After the winter cold in the country or in a city apartment, beautiful crocus flowers give a lot of positive emotions. If you are not indifferent to this plant, then you need to know the rules of planting and caring for it. These messengers of spring can grow not only in the open field, but also at home on the windowsill. From the article, you will learn how to cause crocus to bloom at home on New Year's Day or Valentine's Day.
Content
About the plant
These flowers belong to the iris family, they are grown practically all over the world. The bulb of this culture is perfectly adapted for wintering in the open field, so that with the first rays of the sun it will come out of its confinement in the form of a beautiful flower. It does not bloom for long, after a few days it withers, the leaves of this early plant are able to hold out until the middle of the first month of summer, then a dormant period begins. During this period, gardeners dig up the bulbs for culling and planting in a new place.
This culture, in addition to its aesthetic purpose, has a culinary value. The flower stigma is used by culinary experts as a spice. It is called saffron. How to care for crocuses?
Crocuses: growing and care in the open field
In order for these charming flowers to grow lush and beautiful, you need to know how to care for, propagate, plant them. When grown outdoors there are rules for these colors:
Today there are a huge number of varieties of this culture. Each variety blooms in its own time, so you need to know the planting rules. So, if the crocus blooms in the spring, it is planted in the fall, if in the fall, then in the spring.- Flowers love fertile and light soil, do not require frequent watering, so if the soil is more clayey, then you need to dilute it with sand and apply fertilizer.
- Crocuses need good lighting. If grown in appropriate conditions, the plant will thank you with large flowers. It can bloom in a shaded place, but it will noticeably yield in beauty to the flower that stays in more comfortable conditions.
- Before germination, you need to monitor the moisture content of the earth. When the culture grows and sprouts appear on the surface, the plant should be well watered. Then the plant will not need abundant watering, the soil will need to be moistened only as the earthy coma dries out.
- If the soil is fertile and flowers grow in it for the first time, then you do not need to feed them. It is necessary to apply fertilizers when crocuses have been grown on this substrate for more than one year.
- Recharge the earth at least 3 times. The first time the plant is fed when shoots appear, the second - after the appearance of the ovary of flowers, the last - when the culture fades. The fertilizer must contain potassium and phosphorus. The necessary amount of potassium is required by the plant during the growth and development of the bulbs, phosphorus has a beneficial effect on the formation of buds and flowering.
- The bulbs are planted according to their size. Small ones are planted to a depth of 5 cm, large ones are buried in the soil up to 12 cm.There should be a distance of more than 5 cm between the plants, but a smaller interval of 3 cm is also allowed if it is not planned to grow in a new place.
Crocus care, as you can see from the above, is not very difficult. If you do not plan to transplant to a new place, then after flowering, only remove dead ground part... If the plant lives in harsh climatic conditions, it is necessary to cover the bulbs with a layer of leaves or dry grass for the winter. The transplant is carried out as follows: in the middle of summer, the plants are dug up, sorted and taken for storage in a well-ventilated place with a positive temperature of 18 - 20 degrees, where they are until disembarking.
Crocuses can be grown together with other bulbs. In the same flowerbed, tulips, daffodils and other bulbs can coexist with them. Since they bloom at different times, your front garden will be constantly in bloom. To do this, in the fall, they are planted in accordance with the placement plan on the site.
Selection of bulbs
For flowers to grow beautiful, you need choose bulbs carefully... It is better if the material for the plant is a specially bred variety, it is sold in flower shops. Among the most adapted to the cold conditions of our country are the Dutch hybrids. They endure sharp temperature changes and delight with excellent flowering.
When choosing bulbs, you should be guided by one simple rule: if the planting material is large, then large flowers will form, from one bush there will be many of them. The bags of Dutch hybrids are labeled 10+, which indicates bulbs with a circumference of more than ten centimeters. From this material a powerful bush is formed, on which 5-6 large buds will be tied. Bulbs with an indicator of 8-9 cm give 2-3 flowers. Such selective planting material is able to reproduce flowers with a diameter of up to 7 cm, while the stem will be up to 20 cm long.
Growing in pots
These flowers are widely grown at home due to the fact that the plant is able to bloom for a certain holiday. They prepare flowering for the New Year, Valentine's Day or March 8th. A special method of forcing plants is used.
Crocuses require wide and not very deep container... Be sure to make rather big drainage holes at the bottom to remove excess water. Broken brick or the remnants of a tile will fit as drainage, it is placed on the bottom of the pot. We put a tray under the container to collect moisture. Crocus substrate requires sandy or sandy loam. It is not necessary to fertilize the soil. To form a thick bouquet, we plant the bulbs close to each other. To get the flowers ready by the due date, you need to know when to plant them. Landing is done 16 weeks before the holiday.
After planting, we send the pot to a cool and dark place for several days. Crocuses are grown at a temperature of 5 to 9 degrees... Usually, a cellar is used for these purposes, since it has constant temperature and humidity. You should constantly monitor the shoots, which should not appear earlier than 10 weeks from the moment of planting. If they appear, it means that the plant does not bloom before the appointed date, the temperature in the room must be lowered.
After 14 weeks after planting, we transfer the pot to the house. You cannot immediately put the flower in a warm place, we prepare the flower for a high temperature gradually. First we place it in a cold room, then a warmer one, and lastly we put it on the windowsill of the warmest room. After a while, flowers will appear that will delight with their beauty only for 10 days.
Crocus species
All varieties of culture conditionally divided into several groups:
- Botanical or early spring blooming.
- Large-flowered or blooming in spring.
- Blooming in autumn.
The first group includes crocuses that can give flowers after the last snow has melted.This period, depending on the region, is between February and April. The plant is not very tall, reaches 8 cm, the flowers are beautiful. Botanical buds are not very large, but there are many of them and the bushes are lush. These flowers have a very strong and pleasant scent.
This group boasts the following varieties:
Blue pearl grows to form pale blue flowers. The inflorescence is yellow at the base. This variety blooms early and abundantly.- Yellow is the most common crocus variety. It is named so because of its color of flowering, which is abundant. However, there are many other names as well.
- Prince Claus, according to many experts, is the most beautifully flowering variety among the entire plant species. They are distinguished by their white color, which is set off by a bright purple back. This variety blooms very early and luxuriantly, has an unprecedented aroma.
- Cream beauty. This variety blooms profusely and very effectively, has creamy flowers with orange stigmas.
Large-flowered or blooming in spring bloom after the first group after 10 days. They are distinguished larger buds... The well-known large Dutch hybrids were obtained from these varieties by crossing. In our country, these plants bloom somewhere from mid-April, it all depends on the weather. Sometimes it happens that they bloom even in conditions of lying snow in dark places. This group has an extensive palette of colors - from light whites and yellows to dark purples.
This group includes popular varieties such as:
Jeanna D'Arc. A snow-white crocus with a delicate lilac base and a height of 4 cm. The buds appear in mid-April.- Pickwick grows large with an original white and purple color.
- Flower Record has a low stem but a large purple flower with a dark base. In our country, it blooms from the end of April. It grows well in a group, so it is perfect for rock gardens.
Crocuses blooming in autumn give their beauty in late September or early October. Those that were planted a year earlier shed their leaves in the summer and form buds in the fall. Among the most popular varieties of this group is the beautiful crocus. It grows unpretentious, reaches 20 cm, dissolves before everyone else - in the middle of September. The beautiful crocus has a wide palette of colors - from white to purple.
The following varieties are equally popular among autumn crocuses:
- Long-flowered blooms from early November.
- Holoflora has beautiful purple flowers.
- Pale ocher. Forms small creamy inflorescences.
If you want to get a wonderful festive bouquet for the New Year, then plant the bulbs in early October. Then, for the winter holidays, with good care, you will receive excellent crocuses blooming on the windowsill.
