How to properly grow tulips in a pot at home

Most people associate tulips with spring and the 8th of March. They are among the first to bloom after winter. Tulips are often found on store shelves even out of season.

Usually for the holidays, flowers are driven out in a greenhouse in large quantities, where it is easy to create suitable conditions for the plants. However, tulips can be grown in a pot at home even without special equipment. The main thing is to know the basic nuances of agricultural technology, correctly calculate the planting dates and observe the temperature regime.

Is it possible to grow tulips in a pot at home

Although tulips are not indoor plants, they can be grown on a windowsill or balcony all year round. You will need a greenhouse to get a large number of flowers for sale, but a few pots of plants are easy to obtain at home.

It is important to properly prepare the bulbs for planting and observe the temperature regime throughout the entire cultivation.

Selection of suitable varieties

Not all varieties are suitable for growing tulips in pots. They must meet a number of requirements:

1. The size. Low or medium-sized varieties are suitable for forcing at home. Larger specimens will have little space in the landing containers.
2. Timing of ejection of flowers. Early varieties are preferred - this will allow you to get the buds as early as possible.
3. Specifications. Simple and double tulips, plants with large and small buds, one-color and multi-colored are suitable for growing on the windowsill. It is advisable to buy plants that are resistant to disease and cold.

There are many varieties suitable for forcing at home. These include:

• Epricot Beauty;
• Parade Record;
• Miles Bridge;
• Aristocrat;
• Fringed Elegance;
• Negrita;
• Confux;
• Lustig Witve;
• Christmas Marvel;
• Temple of Beauty;
• Scarborough;
• Eric Hofsue;
• Apeldoorn;
• London.

These varieties are suitable for breeding even on the window in spring, summer, winter and autumn. They meet all the specified characteristics and are unpretentious in care.

Attention! It is undesirable to choose exotic varieties with an unusual color (brown, purple, etc.). They are demanding to care for, and it will be difficult to grow x at home.

Selection of bulbs

It is important to choose not only a suitable variety, but also planting material. The quality of the bulbs will determine whether they will germinate and whether the plants will hurt. Pay attention to the following parameters:

1. The size. The ideal bulb diameter is 3-4 cm. Smaller planting material will take a long time to germinate. Children are not suitable for distillation.
2. Density. The bulbs should be firm to the touch. If, when pressed, juice is released from them, then the planting material is spoiled. Suspiciously low weight also speaks of low quality.
3. Scales. Brown, not very dark shade. Elastic to the touch. Too dense and hard shell of bulbs that have been overexposed in the ground.
4. Appearance. The bulbs should be free of stains, mold and other signs of infection. The absence of serious damage is also important. The planting material should be smooth to the touch. Select specimens of a round shape, uniform color.
5. Donets. Thick and hard to the touch. The presence of tubercles is mandatory, from which the roots appear.
6. Stem. Only a small tip should be visible from the bulb.It is important that it is free of stains, mold and damage.

They pay attention to these signs both when buying and when self-collecting planting material. In the second case, it is important to know how to get quality bulbs:

1. The buds are cut immediately after they open, not before.
2. The bulbs are dug up when the stems and leaves of the plant turn yellow.
3. When grown, tulips are fed. This ensures the supply of a sufficient amount of nutrients to the planting material.

Bulbs are purchased from July to September. During this period, it will be possible to obtain the highest quality copies and have time to prepare them.

Optimal growing conditions

In order for the tulips to develop correctly, and the buds to be of high quality and bright, it is important to provide the plants with optimal conditions:

1. Temperature. At the initial stage of planting, tulips are placed in a place with a temperature of + 7 ° C. When shoots appear, the pots are brought into the room with readings of + 12 ... + 18 ° C. At lower and higher values, the buds will not look as pretty. If the fluctuations are significant, the plants will start to hurt.
2. Lighting. If the daylight hours last less than 12 hours, it is recommended to use a backlight. It is advisable to choose special phytolamps. In winter, the daylight hours of tulips lasts 9 hours. Until emergence, the plants are kept in a dark room. With a lack of light, the flowers turn out pale.
3. Humidity. The optimal indicator for the culture is equal to 80%. In winter, if the room is heated, a humidifier is used to create optimal conditions.

It is not difficult to create optimal conditions for growing tulips in an apartment. While these colors often require additional lighting, they don't need to be very bright.

Council.If there is no humidifier, place a damp cloth on the heater and make sure that it does not dry out.

Choosing a place for forcing

Usually the flowers are placed on the windowsill, since the plant is illuminated by the sun near the window. In this case, the window must not be opened during cultivation, since tulips cannot stand drafts.

If there are several lighting fixtures for plants, the pots are placed anywhere else in the apartment. Containers should be located at the maximum distance from heaters.

It is best to grow tulips on a glassed-in heated balcony. In this case, you don't even need lighting fixtures if the plants have enough natural light.

Preparatory work

Before growing tulips at home, a number of preparatory work is carried out. It depends on how correctly they are performed, whether the plant will bloom by the required date.

Planting material

Planting material preparation is the most important part of tulip cultivation. They start working with bulbs immediately after purchase or collection. Follow the step-by-step instructions:

1. Calibration. The bulbs are sorted by size, placing the large ones in one pile and the small ones in another. The finer the planting material, the later it will germinate.
2. Temperature fluctuations. The planting material is first kept at a temperature of + 30 ° С, then the indicators are reduced to + 9 ° С. Under these conditions (usually in the vegetable compartment in the refrigerator), the bulbs are stored until planting.
3. Cleaning. The bulbs are peeled and checked for mold and dark spots.
4. Disinfection. The planting material is soaked for half an hour in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Container and soil

It is important to choose the right container for growing tulips. The bulbs are planted close to each other, the container width is determined depending on the number of bulbs.

It is not recommended to plant tulips in deep pots. For large specimens, a container with a depth of 30 cm is chosen, for small specimens - 20 cm.

Ceramic pots work best for flowers. They allow air to pass through and are saturated with moisture, preventing the soil from drying out and reducing the likelihood of liquid stagnation.Plastic containers do not have this property.

Important! There must be drain holes in the bottom of the container.

Soil options:

1. Hydrogel. The substance absorbs moisture, so the roots of plants constantly receive the optimal amount of liquid. The filler comes in different shades and looks attractive even in transparent containers. If tulips are grown for sale, this soil option is not suitable due to the high costs.
2. Sand. In such a substrate, the risks of moisture stagnation are minimal. However, the liquid here evaporates too quickly. Much attention will have to be paid to feeding.
3. Soil mixture. This is the best option for growing tulips at home. To prepare the soil, peat, sand and garden soil are mixed in equal proportions.
4. Water. Tulips are also grown in water, but in this case, the risk of rotting of the bulbs increases.

The soil and containers are disinfected: spilled with boiling water or a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Landing time and technology

Tulips are grown at home all year round. In order to expel the buds by the required date, it is important to correctly calculate the planting time. On average 3-4 weeks pass before rooting, and 16-18 weeks from rooting to flowering. These dates are given for early tulips; for later varieties, the indicators change.

To calculate the planting date from the date by which they should bloom, take away the rooting time and the period from it to flowering. There are average landing times for major holidays:

• by New Year and Christmas - in the first half of September;
• by Valentine's Day - in mid-October;
• by March 8 - in late October or early November.

In a pot, tulips continue to bloom for more than 2 weeks. Cut buds stay fresh for no more than a week.

It is interesting! Stores sell bulbs ready for distillation. They are planted in the ground immediately after purchase.

Before planting tulips, prepare the bulbs, soil and containers. After they start rooting plants:

1. A drainage layer is poured onto the bottom of the container. 2/3 of the volume is filled with soil.
2. The bulbs are placed at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other. Some growers plant them close to each other. The planting material is lightly pressed into the ground.
3. The bulbs are completely covered with earth. The soil is moistened with water at room temperature.

Until the first shoots appear, the containers are kept at a temperature of + 8 ... + 10 ° C and a humidity of 75%. When the planting material germinates, the temperature is reduced to + 1 ... + 3 ° С.

3 weeks before the expected flowering, tulips are rearranged in a dark room with a temperature of + 14 ° C. After 4 days, the plants are transferred to a bright place (or include additional lighting devices) with a temperature of + 18 ° C.

Further care

Tulip care does not take much time. It consists in timely watering and fertilizing.

Plants moisturize every day, morning or evening... Settled water with a temperature of + 8 ... + 12 ° C is used. It is not poured onto leaves, peduncles and stems of plants.

The first 2 weeks of regular watering alternate with the introduction of a solution of calcium nitrate (20 g of the drug per 10 l of water). Twice during the entire growing period, tulips are fed with special fertilizers for bulbous plants, diluted according to the instructions.

It is important not to use concentrations in excess of the recommended doses and not to fertilize too often. This will damage the roots and reduce the likelihood of blooming.

Possible difficulties

At home, tulips rarely get sick if the soil, bulbs and containers have been processed. Pests do not fly into the apartment in winter.

Although it is easy to care for tulips, novice growers often make mistakes. This causes the following problems:

1. The buds are dry and feel like paper. This problem occurs when there is a lack of fresh air or too high a temperature.
2. Dropped peduncles indicate an elevated temperature in the place where tulips are grown.
3. Weak peduncles are a sign of calcium deficiency.
4. The planting material does not take root. The problem occurs when the air humidity is low.
5. Bulbs will rot if tulips are watered with warm water.
6. Tulips do not form peduncles. This suggests that too small planting material was used.

If the described problems occur, all negative factors are eliminated. This is usually enough to restore proper plant development.

Tulip propagation methods

The fastest and easiest way to propagate is by bulbs. Babies are formed in the roots of the plant, which are separated from the main plant and used to breed tulips.

Less commonly, flowers are propagated by seeds. In this case, 3 years pass from sowing to flowering.

Tips from experienced florists

Recommendations for growing tulips at home:

1. To speed up flowering by 2-3 days, the room temperature is raised to + 20 ° C 3 days before the desired budding time, and the soil is moistened with water at room temperature.
2. Bulbs with different periods of ejection of peduncles are planted in a pot in layers. The later the flowering period, the more the planting material is buried.
3. To get good material for the next planting, tulips continue to be looked after even after cutting the peduncles.

Read also:

What is the danger of aphids on petunias and how to effectively deal with it
Is it possible to grow a petunia in a pot as a houseplant
Description of varieties and features of growing terry petunia

Conclusion

Tulip is an unpretentious plant that requires a minimum of care, which consists in timely watering and feeding.

It is important to provide the plant with suitable conditions. Most of the time, pots are kept in the basement, on the balcony, or in the refrigerator. Only 3 weeks before flowering, they are brought into the room. At the same time, it is important not to forget to use additional lighting devices and a humidifier.