Planting tulips in the Urals: timing and features. When and how to plant tulips in the Urals?

Tulips in the landscape design of the site

We’ll talk about how such a procedure as growing tulips in the Urals is carried out a little later. First, let's look at the role these wonderful flowers can play in the landscape design of a suburban area. Most often, tulips are grown in a separate flower bed. In some cases, only a certain variety is planted in one place. Sometimes they arrange more diverse lawns from several varieties. Tulips also do well in tubs. If desired, they can, for example, decorate a terrace, veranda or gazebo. Sometimes unpretentious varieties are planted along with other lilies on alpine hills. Tulips also look very beautiful in prefabricated flower beds in combination with other garden flowers.

Preparing the flowerbed

Planting tulips in the Urals, just like in any other region, should only be done in a prepared flower bed. On poor soils, fertilizers are first applied to these flowers. Most often, ordinary compost is used (a bucket per square meter). You can also sprinkle some phosphate fertilizer on the ground. Nitrogen should not be used.

After the fertilizers are scattered, they are leveled with a rake and the soil is dug to a depth of at least 35 cm. Its surface must be carefully leveled. If this is not done, water will accumulate in the recesses in the spring and the bulbs will dry out.

Selecting a location

Tulips require a sunny place without the risk of flooding by groundwater and loose, light soil. The flowerbed should be protected from strong winds and drafts, but not be completely unventilated. Air stillness can provoke fungal diseases.

Attention! Provide good soil drainage for tulips.

If water accumulates in winter, the bulbs may freeze or become diseased. If it is impossible to find such a site, flowers are planted on high ridges.

Timing for planting tulips in the Urals

A bed or flower bed for tulips needs to be prepared a couple of months before planting. For the Urals this is approximately the end of June or the beginning of August. Before the onset of cold weather, the bulbs should grow a fairly developed root system. If you plant them too late, this won't happen. Next year the tulips will sprout, but not as strong as they should be. It will also be impossible to get very beautiful flowers. If planting is done too early, the tulips will germinate and freeze when cold weather sets in. Therefore, you need to be extremely careful with deadlines. A fairly simple way to determine the timeliness of planting can be to measure the soil temperature at a depth of 20-30 cm. Work begins as soon as it drops to 10 degrees.

Thus, the timing of planting tulips in the Urals is approximately the second ten days of September for the Middle, and the first ten days of October for the Southern.

How to plant a flower correctly

The bulbs are planted in furrows that must be dug up to 15 cm deep. When planting plants, it is necessary to maintain a certain distance from each other, namely 20–30 cm.

A distance of 10 cm is maintained between the furrows. If the soil is heavy, then there is no need to place the bulbs deeply; it is enough to bury them 10–12 cm into the soil, bottom down. There is no need to press the bulbs into the ground, otherwise you risk damaging the root system.

What is needed for planting

Before planting flowers, you need to decide on the varietal material and the geometry of the landscape composition.

The gardener will also need special equipment, namely:

Shovel. In order to dig up the soil, rid it of weed roots and apply fertilizing, you will need a bayonet shovel. It will also be needed to dig up the bulbs at the end of the flowering season. For working with flowers, a shovel with a scoop length of 30 to 45 cm is best suited.
A rake is needed to break up clods of soil before planting flowers and to bring the soil surface into the proper condition for planting tulips. The tool allows you to level and fluff the soil. You can replace the rake with a hand cultivator.
A hoe used to mark even furrows. Typically, the length of the cutting surface of such a tool is 25–35 cm. It is enough to penetrate deep enough into the soil. The sharp edge of the hoe is also necessary in order to rid the flower crop of weeds as it grows.

Important! If the soil is not moist enough, then experienced gardeners pour a small layer of sand at the bottom of the furrow and water it with water.

To plant bulbs in confined areas where a large number of plants are intertwined, gardeners use a special bulb planter. It is suitable for working in both “tight” and large flower beds.

Site selection and soil preparation

To plant flower bulbs, you need to take the choice of location seriously. It should be light and sunny. Tulips love loose, nutritious and light soil, which contains a lot of humus. If the soil in the area proposed for planting is heavy, it can be “lightened” with peat or compost.

It is important to avoid low-lying areas where water is close to each other. This threatens the planting material getting wet, rotting, and in extreme cold, freezing. Did you know? The closest biological “relatives” of tulips are asparagus and garlic.

Did you know? The closest biological “relatives” of tulips are asparagus and garlic.

Soil for tulips is desirable with a neutral pH level - 7.0–7.5. A month before planting the crop, the soil on the site must be dug 30 cm deep. You cannot fertilize the area reserved for tulips in the year the bulbs are planted. It is best to apply fertilizer “under the predecessor”.

It is recommended to cover 1 m² of planting area with a mixture of the following components:

humus - 2 buckets;
ash - 0.5 l;
sawdust - ½ bucket.

Bulb processing

Before placing the bulb in the ground, it must be inspected for defects and damage. If at least one specimen is affected by the disease, then there is a high probability of infection for the rest. Diseased and rotten parts must be removed with a sharp instrument. 1–2 hours before planting, the seed material should be dipped in a solution of potassium permanganate (0.5%).

Landing

Planting is done immediately after soaking the bulbs, which must be placed in the furrows, sprinkled with ash and sand.

Important! You cannot apply fresh manure under tulips. This can cause plant diseases.

The next layer is from the soil

It is important to remember that tulips are not returned to their original place earlier than after 5 years. At the first frost, the flower planting area must be mulched

Peat is perfect for these purposes (layer up to 5 cm). Mulch will maintain optimal soil temperature and prevent planting material from freezing. When warming occurs, there is no need to remove peat; it will help retain moisture at the roots

The next layer is from the soil

It is important to remember that tulips are not returned to their original place earlier than after 5 years. At the first frost, the flower planting area must be mulched. Peat is perfect for these purposes (layer up to 5 cm)

Mulch will maintain optimal soil temperature and prevent planting material from freezing. When warming occurs, there is no need to remove peat; it will help retain moisture at the roots

Sorting of planting material

Before planting, the bulbs must be carefully sorted. Large ones should be planted in the middle of the flower bed. Small ones - around the edges. This is necessary so that taller plants do not shade shorter ones. In addition, the bulbs need to be sorted by variety. In this case, the flower beds will look more beautiful. Bulbs that have any damage or stains should not be planted. If they are sick, the entire garden bed will subsequently become infected. Before planting, the bulbs should be soaked for half an hour in a dark solution of potassium permanganate. This will rid the plants of many pests.

How to plant bulbs correctly

There are different opinions about removing dry peels. Some gardeners believe that it must be removed. Another opinion says that it should be removed only if there is a suspicion of disease. For the purpose of visual inspection.

Before planting, the bulbs need to be etched with a half percent solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour to two hours. It is necessary to plant immediately, as the bulbs absorb water well when they begin to germinate. If there is a delay in planting, you can accidentally break off the roots that have already appeared.

Simultaneously with planting flowers, complex mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil. Nowadays special fertilizers for bulbous plants are already sold.

If the soil is dry, the grooves for planting tulips are well watered and fertilizer for bulbous plants is sprinkled on the bottom (if nothing was added during digging). Then pour sand in a layer of two to three centimeters and lay out the bulbs.

Important! Do not press the bulbs. Bent roots can be damaged.

The place for planting tulips must be changed annually. Tulips can be planted in the same place every four years. Not more often.

The first method of planting tulips

Planting tulips in the Urals in the fall, as in any other region, is most often done in holes. First, the bed is dug up again. The depth of the holes should be equal to two diameters of the bulbs on heavy soils, and three on light soils. The distance between plants depends on the design project of the site. Most often, tulips are planted in rows at a distance of 10 cm from each other. In this case, the plants will develop normally, and the flowerbed will turn out quite dense and beautiful. The distance between rows is usually 25 cm.

Alternative landing methods

So, autumn planting of tulips can be done in grooves, in rows, or in other, more interesting, ways suggested below.

Tiered principle

Planting tulips using the tiered method involves planting the bulbs, depending on their size, at different depths. The onions are planted not in rows, but on top of each other.

The largest tulip heads are placed at a depth of about 15 centimeters. Above them, using a checkerboard pattern, medium-sized specimens of the described flowers are planted. In the very top layer of the earth there are small onions.

For the beauty of the flower bed and variety, with such a planting, one of the tiers of tulips can be replaced with other bulbous flowers - lilies, hyacinths, daffodils.

Using containers

Another way to grow tulips involves using plastic containers.

A so-called basket-container with planting material already placed inside is literally dug into the ground. This planting better protects the flowers from all kinds of diseases and invasions by pests.

And such plastic containers do not have to be immersed in the ground; they, with flowers already planted inside, can be placed anywhere, even throughout the entire plot.

Creating a beautiful flower bed

The following planting method allows you to get a very beautiful flower bed. To do this, the soil from the planting site is completely removed to a depth of two bulb diameters. The bottom of the resulting pit is carefully leveled. Next, bulbs of different varieties are laid out on it, following the chosen pattern. At the end of this work, the resulting flowerbed is covered with earth. Growing tulips in the Urals in a similar way is also quite acceptable. The most important thing is to choose the right varieties. We'll talk about which ones a little later. Now we will continue to understand the landing methods.

How to prepare tulips for winter

This is how tulips are planted in the Urals in the fall. After planting using any of the methods described above, the flower bed with bulbs needs to be watered. Winters in the Urals are quite snowy. However, frosts are often severe. Therefore, the soil in the planted flowerbed will need to be mulched. To do this, use leaves, spruce branches or straw. Remove the mulch immediately after the snow melts. If desired, you can feed the tulips a little before covering them. To do this, the bed is watered with ammonium nitrate in an amount of 20 g per square meter.

The best varieties of tulips for growing in the Urals

Planting tulips for the winter in the Urals is a procedure that has its own characteristics. It is believed that the climate in this region is a little harsh for them. However, in nature, these flowers grow in a harsh continental climate. Therefore, with proper care in the Urals, you can grow almost any not too demanding variety of tulips. A very good solution would be, for example, to grow one of the oldest and most famous varieties - the classic “Apeldoorn”. Pink varieties “Don Quixote” or “Lustige Vitve” will also feel great in the Urals. You can often see yellow tulips of the Kis Nelis variety in the flowerbeds of Ural summer residents. Of course, the choice of these particular varieties is nothing more than a recommendation. In the Urals it is quite possible to try to grow more demanding tulips. For example, peony-shaped. Although lilies in this region do not bloom as profusely as in areas with milder conditions, they do not fade longer. The thing is that in the Urals the weather is quite cool in spring.

When to plant tulips in autumn

A tulip planted from seed grows for several years, but the bulbs are replaced annually. After laying young bulbs, the old ones die off. In the summer, during the dormant period, the embryo of the future flower is laid in the bulb. In autumn, the bulb gives roots and completes the preparation of the shoot for the spring growing season. This is why it is so important for gardeners to know when to plant tulips in the fall. If there is an error, the tulip collection will be lost.

Originating as a species in the mountains of Iran, Pamir-Altai and Tien Shan, over millions of years of evolution, the tulip managed to spread from Central Asia to the western coast of the Mediterranean, to Transbaikalia in the east and to the Sinai Peninsula in the south, even capturing the southern regions of Russia. Coming from arid areas with a sharply continental climate, it is perfectly adapted to lack of water in summer, cold in winter and short, wet spring.

How to prepare planting material in summer

Planting tulips in the Urals will be successful only if high-quality seed is used. The bulbs of these flowers are dug out of the ground at a time when the leaves on them have already turned yellow, but do not lie on the ground. In the Urals, this moment occurs around the end of June. The dug up onions need to be dried a little and stored in the attic. By autumn they will be ready for planting. Experienced gardeners advise replanting only varietal tulips annually. It is recommended to move them to another flowerbed. In this case, they will bloom more abundantly. Bulbs of ordinary unpretentious tulips can be dug up and moved to another place once every five years.

Storing tulip bulbs

When the tulips fade, it is recommended to dig up the bulbs. Place them in a box in a single layer. Leave the container in the fresh air, but away from sunlight.
When the bulbs are dry, remove soil and dry leaves from them. Treat the planting material in a weak manganese solution. This will protect it from diseases and pests.
The bulbs should be stored in a box until autumn. The room must be dry and well ventilated. The optimal temperature for storage is from +22°C to +25°C. At the beginning of August, the room temperature should be lowered to +20°C, and at the end - to +15°C.

It is better to store them in a box

Watering and loosening

You now know when to plant tulips in the Urals. Now let's figure out how to properly water these flowers and when to loosen the soil under them. Since the climate in this region is quite dry, it is worth moistening the soil under tulips at least once a week after hot weather sets in. But this is only if it doesn't rain. It is imperative to water the flowers during the budding period, as well as two weeks after flowering.

Of course, the beds need to be weeded regularly. A flowerbed overgrown with weeds will look untidy and ugly. In addition, weeds take away nutrients from tulips, causing them to bloom worse. Simultaneously with weeding, it is worth loosening the soil.

Thus, we have figured out when tulips are planted in the Urals. Care for these flowers correctly and you will get a simply gorgeous decoration for your yard or garden.

Caring for tulips after planting in the ground

Once the sprouts appear, further care consists of loosening the soil and regular irrigation throughout the entire period of intensive growth. Tulips respond well to moderate watering. The water should be warm (20°C), not chlorinated. It is worth watering frequently (once every 7-10 days), preventing the soil from drying out. Water consumption is 6-10 liters per 1 m².

To ensure access of oxygen to the roots, after each watering you need to carefully loosen the soil around the plant.

Feeding flowers

During the active growing season, especially at its beginning, it is necessary to apply fertilizers.

This should be done as follows:

When sprouts appear from the ground, nitrogen fertilizers are used in dry form to grow green mass, adding them to the soil around the plant to a depth of 8-10 cm.
When the seedlings grow 2 leaves, liquid mineral supplements are used.
To form buds, the plant consumes a lot of potassium and phosphorus, which also need to be added during watering.
In the period between the opening of the buds and the end of flowering, the last liquid fertilizing is carried out, using fertilizers with a mineral composition.