When to dig out tulips?

Beginning gardeners are often concerned about the question: Do you need to dig bulbs of tulips annually? We will try to give the fullest possible answer.

Some believe that bulbs of tulips are quiteyou can leave in the ground without digging out every year. But the fact is that if you do this, they will simply go deeper, leaving each year lower: this is typical of these plants. In the end, the bulb will die from the lack of necessary substances for its nutrition.

Therefore, it is obligatory to dig out tulipsyear. To do this it is necessary and in order to create the right conditions for the subsequent distillation. During the rest period bulbs need heat, the temperature is around 25 degrees, and in cold winters of the middle belt, for example, such conditions are difficult to create, leaving them not dug.

When do you need to dig?

Many manuals for gardeners indicate thatdig up tulips in July. But because the climatic conditions in each locality are individual - therefore, be guided by other factors. Digging is when the leaves of the plants are just starting to turn yellow.

If not dug in time, then the shoot will wither and separate from the bulb socket - then its location will be difficult to determine.

Digging is most convenient forks. The shovel can cut several bulbs nearby; Especially if the shoots have already fallen off. Forks minimize the risk of damage to a minimum. Someone for convenience puts tulips in soil filled with plastic boxes, which are immersed in the ground. Then at the end of flowering it will only be necessary to get the box out of the soil and pull out the bulbs: none will be lost.

With dug out bulbs cut off shoots, shakeadhere to the ground and leave to dry - in a warm place, but not under direct sunlight. After some time, usually 2-3 weeks, the bulbs are sorted - the big ones are sent to the pasture, the small ones are left to grow.

We advise you to read our other article. How to store bulbs of tulips to find out about the optimum conditions suitable for this planting material.