How to care about tulips tricks

Tulip festival - Ottawa

The tulip is not very demanding outdoor culture and it can adapt to all conditions. They are best developed in open sunny spots that at the same time are protected from strong winds. The tulip bulbs are often used in garden landscaping, making flower shapes and flower beds in parks. The late varieties of the tulip tolerate shading, which contributes to long-lasting bloom. 

Before planting the tulip bulbs is best to be sorted as those who have signs of sickness or are injured are sort separately. For the emergence of healthy plants you should disinfect the bulbs after sorting them and before planting. After preparing the bulbs they are being plant in the ground usually during autumn. You should treat the soil before planting the tulips.

The sowing is done in open furrows in which you place the bulbs and cover them with soil from the next furrow. The depth depends of the mechanical structure of the soil and the size of the bulbs that you are using. The smaller ones are sown on less depth then the big bulbs so that they have less resistance when sprouting and trying to appear above the ground. There is a rule by which it is easier to determine the depth of planting, which is: Seeds (bulbs) are sown at a depth of 2/3 of the long side of the seed (bulbs). 

The same is true for the distance between them. It is recommended after sowing the bulbs to cover the soil with mulch mixture or pine bark. That will protect your young plants from temperature fluctuations and it will retain more moisture in the soil. The tulip does not like too clayey soils so if you have such a soil you should mix it with river sand or perlite. Tulips also does not tolerate too acidic soils. 

Best place for your plant is the slightly alkaline soils. Sandy soils are also not recommended for growing tulips. If you are using them dough you should import manure, which is burnt very well, or peat. If your soil is poorly stocked with nutrients you should submit a slow-release fertilizer. Suitable for these purpose is so called bone flower.

During the vegetation period the soil around the plants must be kept clean and with good humidity. This helps to improve the development of tulips, as an extension of the flowering stem, larger and brighter colors and larger bulbs. In poorer conditions the bulbs are smaller and are more buried in the soil.

The bulbs are annually removed from the soil when the leaves of the tulip begin to dry out (May - June). If you take them out earlier they are not mature enough and are susceptible to fungal diseases and pests, which leads to less good development in the spring.  After the removal of the tulip bulbs they are left in a dry, shady and very good ventilated place. You should not expose them to sun light even for a short time. Keep them in your dry and cool place till the next season.