Hyacinths are annual bulbous plants that grow well both in the garden and at home.
What to do with the plant after flowering, how to save it until the next planting?
Following some rules, you can successfully store bulbs and enjoy the blooming of hyacinths every year.
Hyacinths have faded - how to care for them after flowering
As soon as the flowering of hyacinths has ended, you need to cut the arrow. If this is not done on time, then seed boxes will be tied up, which will take away the strength from the bulb. A weakened bulb does not tolerate wintering well.
In young medium-sized bulbs, the flower arrow must be cut off before flowering. Thus, the bulbs grow larger, healthier and bloom for a long time in subsequent years.
What to do with hyacinth leaves after flowering?
Hyacinths get nutrients not only from the soil. The leaves deliver to the bulb all the necessary elements for growth and development. Therefore, after flowering, they are not harvested. They must dry naturally. This process can be accelerated by reducing the watering of the plant. Yellowed leaves are well separated from the bulb.
How to care for a garden hyacinth bulb after flowering
What to do with the bulbs of the plant, how to save them until the next precipitation? The process of growing and caring for hyacinths is quite laborious. The annual digging of bulbs and the death of leaves is an inevitable process that can not be done. But it allows you to identify diseased and weak bulbs that should not be stored.
Dig bulbs after flowering is not necessary immediately. As soon as the leaves turn yellow, hyacinth care continues. The plant continues to be watered and fertilized. This allows the bulbs to recover and accumulate enough nutrients for wintering. Top dressing should be carried out every two weeks with complex fertilizer for deciduous plants. After two to three months, the bulbs can be dug up.
Dig bulbs at the end of July, when all the leaves of the plant turned yellow. If you postpone the excavation procedure, then in the future the bulb can not be found. Garden hyacinths go deep into the ground.
Hyacinths cannot be grown without digging bulbs. Plants cease to bloom, unnecessarily deep. With regular digging, the gardener can constantly set the desired depth for the bulb.
For plants grown at home, the timing of digging the bulbs is shifted. They depend on the distillation of the plant. If distillation is done late, then dig out the bulb only after flowering and yellowing of the leaves.
Bulb storage and care after flowering
The most important point in growing hyacinths is the storage of bulbs at home. It is during storage in the bulb flower buds are laid. Further flowering of the plant depends on proper storage.
If the storage conditions of the bulbs are violated, and the excavation was done too late, then flowering will be sparse. Bulbs need to be stored for three months.
How to keep bulbs at home:
1. Bulbs of hyacinths are dug up and dried in a shaded place. This may take a week. Dry the bulbs at a temperature of 20 degrees.
2. Next, the bulbs are cleaned from the ground, the residual roots are removed and sorted. Inspect the bulbs for disease and damage. Weak material is discarded. I put the sorted bulbs for storage. Small bulbs are stored separately from large ones. On paper bags for storage sign the name of the variety.
The entire storage process takes place in two stages, which are necessary for the plant to book flower buds.
The first stage lasts two months. Bulbs are stored at room temperature in paper bags. Storage temperature is 25 degrees.
The second stage lasts one month. This is pre-planting storage of bulbs. The temperature should be within 18 degrees. During storage, they monitor not only the temperature, but also the humidity. With insufficient moisture, the hyacinth bulbs dry out.
If for some reason you need to reduce the first stage of storage, you can increase the temperature to 30 degrees. Under such conditions, it takes 1.5 months to dry the hyacinths.
When to plant hyacinth bulbs in the garden?
You can return hyacinth bulbs to the garden in late September or early October. With an earlier planting of bulbs, they begin to actively develop and die in the winter. If you are late with planting, then the plants will not have time to take root and freeze.
After storage, the bulbs are sorted and rejected by the sick and affected. Finished material is sorted. Bulbs of medium size are useful for planting in the garden. They will give a healthy and strong peduncle. Small onions grow at home. Immediately before planting, the bulbs are disinfected in a fungicide solution and dried.
Preparation of soil for planting hyacinth
The soil for planting bulbs is prepared in advance.
1. The earth is dug up on a bayonet shovel, cleaned of weeds, leveled.
2. Mineral fertilizers, humus and compost are added to the prepared soil. In heavy soils, sand and peat are added. On sandy soils, more potassium fertilizers are applied.
To apply nitrogen fertilizers under the bulbs in the spring and summer.
The scheme of planting hyacinth bulbs
For good growth and development, planting bulbs in the garden is necessary with a certain scheme. Strong large bulbs are planted at a distance of 15 cm. Planting depth does not exceed 18 cm.
Small bulbs and children are planted separately, the distance between them is reduced. Depth of embedment is from 5 cm.
Hyacinths grow well in the garden on a "sand cushion." Pure river sand is poured into the planting pit with a layer of up to 3 cm. Bulbs are planted in this "pillow" and again covered with sand, and then with soil. This planting method ensures the safety of the bulb. Water does not stagnate in the soil and hyacinth is not damaged by rot.
For a good winter, planting hyacinths is mulched with straw or peat. In early spring, the layer of mulch must be removed, otherwise hyacinths will not be able to germinate on their own.
When hyacinths are planted at room conditions
Hyacinths lend themselves well to indoor distillation. For this, after storage, the bulbs are planted in a pot.
Large bulbs are picked for room forcing, which will give a good flower stalk and will please a long flowering. Sorted material should be free of signs of damage.
Indoor distillation is characterized in that a flowering plant can be obtained by a certain date. The planting and storage periods are regulated by the grower depending on his preferences.
For planting a wide and shallow pot is selected. The container must have openings for draining excess fluid. This will save the plant from decay of the bottom of the bulb.
The scheme of planting hyacinth bulbs at home
To plant hyacinths at home, you need to take fertile soil. Expanded clay and a layer of soil are poured at the bottom of the tank. Bulbs are placed on the ground.
The scheme of planting hyacinth bulbs in a pot is different from that of planting in the garden. Bulbs must be placed very closely on the soil surface, but they should not be in contact with the edge of the pot. Next, you need to sprinkle hyacinths on the ground, but the tops of the bulbs should remain open.
During dormancy, until new leaves appear, the bulbs are placed in a cool room or cellar. The duration of the rest period is from 2 to 2.5 months. At this time, you need to monitor soil moisture and water hyacinths in a timely manner. With this storage, the bulbs take root well and lay the buds of growth.
You can store planted bulbs in the refrigerator, where the temperature should be at 7 degrees. Cold storage is a must for growing hyacinths.
Hyacinth Care: Prevention of Diseases After Flowering
With improper storage of hyacinth bulbs, fungal diseases occur that lead to the death of the plant.
Storage at too low temperatures and high humidity promotes the spread of gray rot, which affects the bulbs. You can prevent the appearance of rot by adjusting the storage conditions of planting material. Before planting the bulbs in the soil after a storage period, pre-planting treatment with solutions of disinfectants is carried out. Apply for this foundationazole, formalin or a solution of potassium permanganate.
