How to Store Tulip Bulbs and When They Sprout

Speaking of the tulip, many people know it as the national flower of the Netherlands, though in recent years this flower has become quite common. Tulip flowers are bright and vivid, blooming on the stems in a cup-like shape, and are deeply loved by everyone. However, flower lovers who grow tulips often have many questions, such as how to store tulip bulbs.

Methods for storing tulip bulbs

Room-temperature storage: wrap the bulbs directly in newspaper or a mesh bag and place them in a cool, well-ventilated corner.

Cold storage: place the bulbs in the refrigerator's crisper compartment.

When do tulip bulbs sprout

The seeds do not go dormant, but sprouting requires low temperatures; the suitable low temperature is around 5°C, sprouting is delayed above 10°C, and no sprouting occurs above 25°C. Under suitable conditions, the germination rate can reach over 90%. After sowing, they sprout in 40-45 days. After sprouting, the seedlings kept at 13°C for about 70 days and then moved to 23°C can speed up the maturation of the daughter bulbs.

In the Nanjing area, sown in the open ground in a cold frame in November, using the natural low temperatures of winter, they sprout in mid-February of the following spring. From sprouting to harvesting the daughter bulbs takes about 135 days. When the above-ground part goes dormant in summer, dig up the small bulbs and store them at 20°C-25°C, plant them in autumn, and after 4-5 years of cultivation in this way, they bloom.

How to grow tulips in pots

1. Soil requirements

Tulips prefer fertile soil; the soil must both retain moisture and be airy, ideally a slightly alkaline, fairly loose sandy soil. Mix rotted leaves and organic fertilizer such as dried chicken manure into the soil. A few days before planting, be sure to keep the soil loose and ensure sufficient moisture. Once the bulbs sprout, apply liquid fertilizer once or twice into the soil. Take care to keep the soil moist, but do not let water stand.

2. Watering requirements

When watering tulips, note that the water requirements differ greatly at different stages. Choose the morning for watering whenever possible. Right after planting, water thoroughly so that the soil and bulbs bind tightly together and root easily; keep moisture sufficient within the first week. During the flowering period, water demand increases, so water accordingly. After the flowers fade, during the bulb-growing stage, you can reduce watering. Note that when watering you can choose to spray, and try not to let water accumulate in the pot.

3. Temperature requirements

Tulips like warm winters and cool summers, but they are good at handling cold; they can survive even at more than minus thirty degrees. Conversely, if the temperature is too high, it instead inhibits their growth and causes the flowers to decline. However, the most suitable temperature for tulip growth is between 16 and 18 degrees. They only begin to grow when the temperature reaches around 8 degrees. Generally, when grown in pots, the temperature conditions in the home can basically meet their needs.

4. Pest and disease control

The main insect pests of tulips are aphids and root mites; when pests occur, choose the corresponding insecticide for spraying. Its diseases mainly manifest as stem rot, soft rot, damping-off, breaking virus disease and blind bud disease, etc. Prevention of pests and diseases is very important; when planting, the soil should be disinfected, and healthy bulbs free of pests and diseases should be chosen for planting. Diseased plants found later should be decisively dug up and destroyed. Usually pay attention to maintaining ventilation and suitable temperatures.

How to extend the tulip flowering period

1. Natural flowering period

As spring temperatures gradually rise, they bloom one after another around March and April, lasting three to four months during this period, and from blooming to fading is generally 5 days to a week. Apart from human intervention factors, they generally grow rapidly from November in winter until before flowering in spring, preparing for blooming, so to extend the flowering period you can start from this period.

2. Methods

1. Shading

Shading can use tall trees or artificially built shade canopies. Experiments at exhibitions have found that, for the same variety, plants given semi-shade treatment in the early stage bloom three to four days later, but the overall viewing time can increase by about five days, so this method is feasible. Provide semi-shade two weeks before the flowering period, shading for about a week to half a month.

2. Water

The frequency and amount of water also affect the flowering time. I once tried watering once a week versus topping up water every two or three days; the plants watered more frequently had their flowering time extended by three to four days. This refers to before flowering; after the flowers open, water should be appropriately reduced, keeping it at just not dry.

3. Fertilizer

A few weeks before flowering, add a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer, not too heavy; tulips themselves do not have high fertilizer requirements, and adding a small amount of fertilizer can prepare better nutrients for the flowering period.

4. Light

Most plants like sunlight, and tulips are no exception. During the growth period, appropriately extend the time they receive sunlight, then provide shade a few days before flowering, which can promote flowering and extend the flowering time.

Many flower lovers grow tulips for nothing else but their extremely high ornamental value. But caring for tulips is not simple; growing a pot of tulips well is not easy, which all the more tests the patient care of flower lovers.