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I want to decorate my dacha at any time of the year, especially in spring. When nature begins to come to life, the site should also be cozy and beautiful. Long before common garden flowers, wintering perennials appear above the ground. A beautiful flower bed can be created not only for the season. Of course, it's also nice to experiment with a new design every year. But in some places, plants that have been growing in one place for several years - perennials - help out.
It is hard not to note their advantages:
- the ability to create a composition that blooms all season;
- the aerial part of perennials is reborn after winter without transplanting;
- there is no need to prepare plants for wintering or dig up for storage;
- frost resistance;
- unpretentiousness and undemanding care.
All these advantages indicate that growing perennial plants is a profitable undertaking.
But then they need to be replanted. The reasons are soil depletion and the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms that can cause disease or slow growth of perennials. A separate group should be allocated bulbous perennials... These are flowers whose underground part is a bulb. It contains the nutrients that the plant needs for growth and development. However, not all bulbous perennials survive outdoors in winter. Some varieties require moving for the winter to better conditions.
Our article is devoted to bulbous perennials that tolerate wintering well in the open field.
Frost-resistant bulbous flowers on the site
Among the most common bulbous flowers that endure the winter cold, we note:
Crocuses
Very popular hybrids of Dutch selection, brightly decorating the site in early spring.
Crocuses wintering in the open field attract attention not only with beautiful shades, but also with large flowers up to 5 cm in diameter. For planting, choose healthy and large bulbs. They give up to 6 large bright flowers. If corms up to 10 cm in diameter are selected, then they are able to expel 4 buds, less than 9 cm - 3 full flowers. Varietal crocuses give vigorous growth (over 20 cm) and large flowers.
Crocuses - perennials, wintering in the open field, require transplanting after 4 years of growing in one place. By this time, the bulbs are growing, forming small baby bulbs. This is the seed material for planting crocuses.
It is also necessary to transplant an adult bulb to enable it to grow further. After digging in June, the bulbs are stored until the end of September.
The bulbs get used to it gradually. First, they are dried in the air for a week, then in a basement without sunlight at a temperature of + 20º. After a couple of weeks, you can move it to the refrigerator. It is important to create the right conditions for the tubers to overwinter. During this period, the bulbs take root in the ground and form a flower bud. Crocuses are frost-resistant perennials, so the planting site can only be covered with branches so that very severe frosts do not damage the plants. The second danger for crocuses in the winter-spring period is rodents and birds.
In the spring, the bed is freed from debris and insulating branches.You can loosen the ground only after the shoots appear, so as not to damage the corms. How to help crocuses wintering outdoors to be healthy:
- avoid places of accumulation of winter snow for planting;
- prepare the soil before planting;
- feed plants;
- dig up in summer to prepare for winter.
If in the spring you did not notice crocus sprouts at the landing site, do not disturb them. They can successfully ascend next spring.
Bulbous irises
A wonderful group of perennials wintering in the open field. Undemanding to growing conditions, but very beautiful spring flowers. In order for them to please you for more than one year, you will have to complete some points when growing irises.
They do not like waterlogging of the soil, lack of minerals, constant shadow... An artificial or natural slope will help protect against excess moisture, on which bulbous irises are good to plant. It is necessary to ensure that there is no stagnant rainwater or melted snow. In this case, you cannot do without a drainage system. Plants love calcareous soil and sunlight.
When digging a future bed, lime or chalk is added. A year before planting - humus, fertilizers.
The hybrids are well tolerated for 5 years. Irises are planted in a new place of residence in late September - early October. In some cases, you can do without digging. To do this, after wilting, the plant is covered with a film until the beginning of October. Early varieties bloom in May, although greenery adorns the flower bed from early spring.
Tulips
Not all species are classified as frost-resistant. It is necessary to choose exactly those varieties that tolerate cold winters well. A variety of varieties of tulips wintering in the open field can amaze the imagination of any summer resident. Caring for them is simple. The bulbs are dug up after wilting and drying of the aerial part. Dry in the shade for 3 to 5 days, then store in the basement until disembarkation. This happens when the soil temperature reaches + 9º. Tulips wintering in the open field are planted in a windless place.
The main thing is that before that other types of tulips do not grow on it for 3 years.
Lilies
Another bulbous perennials wintering in the open field. They grow well in one place for several years. Lilies often try not to transplant. This procedure significantly reduces the intensity of plant development, therefore, it is necessary to carefully consider the planting site. Creates a great look in the garden when grown in groups. Three or five lilies overwintering outdoors look much better than one. They respond well to fertilizing (mineral fertilizers). You need to feed twice. In the spring, when the sprouts hatch and in the fall before wintering.
Lilies wintering in the open field are excellent neighbors. They develop much better when medium- or low-growing flowers are planted with them. It is very good for lilies when the lower part of the stem is in the shade and the buds are in the sun.
Daffodils
You need to carefully choose the varieties of daffodils that winter outdoors. Not all varieties tolerate cold weather. For planting, choose a place with good lighting, but at noon the plants should be protected from the scorching sun. Another requirement is that there should be no roots of large shrubs or trees next to the daffodils. Daffodils wintering in the open field do not like excessive soil moisture. It is important not to plant daffodils in the same place where other bulbs were their predecessors. The soil in the flowerbed must be fertile, therefore, ash, mineral and organic fertilizers are applied before planting the bulbs. The main thing is not to deeply deepen the bulbs and measure the depth of planting with the level of groundwater. Optimally, in this case, 15 cm from the bottom to the soil surface.
Grouse (fritillaria)
Many people call these perennials, wintering in the open field, imperial hazel grouses.
The bulbs are transplanted after 2-3 years, but if the flowers of the plant have become small and in smaller quantities, then do not delay the transplant. After planting the bulbs, the hazel grouse will bloom the following spring. The conditions for growing hazel grouses are drained soil, a sunny and dry place without large trees around. Sandy loam soil is best suited for plants.
This is very important in snowless winters. The thickness of the shelter is made up to 25 cm. The hazel grouse bulb has a garlic smell, which helps to protect the plant from rodent attacks. When planting, they are very careful with the scales so as not to damage them.
You can now select some outdoor wintering perennials to create a beautiful flower bed.
Nuances of agrotechnology of bulbous perennials
This is not to say that perennials wintering in the open field are devoid of disadvantages. The main one is the possibility of freezing in snowless or cold winters without shelter. They need to be taken care of even more thoroughly than for annual plants. But the advantages of these plants are also high. You do not have to grow seedlings annually, and breeding perennials can bring enough replenishment to the family budget. This will also be helped by proper care of bulbous perennials wintering in the open field. Among the mandatory procedures, it should be noted:
- removal (after wilting) of the aboveground part of the plants;
- covering the roots;
- feeding bulbous perennials;
- care when weeding ridges;
- regular watering during the dry season;
- obligatory transplant after 3-5 years.
Withstanding these simple requirements, you can decorate your site with wonderful plants that endure winter frosts and are the very first to give beauty.
