Potted tulips: how to plant? Video
Growing tulips in pots at home is a great way to delight yourself with fresh flowers during the cold season. Such flowers bloom long before the onset of spring and continue to delight women during the celebration of March 8.
– 15 tulip bulbs, in stores they usually sell 5 pieces per pack; – flower pots are large enough (18-20 bulbs will fit in a pot with a diameter of 3–4 cm); – sand, expanded clay or other drainage (it is sold in any flower shop); – flower soil, its amount is calculated from the volume of the pots; – gloves and a landing scoop.
It is important to choose the right bulbs. Here it is not so much about the variety and color of the chosen tulips – there are a lot of them, and you should not have any problems with the choice. When buying bulbs from the supermarket, be sure to make sure that they are not infected with mold or other obvious damage.
One diseased bulb in a package can ruin all the others, and as a result, none of them will grow into a beautiful flower.
Between plantings, the bulbs should be stored at a temperature of 3-5 degrees, the best place for this is on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator. If someone you know has shared with you their bulbs from the garden, clean them of the soil and dry them on the newspaper. Then separate the “baby bulbs” from the large bulbs (they grew during the time the tulips were in the ground) and also put them in the refrigerator. In September-October, and in rare cases at the end of November, when the bulbs are sufficiently “rested”, it is time for forcing.
Growing tulips: an algorithm of action
Remove the husks from the bulbs, put them in a jar, fill them with cold tap water and leave them in the water for a day. The next day, take flower pots, fill the bottom of each drain with a thickness of 1–2 cm. Pour soil on top of the drain so that it does not reach the edge of the pot a little. Then plant the bulbs in the pot to a depth of 5 cm, while the distance in the pot between the bulbs should be about 3 cm, otherwise they will be cramped. Sprinkle soil and drainage over the bulbs, then place the pots in a cool, dark place.
It is very important that during cultivation the flowers are not in direct sunlight – tulips love coolness. Good forcing spots are under the table, on a shelf in the far corner of the room, or on a windowsill on the north side of the house. At the same time, the room can be safely ventilated – cool air is only good for the bulbs. Future tulips should be watered once a week at the rate of one incomplete cup of water per three-liter pot.
Remember that the drainage takes in all the water, and then gradually gives it to the bulbs. Watering flowers too often is always worse than watering them seldom.
The first sprouts of tulips should appear shortly after the onset of the new year, in mid-January. As soon as they start to grow rapidly, you can rearrange the tulip pots on the window. They will delight you with their first flowers in late February – early March. Do not worry if the flowers do not grow from all the bulbs – this happens quite often.