Crocuses at home are grown by forcing, which consists in creating conditions for abundant flowering of the crop at a time when in nature it is at rest. This type of bulbous is easy to care for, with some effort, even a novice grower can make it bloom by a certain date: New Year, March 8 or May 1. For successful forcing of homemade crocus, it is necessary that the bulbs go through several stages of pre-planting preparation, be planted on time and then kept at a certain temperature and humidity. Let us consider in more detail the procedure for growing crocuses at home.
Choosing planting material for potted crocuses
In order to grow crocuses at home, you need to choose the right planting material. Although the range of species and varieties is quite large, not all of them can bloom indoors. Natural varieties in this case are not very decorative, because they give small nondescript flowers, hybrids of the chrysanthus group (golden-flowered) are whimsical and difficult to care for, their buds often dry up before even blooming. Natural varieties in this case are not very decorative, because they give small nondescript flowers, hybrids of the chrysanthus group (golden-flowered) are whimsical and difficult to care for, their buds often dry up before even blooming. As for the choice of a particular variety, here you need to focus on the estimated flowering time. So, if they plan to distill for the New Year, the variety should be early, by May 1 – late.
The size of the corm also matters, usually for distillation it must be the first analysis, with a diameter of at least 5 cm. When buying in a store, planting material is sorted not by diameter, but by circumference in centimeters. For growing crocuses in pots, corms are suitable starting from a size of 7/8, which allows you to get a single flower when forcing. With a size of 8/9, two or three flowers grow from one bulb, and with a size of 10 or more – up to 5-6 pieces, while the larger the planting material, the earlier it will bloom. Thus, in order to get a blooming bouquet of crocuses by the New Year or Christmas, it is better to choose large, size 10+, bulbs of Dutch hybrids of an early variety, for example:
White Joan of Arc
Lilac Remembrance
Blue Vangart.
It is better to buy them in the store at the beginning of the season, that is, from mid-August to early September, when you can find the highest quality planting material on sale.
Note that, regardless of the estimated time of flowering crocus, home care for it is almost the same, only the varieties used for forcing and the timing of planting corms in pots differ.
Preparing for forcing homemade crocuses
In order to intervene in the process of the natural development of a plant and make it bloom ahead of schedule, it is necessary at the right time to artificially provide conditions that are as close to natural as possible. This means that for guaranteed flowering, the corms of domestic crocuses must certainly undergo a cooling and rooting process lasting at least three months.
If plants from a garden plot are used for growing in a room, the corms of the selected variety are dug up in June, dried thoroughly, sorted, selecting the largest and healthiest specimens, and then stored. Initially, they are stored at a high temperature, up to 34 ° C, for a week, after which it is reduced to 20 ° C.
Two weeks later, the temperature is lowered by a few more degrees, and until approximately the second decade of August, it is maintained at 17 ° C. Then the cooling process begins, which is carried out in a dry, dark room at 4-9 ° C. In an apartment, the best place for this is a refrigerator, in which a stable temperature regime can be ensured.
Sometimes glazed loggias are used for storage, but in this case temperature fluctuations caused by external factors can adversely affect the quality of planting material. If cooling is carried out in the refrigerator, crocuses can be kept there, wrapped in thick paper and not planted in the ground, for up to a month.
Store-bought bulbs are usually well dried and have gone through the high temperature storage phase, but also need to be refrigerated. For adaptation, they are kept in a room for several days, and then, like the bulbs from the garden, they are placed in the refrigerator.
Planting crocus corms at home
After the cooling period, the rooting period begins, imitating the biological winter for the plant, it begins at the moment the bulbs are planted in pots. The later flowering is planned, the longer the cooling lasts, and the later the landing is made in the ground.
So, if the distillation is planned for the New Year, they are planted in the first decade of September, if in February-March – respectively in October or November. Any loose, air- and water-permeable soil with a neutral reaction is used as a substrate. The presence of nutrients in it does not affect the quality of flowering; distillation can be done in sand, expanded clay, or even in a flask with water. However, if it is planned to continue to use the plant as a home flower, it is better to plant the crocus in a nutrient substrate, consisting, for example, of leafy, soddy soil and coarse sand, which will provide nutrition for the emerging flower buds of the next year. When forcing in the sand before budding, such plantings must be fed.
Sometimes, in order to better preserve the bulb and provide conditions for its development, planting in the so-called “sand shirt” is used. A layer of nutrient soil is poured onto the bottom of the pot, covered with a thin layer of sand, into which the bottom of the bulb is buried, then sand is poured to the top, while the roots of the plant receive the necessary nutrition, and the body of the bulb is protected from decay.
For greater decorativeness, crocuses grown as indoor flowers are planted in flat wide containers of several pieces, following certain rules. In a separate pot, they try to place planting material of the same variety and size, since only in this case the crocuses will sprout evenly, bloom at the same time, and the height of the peduncles will be approximately the same. The container must provide good drainage.
The bulbs are planted close to each other, pressing into the soil to an arbitrary depth, completely deepening into the ground or leaving a neck about 1 cm high on the surface, while it is important that they do not come into contact with the walls of the container or with each other.
After planting, the soil is lightly tamped, watered and cleaned in a dark, cold place for rooting. The storage temperature of plantings during this period should be 5-9 ° C, and if it is necessary to delay flowering, then for some time it can drop to 1-2 ° C. Such conditions can be created in a household refrigerator or in a basement, garage. The rooting period is on average from two to two and a half months. At this time, homemade crocuses do not require care. They need only occasionally, after complete drying of the surface layer, watered, and, if necessary, protected from rodents.
How to grow crocuses at home?
Direct forcing of crocuses begins 10-15 days before the expected flowering. Usually by this time they should be well rooted, as evidenced by the presence of sprouts dense to the touch at least 5 cm high in all bulbs, as well as the appearance of numerous roots from the drainage hole of the container with bulbs.
Flowers ready for distillation are transferred to a bright, cool place, in an apartment this is usually a window sill, protected from direct sunlight. Under such conditions, the bulbs bloom in 10-15 days. During the forcing of crocuses, home care consists in maintaining the desired temperature and moderate watering, which is carried out 2-3 times a week, be sure to drain excess liquid from the pan. The culture tolerates the dry air of apartments with central heating well; it does not need spraying. At this time, plantings are not fed.
Indoor crocuses: home care for long-term flowering
It must be remembered that at 20 ° C and above, these spring primroses fade quickly, in a few hours, immediately losing their decorative effect. Excess lighting also has a detrimental effect on them, and the flowers bloom quickly and immediately wither not only in the sun, but also in the bright light of incandescent bulbs. For long-term flowering, the culture is protected from direct sunlight and kept at a temperature of 14 to 16 ° C, at night it is even permissible to lower it to negative values \u200b\u200b(from -1 to -3 ° C). Under such conditions, some varieties remain decorative for up to three weeks.
After forcing, crocuses usually do not bloom a second time, they are either thrown away or planted in the garden, where new babies form after a while. Re-forcing is possible only with a well-preserved bulb, in this case, flowering is provided by newly formed young bulbs, and it will be much weaker and later in time. Care for homemade crocuses that are planned to be reused has some peculiarities. As mentioned above, they are planted in nutrient soil, provide double feeding, before growth and after flowering, using ammonium or potassium nitrate as a fertilizer. Water only in the pan, so that the water level is several centimeters below the bottom of the bulb, which will protect the latter from rotting. Watering is stopped after the leaves turn yellow and fall off. In September, the plants are transplanted into a fresh substrate and the growing process begins again.