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I want to decorate my cottage at any time of the year, especially in spring. When nature begins to come to life, the site should also be cozy and beautiful. Long before common garden flowers begin to bloom, overwintering perennials appear above the ground. A beautiful flower bed can be created not only for the season. Of course, it’s also nice to experiment with a new design every year. But in some places, plants that grow in one place for several years help out – perennials.
Their advantages are hard to ignore:
- the ability to create a composition that blooms all season;
- the aerial part of perennials after winter is reborn without a transplant;
- there is no need to prepare plants for wintering or dig out for storage;
- frost resistance;
- unpretentiousness and undemanding to care.
All these advantages indicate that the cultivation of perennials is a profitable undertaking.
But then they need to be transplanted. The reasons are soil depletion and the multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms that can cause diseases or slow down the growth of perennials. Bulbous perennials should be singled out as a separate group. These are flowers in which the underground part is a bulb. It contains the nutrients that the plant needs for growth and development. However, not all bulbous perennials survive the winter outdoors. Some varieties require moving for the winter to more favorable conditions.
Our article is devoted to bulbous perennials that tolerate wintering well in the open field.
Frost-resistant bulbous flowers on the site
Among the most common bulbous flowers that endure winter cold, we note:
Crocuses
Very popular hybrids of the Dutch selection, brightly decorating the site in early spring.
Crocuses wintering in the open field attract attention not only with beautiful shades, but also with large flowers up to 5 cm in diameter. For planting choose healthy and large bulbs. They produce up to 6 large bright flowers. If corms up to 10 cm in diameter are selected, then they are able to expel 4 buds, less than 9 cm – 3 full-fledged flowers. Varietal crocuses give powerful growth (over 20 cm) and large flowers.
Crocuses – perennials wintering in the open field, require transplantation after 4 years of cultivation in one place. By this time, the bulbs grow, forming small baby bulbs. This is the seed material for planting crocuses.
It is also necessary to transplant an adult bulb to give it the opportunity to grow further. After digging in June, the bulbs are stored until the end of September.
The bulbs get used to it gradually. First, they are dried in the air for a week, then in the basement without sunlight at a temperature of +20º. After a couple of weeks, you can move to the refrigerator. It is important to create the right conditions for the tubers to overwinter. During this period, the bulbs in the ground take root and form a flower bud. Crocuses are frost-resistant perennials, so the planting site can only be covered with branches so that very severe frosts do not damage the plants. The second danger for crocuses in the winter-spring period is rodents and birds.
In the spring, the bed is freed from debris and insulating branches. It is possible to loosen the earth only after sprouts appear, so as not to damage the corms. How to help crocuses wintering in the open field to be healthy:
- avoid places where winter snow accumulates for planting;
- prepare the soil before planting;
- feed plants;
- dig in summer to prepare for winter.
If in the spring you don’t notice crocus sprouts at the landing site, don’t disturb them. They can successfully ascend next spring.
bulbous irises
A wonderful group of perennials wintering outdoors. Undemanding to growing conditions, but very beautiful spring flowers. In order for them to please you for more than one year, you will have to complete some points when growing irises.
They do not like waterlogging of the soil, lack of minerals, constant shade. An artificial or natural slope will help to protect against excess moisture, on which it is good to plant bulbous irises. It is necessary to ensure that there is no stagnation of rainwater or melted snow. In this case, a drainage system is indispensable. Plants love calcareous soil and sunlight.
When digging a future bed, lime or chalk is added. A year before planting – humus, fertilizer.
Hybrids tolerate 5 years of aging well. Irises are planted in a new place of residence in late September – early October. In some cases, you can do without digging. To do this, after the plants wither, the flower bed is covered with a film until the beginning of October. Early varieties bloom in May, although greenery adorns the flower bed from early spring.
Tulips
Not all species belong to the category of frost-resistant. It is necessary to choose exactly those varieties that tolerate cold winters well. A variety of varieties of tulips wintering in the open field can amaze the imagination of any summer resident. Caring for them is easy. Bulbs are dug up after withering and drying of the aerial part. Dry in the shade for 3 to 5 days, then store in the basement until planting time. This happens when the soil temperature reaches +9º. Tulips wintering in the open ground are planted in a calm place.
The main thing is that before that other types of tulips do not grow on it for 3 years.
Lilies
Another bulbous perennials wintering in the open field. They grow well in one place for several years. Lilies often try not to transplant. This procedure significantly reduces the intensity of plant development, so you need to carefully consider the landing site. They make a great garden display when grown in groups. Three or five outdoor lilies look much better than one. They respond well to fertilizing (mineral fertilizers). You need to feed twice. In spring, when sprouts hatch and in autumn before wintering.
Lilies wintering in the open field are wonderful “neighbors”. They develop much better when they are planted with medium or low-growing flowers. For lilies, it is very good when the lower part of the stem is in the shade, and the buds are in the sun.
Daffodils
It is necessary to carefully choose varieties of daffodils wintering in the open field. Not all varieties are cold tolerant. For planting choose a place with good lighting, but at noon the plants should be protected from the scorching sun. Another requirement is that there should not be roots of large shrubs or trees next to daffodils. Outdoor wintering daffodils do not like excessive soil moisture. It is important not to plant daffodils in the place where other bulbs were predecessors. The land in the flower bed should be fertile, so ash, mineral and organic fertilizers are applied before planting the bulbs. The main thing is not to deepen the bulbs much and measure the planting depth with the groundwater level. Optimally, in this case, 15 cm from the bottom to the soil surface.
Fritillaria (fritillaria)
Many call these perennials, wintering in the open field, imperial hazel grouse.
The bulbs are transplanted after 2-3 years, but if the flowers of the plant have become small and in smaller numbers, then do not delay the transplant. After planting the bulb, the hazel grouse will bloom the next spring. Conditions for growing hazel grouse – drained soil, sunny and dry place without large trees around. Sandy soil is best for plants.
This is very important in snowless winters. The thickness of the shelter is made up to 25 cm. The hazel grouse bulb has a garlic smell, which helps protect the plant from rodent attacks. When landing, the scales are handled very carefully so as not to damage them.
Now you can choose some outdoor wintering perennials to create a beautiful flower bed.
The nuances of agricultural technology of bulbous perennials
It cannot be said that perennials wintering in the open field are devoid of shortcomings. The main one is the possibility of freezing in snowless or cold winters without shelter. Care for them is needed even more thorough than for annual plants. But the advantages of these plants are high. You do not have to grow seedlings every year, and breeding perennials can bring sufficient replenishment to the family budget. Proper care for bulbous perennials wintering in the open field will also help this. Among the mandatory procedures should be noted:
- removal (after wilting) of the aerial parts of plants;
- root cover;
- feeding bulbous perennials;
- care when weeding ridges;
- regular watering during the dry season;
- obligatory transplantation in 3-5 years.
Withstanding these simple requirements, you can decorate your site with wonderful plants that endure winter frosts and are the very first to give beauty.
