When and how to plant tulips: basic rules and mistakes

• The most suitable period for planting tulips
• Rules for planting tulip bulbs
• Mistakes when planting tulips and how to avoid them

The most suitable period for planting tulips

Rules for planting tulip bulbs

1. Choosing a landing site. Tulips prefer a sunny place. They bloom in partial shade if the soil is sufficiently fertilized and loose.Plants do not like strong, sharp winds. If the place where you plan to have a flower bed with tulips is prone to moisture stagnation, sand or fine gravel should be poured into the bottom of the holes or furrows. It will provide natural drainage and will not allow the bulbs to rot.
2. Soil preparation. It is advisable to plant plants in a bed with light sandy loam soil. The land should be ready by the end of August. It needs to be dug up to the depth of a shovel, fertilize with humus, compost and superphosphate. Fresh manure is contraindicated as it causes fungal diseases or rotting of the bulbs. Tulips absorb nutrients in close proximity to the root system, so superphosphate can be added when planting under each bulb. It will be useful to add wood ash in the proportion of a glass per square meter. Too dense soil can be lightened by adding sand.
3. Selection of bulbs. If the planting material has not grown in your own flowerbed and you need to purchase it, it is best to do this immediately after digging it up. This is the end of July, beginning of August. After spending money on bulbs, the gardener will make sure that they are properly stored before planting in the ground. After lying for several months in a warehouse or store shelf, where the microclimate is not always appropriate, they can dry out and die.
4. The planting material must be dense, evenly colored, without visible stains or mechanical damage, and well dried. Before planting, the bulbs need to be soaked for about two hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. If there is no time for prevention, just pour this potassium permanganate into the planting holes. Large bulbs and children should be planted separately from each other. Children planted in autumn will not bloom yet next year.
5. Planting depth. Depends on the bulb and is approximately three times its size. This is approximately 10–15 centimeters for large bulbs, 5–7 for children. Bulbs can be planted either in holes or in furrows. With the second planting option, you should choose planting material of the same size for each individual groove. For tulip bulbs, it is very important to maintain the correct planting depth, and with their different sizes, the depth of the groove is almost impossible to determine.
6. Distance between bulbs when planting. Depends on the size of the bulb itself. Usually it is about 10–15 centimeters. Children can be planted more closely together. If planting is done in rows, then the distance between them is 30–35 centimeters. It is not necessary to take a tape measure with you to the garden: this distance is equal to the height of a bayonet shovel.
7. Watering. Before planting, the prepared holes or grooves must be thoroughly watered. You can water the plants after planting to help the soil better cover the bulbs. But first you need to level the ridge with a rake so that water does not accumulate in the recesses.
8. Preparing for winter. Although tulips are perennial plants, which means they are adapted to wintering, they should be covered if the winter is going to be cold. For these purposes, humus, peat, and fallen leaves are used. In addition, under such a “fur coat” the earth will not crack during temperature changes, and the temperature itself will be more even, which has a beneficial effect on plant growth.

Mistakes when planting tulips and how to avoid them

• Planting dates are too late. A plant planted late will not have time to prepare for winter and take root.It will most likely enter spring sick and will not bloom, or this will happen much later. If the tulip “delays” the beginning of flowering until June, then you may not admire the flowers. The peculiarity of this plant is that at temperatures above 25 degrees, the growing season stops and the flower stalks die.
• Incorrect planting depth. It is very important to maintain the required planting depth. If the bulb is higher than the required depth, it may not survive the winter cold. Burying deeper may result in the plant being late in the growing season in the spring.
• Planting diseased or damaged bulbs. Planting material must be in perfect condition. If tulips were not purchased, but grown and dug in your own garden, you should carefully examine each bulb. If there are doubts about its quality and health, you need to throw away such material without pity. A diseased bulb will not decorate the flower garden, but will only harm it, infecting all other planting material.