If you are the owner of a plot with tulips, or are just going to plant these beautiful flowers in your garden or in the country, you will need information related to the rules for storing bulbs at home. It is also important to consider measures such as the processing of planting material and its sorting. There are useful actions that are carried out immediately after digging the bulbs and when the time comes to plant them. All this is described in this article.
How to store tulip bulbs in winter
The first thing you need to focus on is the intended time for planting tulips. You can plant them at the onset of spring, or in early autumn (in September). The second option promotes early germination and flowering. But there is a danger that the autumn planting material will undergo severe frosts and die.
For good preservation, various wintering methods are used, the main meaning of which is that the winter savings of underground shoots should be ventilated, and the bulbs themselves must remain dry. Therefore, various boxes with slots, boxes and other similar containers are used. Bulbs can be individually wrapped in newspapers.
Important! It is convenient to store planting material in egg cassettes from pressed paper.
Bulbs should be checked periodically if rotten or damaged ones are found - they are thrown away. AND in the refrigerator, tulip planting material is stored at + 5 ° C on a separate shelf. It also needs to be inspected periodically, and stored as far as possible from fruits and vegetables.
There is such a way - wintering in peat boxes. The bottom of the container should be lined with perforated polyethylene, covered with a layer of peat (10 cm high). Then place the bulbs, and sprinkle in the same way. Cover the box, put it in storage. At the same time, it is equally important to conduct an inspection of planting material.
Digging
When gardeners are digging bulbs, they are particularly careful - it is important not to damage the underground part of the tulips, because the affected areas can undergo various diseases. They are sorted, cleaned of the earth, washed and disinfected. For disinfection, it is customary to use a weak (pink) potassium permanganate solution, in which underground shoots should be kept for about 40 minutes.
Did you know? Tulips got their name due to the shape of the flower: “toliban” in Persian means “turban”, “turban”.
Further actions - drying and additional inspection. Drying is best in a ventilated area (in which there are no drafts) for 7 days.
When re-inspection carried out:
- removal of the remains of stems and germs;
- rejection of damaged material.
Further it is possible to leave the specimens selected for preservation to be dried.
Video: How to dig and store tulips
Sort after processing
Sorting after digging is to divide the planting material like this:
- to size - large bulbs should be stored separately from small ones;
- by grades - they can be signed, marked, which is convenient when planting to form a flowerbed pattern.
And after sorting, you should pay attention to such points:
- the presence of hiding scales and the remains of stems;
- non-standard forms;
- damage;
- illnesses.
All excess is removed, only a whole and healthy planting material is left, which must be preserved. It is large quality specimens that will bloom and delight the gardener well.
Storage conditions
The optimal conditions for storing tulips are:
- temperature not higher than + 15 ° С, which should be reduced gradually;
- proper sorting;
- putting in storage in one layer;
- humidity not higher than 70%;
- lack of light;
- airing the wintering place;
- pouring with sawdust, using newspapers, paper;
- periodic inspection.
Did you know? According to one Uzbek legend, a blue tulip grows in an unknown place in the mountains, and whoever finds it will be happy all his life.
If storage conditions are not observed, the following problems may occur:
- Rot or mold in high humidity. Rotten specimens are thrown away, the mold is wiped with a dry soft cloth. If such complications are identified, treatment is required (a solution of "Fundazole" or potassium permanganate) and drying for further savings.
- Germination at elevated temperature. The gardener can not despair and just plant the sprouted tulips at home in boxes. As a result, flowers will begin to appear and bloom ahead of schedule.
- Drying with low humidity. Dry bulbs, of course, cannot be saved.
How to prepare bulbs for spring planting
Preserved tulips for the winter before planting should be prepared for this process. Why is a series of simple actions performed:
- cleansing from a dense peel;
- inspection (detection of damage);
- soaking before boarding.
Important! Bulbs bought in the store can be hardened before planting - put in the refrigerator for the night.
The first event helps to inspect and contribute to better nutrition of the bulb during growth. The second is to cull unsuitable planting material. The third is very important: a solution of potassium permanganate (such as during autumn processing) is used for its implementation. Soak the shoots immediately before planting for half an hour.
Quite simple gathering, sorting and drying of tulips are very useful. Further storage is also not difficult - it is necessary to observe the temperature regime, humidity indicator of the place of conservation of planting material and the basic rules necessary for preserving bulbs in winter. When all the simple requirements for wintering tulips are met, gardeners as a result of their actions get an excellent result - beautiful onion plantings in the garden.
