Crocuses: planting and care in the open field, rules for growing and breeding

Many summer residents try to decorate their summer cottages with beautiful flowers. Most often, saffron or crocus are planted in the garden or in flower beds. This herbaceous plant differs from other flowers in its bright color and long flowering. Before planting a flower, you need to understand the features of planting and caring for crocuses in the open field.

Features of culture: nuances of application in landscape design

Crocuses are considered one of the most common plants that are used in landscape design. They are used to decorate flower beds, rabatok and mixborders.Many experienced landscapers recommend pairing crocuses with other flowers to create beautiful flower arrangements. The plant goes well with daffodils, hyacinths and even tulips.

Using saffron in landscape design, it is planted next to undersized flowers. This helps to create a unique and vibrant composition that can brighten up any area.

Growing conditions

Before you start growing a plant, you will have to figure out the optimal conditions for its further growth.

Illumination

Growing crocuses, you need to take care of the level of lighting in advance. Some people think that they should be grown in bright rooms right away, but this is not so. The first 2-3 weeks, seedlings germinate in a dark place, without sunlight. After the appearance of the first sprout, the container with the seedling is brought into the light for the first time.

If the surface of the sprout is loose, it means that the light stage has not yet arrived and therefore you should not transfer the flower to the light. We'll have to wait another 5-8 days. When the flowering phase begins, the saffron will have to be moved to a shaded place for a week and a half.

Temperature conditions

The quality of planted seedlings and the duration of their flowering depend on compliance with the temperature regime. It is necessary to observe the temperature even before planting crocuses in the garden. First, the tubers are stored at 30 degrees for ten days, after which the temperature is gradually lowered to 20 degrees. Then the seed is hardened so that it gets used to temperature changes. To do this, it is stored for a week and a half in a cool room where the temperature does not rise above ten degrees.

Planted flowers grow best at a temperature of 15-20 degrees.

Optimal humidity

When growing flowers, you need to monitor the level of humidity so that it does not rise much. To maintain optimal soil moisture, you need to take care of high-quality drainage. Experts recommend planting crocuses in loose soil, which allows water to pass through well and provides normal air circulation.

Required soil composition

Growing crocuses is very easy if you plant them in the most suitable soil for such a flower. Experts advise planting flower tubers in light, well-drained soil that is rich in nutrients. To make the plant grow better, overripe manure is added to the soil in advance, a little compost mixed with sand and wood ash.

It is contraindicated to feed a flower bed with planted crocus bushes with fresh manure, as this may cause the plant to dry out.

Neighbourhood

Before choosing a place for planting crocus, you need to familiarize yourself with the plants near which it is best to grow it. Many flower growers plant it near these perennials:

phlox;
geuchera;
hydrangea.

The above perennials grow quickly in breadth and protect crocus seedlings from the sun. Due to this, their leaves turn yellow and fall off less often.

How and when to plant crocus bulbs

To properly plant saffron, you will have to figure out the timing and features of its planting.

Timing

There are autumn and spring planting dates for crocus bulbs. Therefore, before planting them, you need to decide when is the best time to do this.

In autumn before winter

Some flower growers plant flowers in autumn. Most often, this is done in October, when the ground has not yet frozen from nightly drops in temperature. Residents of Moldova, Ukraine and the southern regions of Russia can plant almost until the end of autumn.

Gardeners who live in the Urals will have to plant flowers early. Landing work must be completed before the twentieth of September. Bulbs cannot be planted in October due to cold weather.

Spring

People who did not have time to plant seedlings in the fall have to plant them in the spring. In spring, it is necessary to plant pre-sprouted crocus bushes in flower beds. At the same time, it is necessary to engage in transplantation when the soil is heated to 8-10 degrees. In the southern regions, the earth warms up to this temperature by mid-April. Residents of Siberia will have to wait a bit, until the middle or end of May.

Depth and landing pattern

People who have never planted flowers are interested in how deep to plant crocuses. Experienced growers are advised to deepen the tubers 10-12 centimeters deep. In order for the first shoots to appear faster, the seed can be planted higher - at a depth of 5-6 centimeters.

In the process of planting, you need to monitor the distance between the holes. They should be 15-20 centimeters apart from each other. If you plant flowers too close, they will grow more slowly due to lack of nutrients and light.

How to care for a plant in the garden

Having planted young crocuses in the garden, they must be properly looked after.

Water and fertilize

Compliance with agricultural practices for growing saffron will help grow he althy flowers. When caring for a plant, it must be properly watered and fed. If the area with planted plants was covered with a dense layer of snow in winter, it is not necessary to water. A large amount of moisture adversely affects the growth of crocuses. However, if there was no snow, you will have to moisten the soil every 2-3 months.

Top dressing is applied once - when planting the bulbs. Potash and phosphate fertilizers are applied to the soil.

Loosening the soil

Some people think that loosening the soil is optional, but it is not. In order for the flowers to grow and bloom normally, you need to regularly loosen the soil. This contributes to the supply of oxygen and moisture to the topsoil. Loosening is recommended after each watering and prolonged rains, when the ground is covered with a dense crust.

Pests and flower diseases: prevention and treatment

Frequently planted crocuses suffer from viral diseases, which cause deformation and cracking of the petals. Also, viral ailments lead to stunting of seedlings and yellowing of the leaves. To prevent and eliminate diseases, crocuses are treated with fungicidal solutions.

Popular pests that often attack a flower include:

aphid;
slugs;
scoops;
rodents.

To prevent pests from appearing on the flowers, they will have to be planted near cultivated plants.

Transfer to a new location

Repot crocuses every five years. At the same time, landing in a new place is carried out at the same time as the usual planting of bulbs.

Before planting, all bulbs are dug up and thoroughly dried in a room at room temperature for about three months. Then the exfoliated scales are trimmed and the old roots are cut off. After that, the dried and cut bulbs are planted in the ground.

Crocuses after flowering

Beginner growers don't know what to do with crocuses when flowering is over.

When should you dig the bulbs

After flowering is complete, it is recommended to dig up the bulbs for winter storage. This is done when all the petals have fallen on the plant. Most often, the digging of bulbs is carried out during the dormant period, which begins in the twentieth of June and ends at the end of August. However, some varieties of crocuses may take longer to bloom and are therefore dug up a few weeks later.

How to store bulbs

The bulbs removed from the soil are washed from the remnants of the earth and dried in a shady place that is protected from the sun. They should be stored at a temperature of 18-20 degrees. After 2-3 months, the bulbs can be placed in a cooler place.

Crocus reproduction

Crocuses breed in two ways, which you need to familiarize yourself with in advance.

Seeds

The easiest way to propagate flowers is seeds collected from adult plants.Planting seeds is carried out at the end of summer or in the first half of September. Before planting, the seed is treated in a manganese liquid and in stimulants that accelerate the growth of planted crocus seeds.

Bulbs

Some flower growers prefer to plant not seeds, but sprouted bulbs in a flower bed. The main advantage of this method of breeding flowers is that it is possible to obtain he althier seedlings that are resistant to most diseases.

For planting, choose large tubers, the size of which is 5-6 centimeters. Their surface should be free from damage and signs of decay.

Why don't bloom

Sometimes planted crocuses stop blooming. There are several causes for this problem.

Wrong fit

Problems with flowering may occur due to improper planting of saffron.The plant blooms more slowly if planted too close. Therefore, when planting, it is necessary to ensure that the bushes are at a sufficient distance from each other. Also, the flowers do not bloom due to non-compliance with the terms of planting and improper care.

Excessive division

Sometimes the mother bulb gives a lot of babies, which negatively affects the development of the flower. In this case, most of the nutrients are spent on the development of daughter bulbs, and therefore flowering may be delayed or not start at all. In case of excessive division, all young bulbs must be removed so that they do not interfere with the growth of the plant.

Pests

Plants may stop blooming due to being attacked by dangerous pests. Most often, crocuses suffer from rodents that feed on mature bulbs. Due to serious damage to the bushes, flower buds cease to form, and the plant gradually dies.To protect seedlings from rodents, you will have to plant them in plastic containers.

Wrong variety selected

There are spring-blooming and autumn-blooming flowers that are planted at different times. Inexperienced gardeners who have not previously planted crocuses often confuse varieties, resulting in poor flowering and slow growth of seedlings. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, it is necessary to figure out in advance which variety is planted in the garden

Conclusion

People who want to decorate their plot with flowers sometimes plant crocuses. Before planting plants, you need to understand the features of growing bulbs in the open field and how to properly care for them.