Forcing lilies of the valley in winter. Forcing lilies of the valley at home Preparing rhizomes of lilies of the valley for winter forcing

Have everyone ever seen tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, etc. grown specially for some holiday? This method is called forcing. Wouldn't you like to have blooming lilies of the valley for the New Year? Just imagine: a Christmas tree, a festive New Year's table, winter is outside the window, and lilies of the valley are blooming! If you like the idea, then read on.

planting material

Planting material can be bought in specialized stores already prepared, it is usually sold with an inscription on the packaging - "For distillation." Or you can prepare it yourself, but, as far as I know, the forest lily of the valley is under protection and cannot be dug up and taken out of the forest. And in the beauty of porcelain bells, he is inferior to his garden counterpart. Well, dig up the garden lilies of the valley with a pitchfork so as to damage the rhizome as little as possible, since new roots will not grow back during forcing and the plant will only feed on its reserves. It is for this reason that you need to choose large and strong plants.

Pay attention to the shape of the bud: if it is plump and slightly rounded, then it will bloom, and if it is thin and thin, then only a leaf will grow from such a bud.

storage

Rhizomes dug out in mid-September, selected and tied into a bunch, should be soaked in water for 1.5-2 hours. Then wrap it in a damp material, ideally in wet sphagnum moss, wrap it on top with plastic wrap and store it on the lower shelf of the refrigerator.

It is desirable to place them vertically there. If they begin to interfere in the refrigerator, then when the snow falls, you can dig in the snow and store until the start of distillation, t ° is needed at the same time -2 °. But it happens that absolutely nothing happens with the creation of cold storage for lilies of the valley, then you have to plant it as it is. They will bloom too, but will not be as beautiful as if all conditions are met.

You need to start distilling lilies of the valley in 3 weeks before the desired flowering date.

kick out for the new year

If flowers are needed for the New Year, then distillation should begin in early January. Count back 21 days from the desired date. For example, lilies of the valley are needed by January 29, which means the beginning of the process is January 7-8.

After cold storage, we take out the lilies of the valley, open them and they should be in the room for a day. After that, we arrange a warm bath with water t ° + 30 ° for 10-12 hours. To maintain the desired temperature, the water will have to be changed all the time. With this bath, we will bring the plant out of dormancy and force the nutrients from the roots to the flower buds. Plants that have not been stored in the cold also need to arrange a warm bath.

Plants that are driven out for the New Year only have flowers, there are almost no leaves.

Distillation by March and February

It is better to start preparing the plants a little earlier, that is, not exactly by February 23, but with a margin of time. In this case, distillation should start on January 30 - February 1.

We do the same with flowers that should bloom by March 8. We choose the date a little with a margin of time - we are preparing the plants for distillation on February 12-15.

For these terms, you can take not only large, but also medium-sized kidneys.

In February, unlike New Year's forcing, there will be not only flowers, but also leaves in a normal ratio to each other, but in March there will be more leaves, so when peduncles appear, then leave one leaf near each, cut off the rest with a sharp knife but better with nail scissors, it is more convenient and less likely that you will hurt the plant.

If you like to forcing lilies of the valley, then you need them to grow in place with fertile soil, then feed with complex fertilizer and monitor soil moisture until mid-summer. Well, it is natural to remove weeds. Remember, lilies of the valley, when distilled, feed only on what they have stored, so we need to help them so that they bloom in winter.

And it also follows that after distillation, when the nutrients in the roots run out, the plant is no longer suitable for further cultivation, do not even try, you will just waste time.

soil and planting

The soil for lilies of the valley can be purchased for seedlings; leafy with moss; peat and sand in a ratio of 4: 1; can be driven out in the sand. An important requirement is that it must be loose, moisture and breathable.

A pot for planting is suitable with a diameter of 11-12 cm and at least 12 cm in width; 9 rhizomes can be placed in such a pot.

The soil is poured into a container not reaching the edges of 9-10 cm, tightly to each other arrange the rhizomes of the lilies of the valley buds up, fill the space between the plants with soil so that the buds remain above the soil surface. Pour with warm water, if after watering gullies have formed, then they must be filled with soil.

After pouring, cover the container with a plastic bag or glass, and shade with something. You can use paper caps instead of a bag. A bag or glass creates greenhouse conditions for lilies of the valley, that is, increased atmospheric humidity, which they really need during the germination period. If you cover with a paper cap, remember to spray every day.

Planted, watered and sheltered lilies of the valley must now be placed in a very warm place (this may be a place near the battery) t ° + 25 ° + 30 °.

care

After the sprouts appear, remove the package, glass, caps and place the container with plants in a bright place, but not in direct sunlight, remember where lilies of the valley grow in the forest? Under trees or bushes, i.e. not in the sun. And keep monitoring the humidity, that is, spray and water.

When the first buds appear, put the lilies of the valley in a cool place if you want to admire them longer.

Everyone associates spring with different things, but everyone will most likely have similar associations such as warmth, fast streams, drizzling rain or the long-awaited bright, blue sky and sea of \u200b\u200bflowers on International Women's Day on March 8, especially tulips, for this is a real, feminine flower. Yes, even if it is cheaper than a rose, but more sensual and appropriate ...

Interestingly, unlike Dutch roses in the markets by March 8, you can see our tulips, domestic ones, which have time to grow and freeze at the stage of a bud that is about to bloom.

Receiving flowering plants in a period unusual for their flowering is called forcing. This process is not so complicated as it seems at first glance.

Today we will teach you how to have time to drive out tulips exactly by March 8 with our with my own handswithout making any special effort.

LET'S START WITH TULIPS FOR RUNNING

Through trial and error, flower growers came to the conclusion that some varieties of tulips are driven out much better than others, that is, in this regard, they are more reliable. We present to you an almost secret list of tulip varieties, which has not been published anywhere before, it is they who are distilled much better than others.

Let's start with tulips having red coloring... These are Hell Rem, Princess Victoria, Word Favorite, Lin Van Der Mark and Dow Jones.

Among pink tulips the best for forcing a variety such as Pink Impression, and among the yellow ones there are several at once: Strong Gold, Monte Carlo, Golden Apeldoorn.

Crimson tulips, perhaps, one of the most delicate, here luck will accompany those who use the Christmas Marvel variety in forcing. Stunning purple tulips can be selected for distillation Pepl Prince, and from white Montreux and Chess.

Bulbs of these tulip varieties are not uncommon in our country. The main thing is to examine the bulbs as carefully as possible when buying. They should not have any damage, signs of rot, dents, deep scratches on the surface. Never take small bulbs, try to choose the largest ones, with a diameter of 3.5 cm or more.

PROCESSING BULBS

Once purchased, the bulbs must go through a specific cooling process called stratification.

There are two ways to do this.

The first implies a long cooling period: from 100 to 130 days. That is, if you want to get blooming tulips by March 8, then everything should be done in advance, calculating the time.

The bulbs should be placed in a basement or other room with a temperature of about 9 degrees above zero and make sure that this temperature does not fluctuate too much. You can fold the onions into simple wooden boxes and leave them open. As for the humidity in the room, it should be at the level of 75-80%, preferably not higher or lower. Condensation must not build up on the bulbs and dry out during the cooling period.

The second cooling option is shorter in time, but this does not require a basement, but a special refrigerators compartment, which must constantly maintain a certain temperature - at 5 degrees Celsius - for "only" 45 days.

Remember firmly: if the tulip bulbs do not undergo stratification in this way, that is, they are not exposed to the cold, then the process of forcing, that is, the growth and development of the aerial part and the appearance of buds, will not occur.

LANDING AND CARE

Before placing the bulbs in the ground, it is highly advisable to treat them with an approved fungicide, that is, a preparation that protects the bulb from fungal infection.

If the bulbs are purchased, that is, you have no idea how they were obtained and under what conditions they were grown, then fungicide treatments are necessary. If these are your bulbs and you are sure of their health, then just soak them for half an hour in a solution of potassium permanganate (1-2%).

After soaking, the onions must be removed, rinsed in running water and placed on a dry cloth to dry. While the bulbs are resting, let's prepare the soil.

To do this, you need to take any fertile soil - for example, the top layer of soil from the garden and vegetable garden, which rested for at least a couple of years (nothing grew on it), compost and mix with river sand in the ratio: 2 parts of fertile soil, 1 part of compost and 1 part river sand. All this is well and thoroughly mixed and placed in a box, shallow, but rather wide (or several boxes, if you want to drive out a lot of tulips), in a layer of about 10 cm.

The bulbs are not buried in the prepared soil, but are pressed in by 2-3 cm with a light movement.In this case, it is strictly necessary to leave a distance between the bulbs of 1 cm if the diameter of the bulb is 3.5-4 cm, and 2 cm if the diameter of the bulb is more than 4 cm ...

The next stage: when the bulbs are placed in the soil, you need to cover them slightly with soil, as if to cover them, but do not cover them.

In order to invigorate, stimulate, feed the bulbs, it is necessary to water them not just with water, but with water mixed with calcium nitrate (10 l -20 g). Further, it is advisable to warm the water to room temperature and water the soil in such a way that about 50 g of such a nutrient mixture is consumed for each onion. After watering, it is advisable to sprinkle the bulbs with river sand, trying to take its largest fraction.

When the bulbs are watered and covered with sand, they must be placed in a basement or other room with a temperature of 8-9 degrees (without temperature fluctuations and drafts) and a humidity of about 90%, preferably without hesitation.

Check the soil about once a week. If you notice that it has begun to dry out, then water it with water at room temperature, but without adding additional fertilizing.

Usually in the month of January (if it is planned to distill it by March 8), the bulbs, as a rule, form roots and begin to form sprouts.

WHEN TO TAKE OUT INTO THE LIGHT

The boxes with sprouted tulip bulbs should be removed from the basement or other room approximately 20 days before March 8. Thus, from the usual basement, we transfer the revived bulbs to the forcing room.

It can be, in fact, anything. For example, a greenhouse or just a greenhouse or a room in any room with a window and heating. The most important thing is to have plenty of moisture, heat and light. The latter is usually not enough, the day is still short, so about an hour before sunrise and an hour after sunset, the bulbs need to be illuminated. And in cloudy weather, you do not need to turn off the light, otherwise the tulip sprouts can stretch out a lot.

As for the temperature, so that the bulbs do not experience the shock of a sudden change in temperature in the room, for three days you need to keep it at a level of 12-13 degrees above zero, and then you can raise it to 19-21 degrees.

If you do everything correctly, then buds will form, which will bloom immediately after cutting and placing in water - exactly by March 8.

Caring for growing bulbs is not much different from caring for anyone, probably houseplant... This is moderate watering with water at room temperature as the soil dries up and adjusting the backlight - if you notice that the stems are stretched, then the amount of backlight time can be increased by a third or a little more.

Then you yourself can adjust the intensity of tulip development. For example, if you notice that they grow a little slower than necessary, then simply increase the temperature in the racing room to 24-25 degrees. And if, on the contrary, the plants grow too intensively, then lower them to 16-17 degrees, and then their growth will slow down or even stop.

Many gardeners are engaged in forcing plants at home, someone likes hyacinths, someone loves to forcing spices (parsley, celery), and someone will like fragrant spring flowers - lilies of the valley.

What if you, like a princess, have a desire to admire the beautiful flowers for the New Year?

The answer is obvious - forcing lilies of the valley on the windowsill.

Blooming spring primroses in winter are perceived in most cases as a little magic of nature, but in fact anyone can become a magician if they wish.

To do this, you need knowledge of the technology of forcing lilies of the valley and a little patience.

As we know, lilies of the valley bloom in May, i.e. winter comes, it is replaced by a thaw and the long-awaited flowers delight us with their beauty. Our task as gardeners is for lilies of the valley to create all these artificial conditions at home.

Preparation of lily of the valley rhizomes for winter forcing

Choose strong rhizomes of lily of the valley with flower buds. You can either buy them in a specialized store, paying attention to the inscription on the packaging "For distillation", or prepare yourself, observing all storage conditions.

1. To do this, in mid-September, dig out the rhizomes with a pitchfork, trying not to injure them, since during forcing, new roots do not grow back and all the plant's nutrients are obtained from their reserves.
2. Select rhizomes with flower buds, not leafy ones (leaf buds have a sharp top, but flower ones are rounded).
3. Collect them in a bunch and lower them in water for 1.5-2 hours.
4. Then wrap in wet sphagnum, then in cling film and store in the vegetable section of the refrigerator until distilled.
5. Place them vertically if possible.

If this type of freezing does not suit you, then try to create a natural one. Dig into the snow and store at -2 ° C for 21 days before forcing.

If there is no way at all to go through the freezing stage, then when distilling lilies of the valley, the flowers will be of much worse quality.

In order for the lilies of the valley to bloom by the New Year, on a birthday in winter or on March 8, forcing should be started 3-4 weeks in advance.

Forcing lilies of the valley for the New Year, in January

1. Choose rhizomes with large flower buds (5-7 mm).
2. After freezing, leave them in the room for a day, then soak them for 10 hours in warm water (up to 35 ° C) to bring them out of their dormant state and recharge them with energy (you will have to monitor the temperature and maintain it constantly).
3. Then plant the rhizomes in pots with leafy soil, moss, or a mixture of peat and sand (4: 1), so that the buds are above the soil surface, and the roots take up all the space inside the container.
4. Drizzle with warm water and add soil as needed.
5. Cover with paper caps and place in a warm place, temperature 28-30 ° C (near the battery).

Spray with warm water daily if possible. When the peduncles are 10 cm long or you see leaves, then the caps can be removed and the containers can be placed on the windowsill, the temperature is 16-18 ° C and there is no direct sunlight.

Forcing lilies of the valley in February

This is the ideal time for forcing lilies of the valley in terms of leaf-to-flower ratio. Rhizomes with large flower buds and medium-sized ones are suitable here. During this time, the freezing and heating phase can be skipped.

In March, for forcing lilies of the valley, you can take rhizomes with any flower buds. At this time, the foliage will intensively develop, which will then cover part of the peduncles, therefore, when the leaves are still closed, remove part with the help of nail scissors.

Lilies of the valley bloom for about a month. For longer flowering, or if you need to delay the beginning of flowering for several days, when the first buds appear, place the pots in a cooler place.

You may like to engage in forcing lilies of the valley in winter, then for these purposes, select a separate area with fertile soil and in May, feed the flowers with a full complex fertilizer for the development of strong flower buds, constantly remove weeds and monitor the condition of the soil until mid-summer ...

Planting lilies of the valley in open ground after distillation, it is a useless waste of time and effort, since the plant will already give up all its vitality.

Probably, everyone in childhood read the famous fairy tale "Twelve Months", in which the little princess demanded lilies of the valley in winter. But even in a cold cold and snowfall, it is not difficult to make a fairy tale come true. Imagine how pleasant it is to admire when under new Year or in early spring lilies of the valley bloom in your apartment. Every gardener can feel like a wizard, for this you need to prepare the rhizomes of the lily of the valley in advance and save them until the time you need.

The graceful and fragrant lily of the valley blooms before anyone else in the spring forest. The appearance of this graceful plant corresponds to the poetic name: the slender stem of a long peduncle bears beautiful, drooping flowers. Lily of the valley is the favorite plant of flower growers for growing out of season and this is done quite simply. Often the distillation of a fragrant lily of the valley begins for some holiday. However, observing the flowering of lily of the valley in winter is sometimes perceived as a small miracle!

Harvesting rhizomes of lilies of the valley for distillation

Lilies of the valley are known to bloom in the wild in May. If you decide to grow lilies of the valley in your apartment, then you should create special artificial conditions. Observing certain requirements of the environment for forcing, even a man will be able to present his beloved lilies of the valley by March 8th. In order to have time to get the flowers of the lilies of the valley before a certain date, correctly calculate the distillation time. Usually from the beginning of forcing to flowering, 25 - 30 days are provided, these time limits depend on the home environment. If the flowering occurred ahead of time, then in order to maintain the freshness of the flowers, transfer the container with lilies of the valley to a cool place.

When choosing rhizomes for forcing, pay attention to strong specimens that have flower buds. Planting material can be purchased at a specialized store, or you can dig up lily of the valley rhizomes in the forest or on your site. Perform this procedure with a pitchfork so as not to damage the plant and leave the roots to the maximum. When distilled, the lily of the valley does not give new roots, the plant receives water only through them. Nutrients are also embedded in the rhizome, so it is important to properly preserve it before forcing the peduncles. Lily of the valley sprouts can be stored in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator upright with paper wrapped around the top.

Forcing lilies of the valley

At the right time for you, remove the pieces of lily of the valley rhizomes from storage. Carefully sort, sort, clean from dirt, only healthy, not rotten rhizomes are suitable for distillation. Pay attention to the kidneys: leaf buds the tops are sharp, in the flowers they are rounded. Cut the long roots, leaving 10 cm in length. Then place the roots of the lily of the valley in warm water for 10 hours. The recommended water temperature is 30 - 35 degrees. In the process of such heat treatment, the plant will come out of dormancy and the flow of nutrients from the roots to the flower buds will increase.

Prepare a container by filling it with soil mixture, not reaching the edges of 10 cm. Take four parts of peat and part of sand as soil. You can buy regular seedling soil. Place the rhizomes of the lilies of the valley vertically, preferably with the buds at the same level. Fill the empty spaces between the roots with earth. Make sure that the flower buds are not covered, but are on the surface. Carefully pour the planted rhizomes with water, if gullies have formed, add soil again. Forcing lilies of the valley requires high humidity, for this, wrap the buds with moss, cover the container with sprouts with polyethylene or glass and put it in a very warm place. Spray young shoots every day.

When the flower stalks have reached a size of 8 cm, then remove the film, sphagnum and transfer the container with lilies of the valley to a cool light windowsill. For a long time to delight the eye with the sight of snow-white and fragrant little bells, maintain a temperature of 16 - 18 degrees and shade the plant from direct sunlight.

If you want to drive out lilies of the valley every year, then take them to personal plot a special flower bed with fertile soil. In May, feed so that the plant has strong flower buds.

Lily of the valley (Convallaria) -genus of the lily family, is a perennial herb with ovoid leaves and a cluster of fragrant white bell-shaped flowers. Lilies of the valley bloom in late May for 10-20 days.

May lily of the valley (S. majalis) has long been known in culture, but still undeservedly rarely used in landscaping.

Varietal lily of the valley - the so-called Berlin lily, is distinguished by a larger flower. There are varieties with a pink corolla. Lily of the valley, due to the presence of a long branching rhizome (growth up to 20 cm per year), grows rapidly, forming a dense ground cover. Shade-tolerant, drought-resistant, undemanding to soil, grows well on sands and loams.

The lily of the valley growing on rich soils organic matter, larger flowers develop.

Reproduction of lily of the valley

Lily of the valley propagates by segments of rhizomes with a bud of renewal. Planting is possible only at the end of summer, as in spring the plants do not take root well. Lily of the valley can be used as a ground cover plant in shaded areas. Plants stand perfectly in cut, suitable for forcing, have medicinal value.

Forcing lilies of the valley in winter

Of all the perennials that can be distilled, the most important in floriculture is lily of the valley. This humble plant, with lovely white, fragrant bell-shaped flowers, enjoys everyone's love. It is used in bridal bouquets and in gravestone wreaths, and when planted in small pots, blossoming lilies of the valley are a pretty and fragrant decoration for rooms.
Garden lilies of the valley, in beauty, leave behind their forest counterparts, they have more broad leaves, large numerous flowers. In addition, they are much easier to distill.

Lily of the valley flowering time

The natural time of flowering lilies of the valley is May and June, but thanks to forcing, they can be in bloom all winter, starting in November. For forcing, cultivated rhizomes for three years are usually used. The experienced eye immediately recognizes from the shape and size of the apical bud, whether it will produce flowers. Flowering buds are usually straight, thick and not too pointed at the end. Thin, heavily clogged twisted buds will produce only leaves. If you cut a flower bud along the axis, you can see the rudiments of leaves and flowers inside.

When forcing lilies of the valley, especially the earliest one (in November), a temperature of at least 3 ° C is required, which is practically impossible in a home environment. Therefore in normal conditions forcing in rooms is only successful starting from the New Year.

Lily of the valley discovers a peculiar feature during distillation: the plant never gives new roots, but absorbs moisture exclusively with old ones. The nutrients necessary for the formation of flowers and leaves are already accumulated in the rhizomes ahead of time. Heat and moisture are the main conditions for the successful flowering of lilies of the valley in rooms.

Rhizomes are dug up in the garden or purchased in October or early November. They can be dug in beforehand. But it is better to plant it immediately. Use any fresh, loose soil, even clean sand is good. Each pot, depending on the size, is planted from 8 to 12 rhizomes. Before planting, the roots are cut 8-9 cm.

Features of forcing lilies of the valley

A little earth is poured onto the bottom of the pot and squeezed strongly, then they grab the number of rhizomes assigned for this pot in one hand, align them (the tops of the lily of the valley buds should be at the same height), and lower them into the pot to such a depth, so that these tops barely rise above the edge of the pot, and pour the earth around. After that, add more soil between the rhizomes and squeeze it around the buds, trying to distribute it evenly between the roots and so that the buds are at equal distances. If at the same time the top of one or another kidney is in the ground, it must be raised to the proper height. The main thing to watch out for when planting is that the buds rise above the soil surface, and the earth is strongly compressed and fills all the space between the roots. The planted lilies of the valley are well watered and stored until forcing in a cool place (basement).

It is very interesting forcing lilies of the valley in the so-called pyramids, which are egg-shaped earthen vessels. Supplied with small but numerous round holes. Planting rhizomes in them presents no difficulty if the neck of the vessel is so wide that a hand passes through it without hindrance. The roots are also cut by 8-9 cm. A little earth is poured into the vessel - up to the lower holes, then they are pushed into them from the inside along ONE lily of the valley, and the kidney should come out entirely. Having filled the bottom row of holes with plants, pour the earth up to the next row, squeeze it tightly with the back of bent fingers, again push a new row of lilies of the valley into the holes and repeat this technique until all the holes are occupied by plants. After that, several more specimens are planted in the throat of the vessel, which is then immersed in a bucket of water until the soil is completely saturated. Subsequently, watering is carried out in the same way, only using warm water.

The distillation itself in the rooms is carried out as follows. The pots are placed in a tall box filled with moss, and a layer of moss 5-8 cm high is also placed on top.After that, pour plenty of warm water through a strainer, cover the boxes with glass and put them in a very warm place, for example, near a stove or near a daily heating stove ...

Every day, in the morning and in the evening, the plants are watered with water heated to 4 ° C, while the glass is wiped dry with a cloth or cloth.

When the lily of the valley sprouts touch the glass, it is removed. Before the flowers bloom, the pots are removed from the boxes, cleaned of moss and placed on a window or jardiniere. It takes 20-25 days from the beginning of the attachment to flowering.

The earliest forcing lilies of the valley develop only flowers without leaves. Therefore, ferns can be placed between the pots, the green of which enhances the effect of the white fragrant flowers. The optimal time for forcing lilies of the valley is February, when both flowers and leaves develop equally well. Closer to spring, the leaves are more magnificent to the detriment of the inflorescences, which sometimes do not even appear at all. This grief can be helped to a certain extent: each sprout is left with only one leaf at the flower arrow, the rest are cut out with a sharp knife as early as possible, at least before they begin to unfold.

When forcing lilies of the valley all success depends on the temperature (it must be high enough). Humidity of air and soil, frequent and regular spraying. In this case, the water must be necessarily warm. The worst enemy of the expelled lilies of the valley is the sun; you should never allow direct rays to hit them. To keep the blossoming lilies of the valley in full glory longer, you need to keep them in a cool place. Faded plants are not suitable for further culture.