Like many onion bulbs, forcing out tulips at home requires certain conditions, including selection of suitable varieties. When selecting varieties of tulips, one should be guided by the fact that the forcing can be early (from late December to early January), mid-day (from mid-January to early February), medium (from February to March), late (from late March to early May) .
In the case of early forcing of tulips, it is necessary to carefully select the varieties, with the mandatory condition being the duration of the cooling period of the varieties. In case of early forcing, this period should be from 16 weeks.
The procedure for forcing out tulips can be conditionally divided into three main stages: storage, rooting of planting material and self distillation.
At the storage phase, the temperature regime and the conditions for forming the buds of a future flower in a bulb may be critical. This is especially important with early forcing. The optimum temperature regime is 21-23 ° C in the first month, it is maintained by heating the surrounding air. In the second month (usually August), the tulip is kept at 20 ° C, then from September at 15-17 ° C. For the successful formation of flower buds in bulbs, the technology of growing tulips under a film with the implementation of decapitation is used. Another option is the earlier excavation of the bulbs of the plant and their subsequent exposure for 7-10 days at a temperature of 33-34 ° C.
The second stage, which involves the planting and rooting of tulips, begins in October. First you need to prepare the substrate. It is recommended to make it on the basis of sand, it is possible with an admixture of peat or garden soil, perlite, etc. Obligatory conditions for the substrate are, firstly, a neutral reaction, and secondly, air permeability. The prepared substrate is filled with containers, sealing it so that about a third of the container remains free. Planting material is slightly pressed into the ground, planting them at a distance of 0.5-1 cm from each other. Only then the container is filled with soil up to the top. It should be noted that homogeneity of the substrate is an important factor for the successful forcing of tulips. The first watering is generous. If after the watering the substrate has subsided, it is necessary to fill the soil. The first watering can be combined with the addition of saltpeter, about 2 g per liter. Then watering should be done once a week. The optimum humidity in the room is 75-80%, at a temperature of 5-9 ° C. After the germination of the tulips, the temperature is lowered to 2-4 ° C, then the sprouts do not grow strongly.
Tulip stripping. Approximately three weeks before the desired flowering period, the tulips are placed in a warm temperature. At this point, the height of the plants should be 5-8 cm. During the first 3-4 days of distillation, a temperature of 12-15 ° C should be maintained with simultaneous low light intensity. Then, the room is heated to 16-18 ° C and additional lighting is introduced for 3-5 hours daily. For the period when the buds are painted, it is recommended to lower the temperature to 14-15 ° C. This will increase the duration of flowering of tulips, strengthen peduncles and stems, and the color will become more saturated. During the forcing season, the plant requires a daily moderate watering with nitre dressing. Outdoor sunlight shortens the flowering period, so avoid it falling on tulips. The average duration of the flowering period with tulips is about 5-10 days, but more can be achieved.
It should be emphasized that, contrary to the very popular opinion that bulbs of tulips after distillation are no longer suitable, in many cases they can be grown at home and then planted. The only exception is when bulbs were used in early forcing. They are really no longer suitable. Approximately three weeks after the cutoff of flowers, the material for the future planting is excavated, dried and planted. These procedures are carried out in the usual way, no special manipulation is required. Success in the preparation of planting material and its storage largely depends on the variety of tulips.