Flowers are a graceful decoration of the garden, especially when it comes to traditional garden crops such as lily and tulip. Tulips and lilies are bulbous perennials and should be planted in the fall. The exact time of boarding will vary depending on the climate zone.
What time to plant tulips
Tulips should be planted in the fall, 6 to 8 weeks before the onset of severe frosts. In this case, the soil temperature should be no higher than 10 degrees Celsius. The planting time of tulips depends on the climatic zone. For less warm climates, this is early fall or even late summer. For more southern areas, this may be late autumn.
Plant tulips as soon as you buy the bulbs. Do not delay, because storing bulbs not in the ground is against the laws of nature.
Plant tulip bulbs deep, no higher than 16 centimeters from the ground. The larger the bulb, the deeper it should be planted.
Although tulips are perennials, many gardeners treat them like annuals and are replanted every year. This is what gardeners do in Holland. Tulips often don't behave like perennial flowers. Why? The point is in their origin.
Tulips are native to eastern Turkey and the foothills of the Himalayan mountains. The best climatic conditions for them are cold winters and hot, dry summers. Varietal tulips are perennial, and hybrids do not germinate the next year.
Once the tulips are planted in the fall, they will take root, which continues to grow slowly underground throughout the winter. Thanks to the cold temperatures, tulips begin to sprout and bloom quickly in spring, as soon as the soil warms up slightly. By the time of flowering, the mother bulb grows old and dies, and daughter bulbs appear.
If you plan on growing perennial tulips, feed them every fall. Tulip bulbs contain their own nutrient preservation system, but only for one year. Use organic fertilizer or compost for feeding.
It so happens that in the fall you did not have time to plant tulips. But you have a desire to grow them in your garden in the spring. In this case, you can buy sprouted tulips in pots. Leave them at home for the spring and summer. In the fall, it will be possible to plant tulip bulbs in the ground so that they bloom next spring.
The same can be done with tulips donated on Valentine's Day.
When lilies are planted
Like tulips, lilies should be planted in the fall. It is better to plant them to a depth of at least 25 centimeters. Then the stem will hold firmly in the ground. If the soil does not freeze for the winter, then in such climatic conditions it is useless to plant lilies. These flowers require a cold hibernation period. It is better to fertilize lilies in the spring, using compost and humus.
Lilies and tulips both love ventilated, sandy soils. High humidity is death for them. When planting bulbs in the ground, you can add sand.
Lily is a perennial plant, but it is best to transplant it immediately after flowering. Cut the trunk to the root. Divide the bulbs and transplant them with the tip up. They need to be planted from each other at a distance equal to three sizes of the bulb.
