Crocus home: reviews. Crocus: landing, care

Handsome crocuses (saffron) in early spring adorn the stony Central Asian steppes, subalpine meadows of Europe and the dacha sections of the central strip of Russia. These bright cheerful flowers - the representatives of the Iris family - amaze with the variety of colors and shapes and are so gentle and unpretentious that breeders of many countries do not stop working on the development of new varieties, taking into account the wishes of gardeners and their feedback. Crocus is an acknowledged primrose and is blooming along with snowdrops. But if you learn the art of growing their home, then you can admire the sweet hearts of flowers in the winter, because, like all onion, they obey the laws of forcing.

Description of the culture

The shape of the flower of the plant resembles a miniature tulip. One bulb produces one stem with leaves and a flower. The root part protects the tender stem from possible damage by thin scales. At the crocus, a same-sexed flower decorated from the inside with a bright stigma with stamens in a yellow-orange range and requiring the help of insects for pollination. Crocuses, whose photos convey the exquisite tenderness of primroses, are known for their edible bulbs, which can be baked or boiled. But the main value is the presence of stigmas and stamens, famous for their medicinal properties. In addition, saffron - a wonderful and well-known spice, used for food is not one millennium.

Growing crocuses at home: choose a variety

The method of forcing finds many supporters, leaving excellent reviews. Crocus, blooming in the New Year! What can be more refined? Successful outbreak of crocus predetermines several stages: selection of bulbs, soil preparation, planting and subsequent maintenance under certain conditions. We will deal with the subtleties of growing crocus in pots. Having set a goal to grow crocus home in winter, we will think about the most successful selection of seed material. With all the variety of varieties of crocuses, not all species can bloom in the room. It is not necessary to dwell on natural varieties, their decorative qualities do not always correspond to expectations. The best option would be a variety of Dutch breeding with large flowers. The choice of a particular variety depends on the expected timing of flowering. When planning the outbreak for the New Year, early species are selected, by the May holidays, they are late.

Basic requirements for the quality of bulbs

Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the bulbs: they should be approximately the same size, clean, without mechanical damage and rot. Observing the aesthetics of planting, when sowing crocuses, it is necessary to achieve good germination, small deviations in height and simultaneous flowering.

The size of the bulb is important: it should not be less than 5 cm in diameter. Crocuses, the price for which is very democratic, in stores are usually measured along the circumference. To grow them at home, you need seed from a size of 7/8. The bulb of such a circle will allow you to get one flower at forcing, at a size of 8/9 cm - two or three flowers, and at a size of 10 cm you can grow 5-6 pieces. There is a regularity: the larger the planting material, the earlier it will bloom. Buy crocus bulbs in specialized stores better in August-September. At this time, the best quality seed is on sale.

Preparing for forcing

Lovers of growing bulbous flowers at home give unanimous feedback: crocus blooms before the term after interference in the process of natural development of culture, the plant needs to provide conditions that are close to natural. In other words, to ensure the guaranteed flowering of crocus bulbs, it is necessary to go through the stage of cooling and rooting, which lasts no less than three months.

On the bulbs you need to take care in the summer. If you want to get blooming crocuses in February-March next year, you need to dig up the bulbs for planting in June, after the above-ground parts have faded. Seed material is carefully sorted, choosing the strongest specimens, dried and stored in a well-ventilated enclosed space. In the middle of July bulbs are kept for 5-7 days at a temperature of +32 ... + 35 ° С, then the bulb storage temperature is reduced to +18 ° С, and after another two weeks - up to +15 ... + 17 ° С. From the second decade of August, the cooling phase begins, which is carried out in a dark dry room at a temperature of +4 ... + 8 ° С. In an apartment, the best way to store bulbs is a refrigerator, to provide the necessary temperature regime in it is quite simple. Keep crocuses in the refrigerator can be up to a month. They should be wrapped in several layers of thick paper, plastic bags can not be used for storage. Bulbs bought in the store are well dried, but are also needed for cooling. They are kept for several days at room temperature, and then placed in a refrigerator.

Planting time for corms in pots

During the cooling period follows a period of rooting, imitating the culture for winter. Its beginning is the moment of planting the bulbs in the tank. The later periods of flowering determine the duration of cooling and the later planting of bulbs in the ground. For example, when planning expansions for the New Year holidays, they are planted in the first decade of September, by February-March - at the end of October or in November.

Soil preparation

To plant crocuses should be prepared quality soil. Usually it consists of garden land, mixed with large river sand in the proportion of 3/2. These are the best proportions, which is confirmed by fans of this plant, leaving feedback. Crocus prefers neutral soils, so it will not be superfluous to remove the acidity of the soil by adding a small amount of bone meal. The substrate must be air-and liquid-permeable. Before planting the bulbs in the pot, the soil is spilled with a solution of peat-humic fertilizer, which promotes better rooting of the bulbs and disinfection of the earth. Actually, the presence of nutrients in the soil does not affect the quality of flowering, it can be done in sand, shallow claydite or even in a vessel with water. However, when planning further use of the crop as a houseplant, it is better to plant crocus in a substrate with the above composition. This will provide nutrients to the emerging future flower buds.

Method of planting - "in a sandy shirt"

The peculiarity of this method of planting is to provide conditions for protecting the bulb from putrefaction if there is such a danger. With this method, the bottom of the container is covered with a layer of nutrient soil, covered with sand, into which the bottom of the bulb is embedded and sand is poured to the top. Crocus roots receive all the necessary nutrition, but at the same time the bulb itself is protected from the occurrence of diseases.

Crocuses: photo, planting and forcing

Plant the bulbs in a shallow, wide container with a bead. They are buried next to each other, pouring on top a thin layer of substrate. A necessary condition is the availability of good drainage. The bulbs should not touch each other and with the walls of the pot. In a separate pot, it is better to plant seedlings of the same variety and size. In this case, uniform shoots and simultaneous flowering are achieved.

After planting, the soil is primed and watered. Containers are placed in a dark cold place with an air temperature not exceeding +5 ... + 9 ° С. The duration of the rooting stage is 2-2.5 months. At this time, planting does not require care. Sometimes they should be watered after the top layer of the soil dries. When emergence of seedlings, containers with seedlings are transferred to a bright room with a temperature of +12 ... + 15 ° С. To give the decorative qualities to the flowers and weaken the reaction to the changed conditions, you can cover them with paper caps. As soon as they are pulled up to a height of 5 cm - it's time to move them to the illuminated window sill. At this time, it is necessary to provide seedlings with enhanced nutrient supply for bulbous plants, which are introduced with every second watering. Top dressing is performed before the appearance of buds, stop during the flowering period and resume again after its termination until the time of withering of the stems with a frequency of once a week.

Crocus: care. Photo of primroses

Moved to a light, cool windowsill, crocuses bloom after 12-15 days. At this time, care for the culture is in moderate watering with a frequency of 2-3 times a week. Crocus home perfectly gets along with the dry air of the apartments and does not need additional sprinkling. It should be noted that at +20 ° C plants decay very quickly, losing decorativeness. To prolong the magnificent spectacle of flowering crocuses, moderate lighting and a low temperature - up to +14 ... + 16 ° C, at night can be reduced to 0 ° С. In such conditions, you can admire blooming crocuses for up to two weeks.

So, growing primroses at home is a fascinating, albeit very long, but uncomplicated, affair that gives the miracle of a winter holiday! Crocuses, photos of which are presented in the article, are gentle and magnificent. They surprise the elegant form and bring joy.