Planting crocuses

HomeCrocusPlanting crocuses

For planting crocuses, they usually use subsidiaries, formed in the axils of the maternal scales, corms, planting overgrown nests, or buy ready-made planting material. It is purchased in the store from the end of April to the first days of September, while paying attention to the appearance: the integrity of the shells, the absence of regrown stems and roots, soft areas that indicate the presence of fungal diseases. It must be remembered that a plant affected by rot is very difficult to cure, in addition, it can transmit diseases to other flowers on the site, so it is better not to buy such planting material. High-quality corms are heavy, dense to the touch, have a renewal bud in the form of a small tubercle. Sometimes they are sold with sprouts, which in this case must be fresh, without dry tips, otherwise the bulb may not germinate.

In amateur floriculture, flowering crocuses are also used as planting material. The advantage of this planting method is the ability to immediately evaluate the acquired variety, and although leaves and flowers usually fall after planting in the ground, and next year the flowering will be weak or not at all, but the bulb will not die, and will develop fully in the future.

When to plant crocuses in autumn?

The answer to the question of when to plant crocuses depends on the time of their expected flowering. If this is an autumn view, then the optimal time is June – early August, before the buds appear. Spring-flowering varieties and varieties are placed in the ground later, starting in mid-September. In warm, snowless weather, planting crocuses in autumn can stretch until early November, however, at the same time, the plant most often leaves the wintering place weakened, it does not have enough time to form roots and the final maturation of the renewal shoot.

To ensure optimal conditions for growth and development, it is important to know not only when, but also how to plant crocuses correctly, given their biological characteristics. The culture does not tolerate waterlogging, therefore, to improve the moisture permeability of the soil when planting, it is advisable to add coarse sand or gravel to it, and it is better to plant more whimsical and prone to aging species on high bulk ridges, at the base of which there is drainage from crushed stone or gravel. Alpine slides are well suited for this. All crocuses do not like acidic soils, therefore, only completely rotted manure can be applied as fertilizer during planting, when using peat, it should also be well decomposed, preferably with the addition of lime. Of the mineral fertilizers, those in which there is little nitrogen and a lot of potassium and phosphorus are used.

Planting and caring for crocuses in autumn

Otherwise, for crocuses, planting and care are not particularly difficult. They are planted at a distance of 8-10 cm from each other to a depth standard for most bulbous crops. In loose soil, the thickness of the earth layer above the neck should be twice the diameter of the bulb, in heavy soil – a single diameter. Note that strict adherence to the recommendations on planting depth for these flowers is not necessary, since crocuses, especially young specimens, are able to regulate it themselves, forming retractable roots. For the winter, insufficiently frost-resistant species can be mulched.

Crocus planting in the photo

For greater clarity, below is a detailed process of planting crocuses (see photo).

One of the problems that crops are faced with is mouse-like rodents that damage bulbs in the ground. To protect plants, you can grow them outdoors in containers. To do this, use containers with a volume of 0.1-0.2 l, holes are made in the bottom of which, a layer of soil of 0.5-1 cm is poured, mineral fertilizers are added (1-1.5 g), a corm is placed and covered with earth. The glass is placed in the ground, deepening so that there is a soil layer of 3-4 cm above the surface. Later, after the soil settles, it is additionally spud. This method of planting not only protects the corms from mice and rats, but also allows them to be removed at any time, which is especially important when breeding valuable varieties.

Planting crocus seeds

Planting flowers with seeds is used much less frequently, but it is quite possible. It is usually used for breeding especially valuable species, if it is necessary to obtain a large amount of planting material at once. Most botanical crocuses form seeds well, only autumn crocuses can bear fruit irregularly due to early frosts. Seeds keep well, but for autumn-flowering varieties it is better to sow them freshly harvested before winter. Such stratified seeds germinate better, they produce stronger and healthier plants. The seedlings of the flower are very small, therefore, to facilitate care and protection against weeds, it is recommended to sow in boxes or containers. Until the sprouts appear, the plantings are covered with a black film or spunbond, in the latter case they can not be watered. Seedlings bloom in 3-4 years.

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