Bulbous flowers for the garden: types and growing rules

The fragile beauty of flowering bulbous plants, awakening with the arrival of spring warmth, delights and bewitches. During the flowering period, these amazing representatives of the world of decorative flora fill the garden with bright colors, delicate and delicate aromas. What types of bulbs are most often found in the gardens of our compatriots? What are the features of growing such flowers?

It is customary to include herbaceous plants with bulbous plants, the underground part of which is represented by modified shortened shoots, visually resembling a flower bud. The natural habitat of the plant is considered to be the territories of countries with dry and hot climates. (countries of South-West and Central Africa, South and Central America, South-East and Central Asia, the Mediterranean).

Most bulbous plants have succulent basal or stem leaves, collected in a bunch or rosette. It is noteworthy that the foliage of many species tolerates cold quite persistently, but reacts extremely painfully to a lack of moisture in the air. The flowering arrows of most bulbous are leafless, hollow or filled. Inflorescences can be racemose, umbellate or spike-shaped. The size of flowers in diameter can vary from 1 centimeter (muscari) to 20-25 centimeters (hippeastrum).

Depending on the height, it is customary to distinguish:

• undersized plants (10-20 centimeters high) - crocuses, chionodox;
• medium-sized (up to 25-60 centimeters) - tulips, snowdrops;
• tall (up to 100-150 centimeters) - lilies.

The timing and duration of flowering in bulbous plants vary greatly. Among the representatives of this group, there are plants that bloom in early spring, summer, and late autumn. The average flowering time for most species is 10-30 days. A curious feature of many bulbous crops is that they can be achieved flowering as planned. For this, forcing is used - a set of measures that stimulate the active development, budding and flowering of plants in artificially created conditions.

In landscape design, both wild bulbous species and their cultural forms are widespread. Below are descriptions of the most popular types and varieties of bulbous plants that can decorate any summer cottage.

• Spring crocus - a type of bulbous perennials, found mainly in the territories of European countries. Plant height is 12-15 centimeters. Leaves - emerald green, basal, linear, with a pointed top. Flowers - funnel-shaped, lavender or milky white. The beginning of flowering is April.

• "Pickwick" - a highly decorative variety of spring crocus of Dutch selection. Plants are notable for large glass-shaped flowers of original color - their delicate lilac petals adorn longitudinal silvery-white stripes.

• Chionodox Lucilia - a type of stunted perennials that bloom almost immediately after the snow melts. In height, these small-bulbous plants reach only 5-10 centimeters. Flowers are bell-shaped, lilac-purple in color, up to 3.5 centimeters in size.

• "Violetta" - a variety of Chionodox Lucilia, remarkable for its very delicate sky-blue flowers. Plant height does not exceed 5 centimeters.

• Colchicum (another common but erroneous name is "immortelle").

• Shovitsa - a kind of flowering corms perennials, the habitat of which is the territory of the South Caucasus. The height of the plants is 18-20 centimeters. Leaves are dark green, lanceolate. The flowers are bell-shaped, white-pink in color with a slight lilac-lilac shade.

• Muscari - a genus of flowering bulbous plants, numbering more than 40 species. The average plant height is 50 centimeters. Leaves are basal, dark green, united in a bunch at the base. The flowers are light blue, purple-lilac or bright blue, collected in a lush cone-shaped or racemose inflorescence.

• Blue Spike Is a very attractive muscari variety, remarkable for its surprisingly lush, spherical or racemose inflorescences. The color of the flowers ranges from deep blue to blue-violet hue.

• Pushkinia proleskovidnaya - a variety of graceful herbaceous perennials, the natural habitat of which are the territories of the Caucasus and the Middle East. Plant height is 15-18 centimeters. Leaves are pale green, linear, located at the base of the stem. Flowers are bell-shaped, united in volumetric brushes. The petals are snow-white, decorated with a thin longitudinal turquoise stripe.

• Galanthus snow-white - a type of perennial small-bulbous plants blooming in early spring. Plant height - 10-12 centimeters. The leaves are narrow, gray-green or dark green with a bluish tint. Flowers are solitary, bell-shaped or drop-shaped, white, drooping. Flowering dates in the wild are January-March. Some rare species of Galanthus (flat-leaved, broad-leaved, Caucasian) have a conservation status.

• Tulips - the genus of the most common bulbous perennials, numbering over 100 species and more than 2500 varieties. Winter-hardy, hardy varieties of tulips with double, simple and fringed flowers have gained the greatest popularity in the design of home gardens.

• "Ice Cream" - a very effective frost-resistant variety of dense double tulips with flowers of an original color. The average plant height is 40-45 centimeters. The size of the flowers is 7-10 centimeters. The core of the flowers is snow-white in color. The outer petals are pink, purple-red, or wine-red.

For most types of bulbous ornamental crops that bloom in spring, autumn planting is recommended. So, from mid-August to mid-September, gardeners plant crocuses, snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, muscari, chionodox, pushkinia, lilies, forest trees, hyacinths on the plots. To more accurately calculate the landing time, it should be borne in mind that:

• the average rooting (survival rate) of bulbs in non-frozen soil is 14-15 days;
• in regions with a cold climate, the bulbs are planted 2-3 weeks earlier than the recommended time;
• it is necessary to plant the bulbs before frost and only in non-frozen ground.

The survival rate of the planting material largely depends on its quality, therefore only strong, whole, healthy bulbs are selected for planting. A sunny or slightly shaded place, protected from the wind, is set aside for landing. The soil at the planting site should be well-drained and fertile. Before planting, the bulbs are treated with antifungal drugs. Planting is carried out in holes, the diameter of which is calculated based on the size of the bulbs.

Bulbous care involves moderate but regular watering and feeding. Deficiency of moisture and lack of fertilizing negatively affect the quality of flowering plants.

Bulbous plants that bloom in early spring receive a sufficient amount of moisture as the snow melts, so they may not be watered before flowering. The same crops that bloom in summer and autumn should be watered regularly and abundantly. On hot summer days, the frequency of watering should be increased. Watering plants is required only with warm, settled water, spending about 30-40 liters per 1 square meter.

At the beginning of spring, bulbous flowers are fed to stimulate the growth of green mass and the formation of the first buds. A complex fertilizer containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus ("Azofoska", "Fertika Lux") is optimal for these purposes. During the flowering period, the plants are fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

Carefully loosen the soil around the plants before fertilizing. It is important to bear in mind that the bulbs of flower crops usually lie shallow underground, as a result of which they can be easily damaged during operation. To avoid this, experienced gardeners recommend loosening the ground to a depth of 4-6 centimeters.

Classical design schemes for flower beds with perennial bulbous plants assume a certain order when planting plants. So, dwarf and undersized bulbous (crocuses, snowdrops, chionodox) are always placed in the foreground, medium-sized (tulips, daffodils) - in the center of the flower bed, and tall (lilies, gladioli) - in the background. Round and oval flower beds, framed by low bulbous - crocuses, crocuses, look original. In the center of these beds, you can plant medium-sized tulips, lilies or daffodils.

For information on how to properly care for bulbous flowers for the garden, see the next video.