branches or straw.

How to store tulip planting material

It happens that in late autumn it is not possible to plant flowers in the ground - there is no way to get into the garden due to heavy rains, the snow suddenly fell or frost hit. In this case, it is necessary to decide where and how to store tulip bulbs in the winter. The main task is to create such conditions that in spring full-bloomed flowers bloom on most of the plants.

Where to store tulip bulbs

Bulbs of tulips, which are supposed to be planted in a permanent place in the fall, are stored at room temperature (optimally + 23 - +25 degrees). They are poured into prepared containers (ordinary cardboard boxes are suitable) with a layer of 3-5 cm, and stored in any shaded place.

If planting material remains in storage until spring, then starting in August, it is necessary to gradually lower the temperature to + 15 ° C, which is optimal.

Some gardeners suggest placing tulip bulbs on the lower shelves of the refrigerator. It will really work to keep them intact, but after planting in the soil only some varieties will bloom, the bulk will be limited only to green leaves.

If the house has a dry subfloor, then this is almost an ideal place to store planting material. In autumn, the temperature will gradually decrease. In winter it is cool there, but the temperature usually does not fall below +10 degrees.

It can be stored in a cool pantry or on an insulated balcony.

Some gardeners have successfully used cellars and cellars for these purposes.

How to properly prepare planting stock for storage

To preserve the bulbs until spring, they must be properly prepared and laid for the winter.

• After the bulbs have been dug up, they must be sorted by grade and size (parsing) and put in a separate container.Particular attention should be paid to large bulbs (1 and 2 parsing), it is from them that one should expect full-fledged flowers in the spring.
• Planting material should be cleaned from the ground. If the bulbs are not intended for distillation, then it is useful to wash and disinfect them, for which they should be kept for 30-40 minutes in a pink solution of potassium permanganate. This significantly improves the safety of tulips. If damaged and diseased bulbs are found, they must be thrown out immediately.
• The peeled, washed and sanitized bulbs should be scattered on drying in the shaded place. Drying in a ventilated room is preferable compared to the street, as this will protect against unforeseen precipitation. In addition, tulips "do not like" drafts.
• After a week, the well-dried planting material must be again sorted out, the remains of the stems, covering flakes and germinal small bulbs should be removed. If non-standard, damaged and diseased bulbs are found, they should be discarded.
• Leave the tulips to dry for a few more days.

This completes the preparation, you can place the bulbs in storage until spring.

Methods for storing tulip bulbs

If there is a large amount of planting material, then only fairly large bulbs are usually left for winter storage. The largest, more than 3-4 cm in size will bloom fully, the smaller ones will give small flowers or bloom in a year. Children with a diameter of less than 1 cm are usually disposed of. This is not only because they are difficult to maintain until spring. Such small bulbs can bloom only after growing for two to three seasons.

Bulbs prepared for storage should be scattered in one or two layers in prepared containers. It can be boxes or baskets. It is desirable that the container has a mesh bottom or walls to ensure good ventilation. Some gardeners store planting material, hanging it in small batches in fabric bags or old nylon tights.

It is not advisable to use cardboard boxes for these purposes, since, firstly, it is difficult to provide the necessary air circulation in them, and secondly, they will damp quickly enough and become a source of fungi and bacteria.

• The ideal storage location is special ventilated heat chambers, where the temperature is maintained automatically throughout the entire storage period. But such devices are quite expensive for home use.
• You can save most of the planting material in an ordinary apartment. It is necessary to choose a dry, cool, shaded place away from heating appliances and drafts.
• For better safety, you can sprinkle the bulbs with dry sawdust or wrap each of them in newsprint. This significantly reduces the possibility of infection of planting material from rotted or diseased specimens.
• If you have a dry cellar or basement, you can store tulips there. To do this, it is necessary to fill in the boxes with neutralized light earth (forest soil or peat mixed with vermiculite will do), into which prepared bulbs should be planted. In winter, they take root, but will not go to growth because of the low temperature. When storing planting material for storage, it is necessary to protect it from rodents. Mice and rats are very fond of eating onions.

During storage, planting material should be periodically inspected and ruthlessly removed spoiled specimens. This allows you to significantly reduce the loss of bulbs.

The need for preserving tulip planting material can arise for almost any flower lover. With a little effort and observing simple rules, it is quite possible to keep the bulbs until spring at home. The efforts will pay off with a rich harvest of beautiful flowers.