Content
Tulips can be found in almost all summer cottages and city flower beds. Their bright shades will not leave anyone indifferent. Growers seeking new species in their collection exchange bulbs and share their care secrets. Reproduction of tulips is not as complicated as it seems. If desired, even beginner growers can cope with it.
Features of the propagation of tulips
There are two options for propagating a culture: seed and bulbous.
To propagate tulips at home, it is recommended to use daughter bulbs, which are separated and planted as independent seedlings.
The seed method is not used at home. It is used by breeders to obtain new varieties.
How does the tulip reproduce?
The tulip is a bulbous culture, so it is easiest to propagate with daughter children. You can also use seeds, but in this case you will have to wait a very long time for flowering.
The diameter of the babies can be different, the largest ones are able to bloom for the next season.
The seeds ripen in a capsule around the end of August and can also be harvested to multiply the crop.
How to propagate tulips
At home, it is best to use the baby breeding method. This method is effective and provides a guarantee of obtaining a seedling with all the qualities of the mother plant.
How to propagate a tulip with children
Planting of children is carried out in the autumn. It is believed that this is how the seedlings acclimatize, and in the spring they will not only sprout, but also bloom. Wintering in natural conditions hardens the culture, the seedlings are more viable and powerful.
If the time for planting was missed in the fall, you can propagate the culture with children in the spring.
Young tulips most often do not have time to form inflorescences, so in the first year they please only with lush foliage.
You can prepare the bulbs for spring planting as follows: place them in the refrigerator for several days, then treat with a solution of potassium permanganate, and only after that start the procedure.
The mother's tulip bulb every year forms a daughter with several children, while she herself dies off. The replacement bulb can be of the same size as the mother, and sometimes it is larger than it.
The tulip planting site should be sunny and sheltered from the wind. The culture prefers sandy loam soil, therefore, when propagating tulips, it is necessary to provide for the introduction of wood ash. Overripe manure is considered not the best fertilizer for bulbous crops, since it contributes to the development of fungal diseases.
Algorithm for the propagation of tulips by children:
- The preparation of planting material affects germination. For autumn work, preparatory activities begin at the end of July. To do this, the bulbs are dug up and the daughter specimens are separated. They are dried and stored at room temperature (20 ° C) for one month. Then the temperature in the storage is reduced to 12 ° C and the material is kept until planting.
- Large specimens are buried in the hole to a depth of 15 cm, and small ones - up to 10 cm.
- Watered with warm manganese solution.
- Fall asleep with earth.
How to propagate tulips by seeds
Seed propagation of tulips is suitable for obtaining new varieties.At home, this method is rarely used, since the process is long and takes from 5 to 7 years to the first flowering.
The seed material ripens at the end of summer, but in order not to delay the digging, the seed boxes can be cut off at the beginning of August. They are left in the room for ripening.
Seeds are sown in open ground in the fall
In the spring, the first shoots should appear in the form of loops, resembling shoots of green onions. The seedlings of the first year have only one tubular leaf, which dies off at the beginning of summer (about mid-June). The formed bulb has miniature dimensions, its diameter does not exceed 0.4 cm.
After wintering, a flat leaf germinates, and two roots are also formed. By the end of summer, the bulb dies off, leaving behind a replacement. The diameter of the baby is already about 1.2 cm. Bulbs of two years of age begin to reproduce, forming 1-2 babies. They are located deep underground (15-20 cm), so there is no need to dig them up. At the age of three, their diameter is about 2.5 cm. They form 2-3 babies, which also sink into the ground. After 2-3 years, they are dug up and stored throughout August in a dry room, then in early September they are planted in the ground. At the age of 5-6 years, you can get the first flowers.
Rules for caring for tulips after breeding
After breeding, tulips need care.
Regular watering is important during bud formation and during flowering
For 1 m² of flower beds, you will need about 20 liters of water. You need to water the soil, avoiding the ingress of liquid on the foliage, otherwise you can provoke the appearance of burns.
The soil must be weeded and loosened even after the tulips have faded. This is easiest to do after watering when the ground is soft.
To prevent the appearance of weeds on the flower bed, you can mulch the soil. Hay, sawdust, shavings are used as mulch.
After flowering, dried flowers must be removed. Watering continues for another 10-14 days. At this time, the roots accumulate nutrients, so they can be additionally fed with phosphorus-potassium compounds.
Yellowing of the leaves indicates that the bulbs are ripe and can be dug out.
Conclusion
Reproduction of tulips by children is the most effective and fastest method. Observing simple rules, you can quickly increase the number of flowering specimens on the site. Seed propagation at home is practically not used. This method is used by breeders to develop new varieties.
