In our country, tulips are very popular plants that are planted in flower beds and gardens. Bright flowers create a variety of colorful and interesting compositions. Bulbs are sold in stores almost all year round. This article will help flower growers get acquainted with the main characteristics and description of the Verandi tulip, learn the rules for planting and caring for this crop.

Grade description

Tulip Verandy belongs to the Dutch selection. In Russia, the variety is also very much appreciated by gardeners due to its decorativeness and large bright flowers.

You can highlight the following basic characteristics of a flower:

• bulbous plant of medium flowering (mid-April or early May);
• winter hardy grade;
• tends to be affected by fungal and viral diseases;
• stem - green, strong, resilient, not prone to lodging, its height varies between 50–55 cm;
• leaves - erect, long, dense, lanceolate, painted in bright green with a slight bluish plaque;
• the upper part of each stem is crowned with one flower;
• the tulip bud is large, its height reaches 10 cm, and its width is 7–8 cm;
• the flower consists of large oval petals;
• the edge of the scarlet petals is bordered by a thin yellow strip.

Growing Features

Culture is recommended to be planted in open areas where a sufficient amount of sunlight is exposed during the day. Since Verandi blooms in spring, it can even be placed under the trees: before dense leaves appear that obscure the space, the tulips will bloom and complete the vegetation. You should not choose a location where the shadow holds most of the day, there they bloom worse and tend to lie on the ground.

Did you know? In the XVI and XVII centuries, when tulips were delivered from Turkey to Europe, the buyers did not know that the colorful color of the petals is in most cases the result of the disease, so they paid a very high price for such planting material.

Landing rules

Variety Verandi begins to develop very early (in the first half of April), while flowers appear much later. Plant bulbs in a flower bed to achieve early flowering, preferably in autumn days.It would seem that in the autumn the weather is not very suitable for planting tulips: they can fall under the first frosts or the onions will begin to rot in the wet ground. Nevertheless, Verandi is resistant to cold, so it can be successfully planted in the garden before winter.

To plant tulips, the weather should already be cool enough, and the substrate should not be too wet or too dry. It is very important that the bulbs remain healthy and can quickly strengthen in the soil. The best moment for the work will be the end of September or the first ten days of October.

Important! Viral diseases are transmitted by aphids, garden tools, as well as rain and wind. Often, bacteria remain on the hands and shoes of the gardener, which provokes infection of other plants.

Before planting the bulbs, gardeners are advised to use protective preparations in which fungicides are present, for example, Fundazol, Topaz. Tulip disinfection is necessary because the underground part of this crop is very susceptible to fungal diseases caused by soil pathogens. Fungicides are different from each other, so the date of onion planting after processing should be determined based on the instructions of the chemical manufacturer. Usually, all information is contained on the packaging of the drug.

Tulips can be planted not only directly in the flower bed, but also in pots or portable containers. In this case, the issue with the date of disembarkation is not so clear. Container growing is possible both indoors and outdoors. If the florist wants to get beautiful buds at the beginning or middle of March, then it is advisable to place the onion very early: in January or February.

Flowers grown in the house will grow quickly and bloom for a long time. You can extend the flowering period by planting bulbs in containers every 14–20 days in order to be able to enjoy the buds throughout spring.

If the gardener is going to grow the crop on the balcony, you can choose two dates for planting the bulbs. The first container planting is carried out in early March or April in order to get the buds open and to decorate the windowsill or terrace with blooming pots.

The second phase of placing bulbs in pots and boxes is carried out in May (outdoors). In this case, the best time will be the first decade of May. If the spring is cold and the outside temperature is stable, you should wait until the air warms up above + 15 ° C.

To get strong, beautifully flowering plants, you should choose the right planting material.

There are such requirements for tulip bulbs:

1. They should be large and hard to the touch, with a diameter of at least 2.5–3 cm. Fragile and weak plants with a small bud grow from small specimens.
2. Planting material must have a whole husk: without cracks, abrasions and rot. Weakened areas are an excellent medium for the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms that quickly infect a plant. The main thing is not to acquire soft bulbs that are deformed under the pressure of the fingers. Softness may indicate old age or rot.
3. A good planting material also does not have sprouted shoot arrows or dry leaves, which are a sign that tulips will begin to grow prematurely and die with the onset of winter.

The best time to plant tulip bulbs is immediately after purchase. In this case, the grower can be sure that they will not lose their elasticity and will not dry out. If you have to store planting material for some time after purchase, you need to put it in a box, cover it with dry sawdust or sand, and then take it out to a cool room or basement. Before planting, onions should also be dipped in a prolonged action liquid fertilizer solution. These garden plants need a lot of nutrients.

Before you start planting tulips, you should properly prepare the soil. The soil should be as soft as possible, so you should dig it to a depth of 20 cm and carefully remove all weeds and stones that could interfere with the development of an extensive root system. If the earth is clay, it is worth adding a little sand and compost to it to increase fertility and the degree of looseness.

The main rules for planting tulips include the following:

1. The bulb should be placed vertically, down with the root, in a small hole in the soil. A small layer of expanded clay or small pebbles can be preliminarily laid at the base of the flower bed to ensure proper drainage to the culture.
2. Landing should be carried out carefully enough so as not to damage the top layer of scales.
3. It is important to place the seedlings at the desired depth, approximately 10-15 cm. The larger the planting material, the greater the depth of planting. This is extremely important, because tulips planted too small may not survive the winter cold and undergo fungal ailments. Such plants are not able to support heavy vertical leaves, and gradually begin to lay down on the ground, which spoils the appearance of the flowerbed.

The subtleties of care

Tulips are planted in the fall, so the plants immediately need to be well protected for the winter, despite their frost resistance. Proper tulip care during this period is very important. Immediately after the end of planting, the flowerbed is well covered with fallen leaves, pine bark or spruce spruce branches. Such mulching is enough to prevent freezing of these garden flowers.

Mulch has another important feature: it maintains sufficient soil moisture, so in autumn and winter (under snow) the bulbs are saturated with moisture. Of course, in the early spring, after the frosts end, the litter should be removed immediately so that the plants can develop freely.

These garden flowers can grow in the same place for many years in a row. It is not necessary to dig them out and transfer them to a new place every year. It is worth considering the fact that after 3-4 years the plants begin to be inhibited by new processes and the flowering of tulips becomes less plentiful. In addition, the risk of infection with pathogens increases every year. It is advisable to dig bulbs in the summer, when all the buds have already circled, and the stems and leaves have dried well.

Pests and diseases

Diseases affecting tulips are divided into: viral, physiological and fungal. Often plants can be saved, but for this, it is important for the grower to quickly and professionally respond to the symptoms. Viral diseases of plants are practically not visible to people. Understand that the tulip is sick, it is possible by slow growth of flowers, as well as a change in the color of the petals and leaves. Worst of all, such diseases are almost impossible to cure, they can only be prevented, and infected specimens must be immediately destroyed.

Important! It is not recommended to grow this culture in places previously occupied by other bulb plants, such as hyacinths or gladioli.

The viral diseases of tulips include the following:

1. Variegated Petals - a sign of the disease is a change in the color of the petals, on which multi-colored stripes begin to appear. This is especially noticeable on red or pink buds. Color changes are not noticeable on varieties with white and yellow petals. Also, the disease manifests itself on the leaves in the form of longitudinal stripes of various shades. This virus leads to the fact that plant growth stops, they stop developing, have weak roots, bloom late, and the bulbs themselves are formed small. Infection occurs during winter storage in a hot room. To prevent the development of diseases in the future, the affected flowers are cut off and removed from the flower bed. Dig their underground part and burn, as it is forbidden to place infected plants in compost.
2. Viral Mosaic - the disease is provoked by a group of viruses that cause discoloration of flower petals and leaves of plants. Ill tulips stop in development. The disease can be prevented by using healthy planting material and destroying the aphid, which is the carrier of the virus. Affected specimens should be destroyed immediately to prevent transmission of the disease to healthy colors.

Physiological diseases of plants arise as a result of a lack of sufficient nutrients in the soil, small or excessive amounts of sunlight, or moisture deficiency. This category of diseases includes necrosis. The disease is characterized by the appearance of irregular dark spots on the shoots, leaves and flowers. Plants stop development, their leaves distort too early and wither.

Necrosis usually appears before or after flowering. As a disease prevention, only natural methods of control are possible: planting healthy bulbs and immediate removal of samples infected with necrosis. It is also strongly not recommended to plant lily plantations in the neighborhood. Sick specimens should be burned, and the soil should be treated with Diazinon (30 g per 10 m²).

Fungal diseases cause spores of pathogenic fungi. They attack all parts of the plant and the result of their exposure is gray and black spots on the surface of the flower, as well as its rot. The development of the fungus is facilitated by excessive humidity of the air and soil, as well as the late extraction of planting material from the ground.

The most common fungal diseases include:

1. Gangrene - diseased plants do not grow, fade and eventually die. Their roots are poorly developed, but new ones do not appear. As a preventive measure, a healthy planting material is planted and infected samples are immediately removed. At the first signs of gangrenous symptoms, flower beds are treated with drugs such as Bravo 500 SC and Previcur 607 SL (2.5 L per 1 ha).
2. Gray mold - The main symptom is small gray spots that appear in large numbers around the flower. The fungus develops rapidly in wet and cold weather. To combat the disease, you can use the drug "Biosept 33 SL". Do not often fertilize the soil with nitrogen substances. Also, you can not plant bulbs too close. To avoid the development of fungal spores, it is advisable to water the flowerbed under the root so that water does not fall on the leaves. Dying parts should be burned. As a preventive measure, before placing the planting material in the ground, it should be treated with a drug intended for feeding onion plants. For outbreaks of gray mold, chemicals such as Miedzian 50 WP, Bravo 500 SC, Kaptan 50 WP, or Topsin M 500 SC (2.2 L per 1 ha) should be used.
3. Fusarium - This disease affects only the tulip bulbs. Its occurrence is facilitated by the storage of planting material in a room with high humidity. Samples affected by spores have a soft neck, which later dries, hardens and has an unpleasant odor. Diseases can be avoided by planting elite planting stock. In addition, it is desirable to treat it with agents that prevent the development of the disease. It is also important to periodically sort out dug bulbs and remove diseased specimens. The optimum temperature for their storage is about + 10 ° C. It is also advisable to pre-spray with Topsin M 70 WP or Topsin M 500 SC (2.7 L per 1 ha).

Pests for tulips are not as dangerous as the diseases described above, since they can be controlled using insecticides. Most of all, this culture suffers from damage to the bulbs that mice, bears and May larvae like to eat. You can get rid of rodents by planting plants in metal baskets.

Special containers are equipped with numerous holes through which the roots can grow freely. The basket is placed in a recess, the earth is poured into it, after which the bulbs are planted in the same way as in open ground. If desired, the flower grower can do this so that the handles of the baskets stick out above the surface of the flowerbed - then it will be easier to remove them from the soil when the time comes for transplantation.

Did you know?The Russian word tulip has Turkic roots and comes from the Persian "toliban", literally translated meaning - turban. The bud of this flower looks like a turban.

From other insect pests, processing of planting material in solutions with the addition of long-acting insecticides, for example, Prestige, Bravo (50 ml per 3 l of water), will help.

Tulip in landscaping

In flower beds and colorful compositions, it is desirable to plant tulips nearby, but not linearly. In a chaotic order or in groups, they will look more beautiful, especially if you vary the varieties and colors. Thanks to this, the spring garden will turn into a spectacular mix of colors and textures.

Tulips of the Verandi variety are very beautiful plants with bright large buds that can decorate a garden or flower bed near the house in early spring. They are undoubtedly worth the care and care of the florist, for which later they will thank him with lush early flowering.