The group plantings of the Blue Diamond tulip will perfectly decorate both the park flower bed and the garden. These flowers form unusual and saturated buds. Herbaceous bulbous perennials ideally adapt to any climate and soil type. About how to grow the Blue Diamond tulip, take care of it, protect it from pests and diseases, what are the ways to place these plants in landscape compositions, - further in the article.

Grade description

According to the international classification, Blue Diamond tulips of the Blue Diamond class are classified as late, terry tulips. The double terry class (Double Late) is characterized by medium and high growth of plants, a flower resembling a peony, which blooms 21 days during May-June. The breeding of new varieties was actively carried out in the twentieth century using representatives of the Triumph class. The Double Late class nowadays has 121 varieties that are grown on 296 hectares, which is 4% of the total tulip plantation area in the Netherlands.

Blue Diamond are bulbous herbaceous plants bred by Dutch breeders, their powerful peduncles reach a height of 25-50 cm. This is a plant with few fleshy leaves of different sizes: large - lower and small - upper. The opened flowers are pion-shaped, juicy, magnetic lilac or purple-violet with a white tint, their height reaches 8–12 cm, the petals are tender, satin, their number is 18–20 pcs. The diameter of the flowers ranges from 4 to 18 cm. Plants bloom for three weeks, starting in mid-May. Seeds ripen in a small spherical box. This variety is often grown "cut." It is characterized by an average growth rate. The size of the bulb is 11-12 cm.

The plant rejuvenates every year, despite a short growing season. The laying of a young bulb begins immediately after flowering, and the formation of the future bud is completed in late autumn. Vegetation of the bush occurs in two ways: the formation of a daughter bulb near the mother and seeds.

Did you know? The German botanist Basilius Besler first made a description of European terry tulips back in 1613.

Growing Features

Plants with formed buds should be tied up, you can even protect with the help of props. These measures are carried out in order to prevent possible damage to the peduncles under the weight of the buds in rainy and windy weather.

Cut the withered flower and peduncle at the end of flowering to avoid seed formation, which leads to a decrease in the number of flowers as a result of depletion of the bulb. Leaves should be pruned when they are yellow and dry, as processes occur in them that contribute to the rejuvenation of the bulbous material.

When the flower stalks are completely dry, they dig out the bulbs with the "children", carefully sort them out, store them, drying them in a dark, warm place for a month. The next month they are kept at a temperature of + 20 ° C, and then until planting at + 15 ° C

When the temperature is set at + 5 ° C, planted onion material is covered for the winter with a mixture of peat and sand.

Dug out for storage, onion material, it is necessary to sort according to size, remove infected and damaged specimens. Then the bulbs should be treated with a manganese solution, dried, put into containers, and put in a cool place, with a temperature of + 10 ... + 15 ° С, until spring. Bulb cooling time is 15-16 weeks.

Important! Bulb material that is stored until the next planting should be checked regularly to prevent damage.

Landing rules

Achieving lush flowering Blue Diamond will help the correct planting of bulbs in an optimal place. Such a place would be a sunny, windless area; for Blue Diamond, partial shade is also considered acceptable.

Choose a nutritious soil, and not very moist. Excessive waterlogging contributes to the decay of the tulip bulb. Not sour, loamy, loose soil is suitable.

To reduce the acidity of the soil, add lime or a mixture of soil with one glass of ash, one glass of superphosphate and 3 kg of peat, prepared per 1 m²

Planting bulbs in groups involves digging a flat-bottomed hole to a depth of 12-15 cm. The bottom is covered with a layer of sod-compost soil, 1-2 cm thick, a centimeter layer of sand is poured on top. Bulbs with the sharp end up are laid on the sand, then they should be covered with previously removed soil. Winter tulips are distilled; large and healthy bulbs are selected for this. They are planted in containers with drainage holes. The bottom of the containers is covered with a layer of drainage. The soil mixture is prepared from turf soil, compost, sand or peat.

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Blue Diamond bulbs are transplanted to a new location annually. This process prevents the occurrence of bacterial and fungal diseases.

Bulb planting begins in late September or in the first decade of Octoberwhen the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm is + 5 ... + 7 ° C. Soak the bulbs in warm manganese solution for half an hour before planting.

The depth of planting of tulip bulbs depends on the size of the seeds. "Kids" are planted to a depth of 3 cm, small bulbs - 7 cm, medium - 10 cm, large - 15 cm.

A month and a half before planting, plowing the soil and adding organic matter. Before planting, the earth should not be fertilized with manure, as this can lead to decay of the root. Before planting, it is better to introduce humus at the rate of 10 kg per 1 m². Then the planting site should be poured with boiling water with manganese, so you protect the bulb from possible diseases.

The distance between the bushes should be from 8 to 20 cm. Such free space contributes to the normal growth and development of flowers. Proper planting of tulips ensures the appearance of the first seedlings already next spring. If the landing site is in the shade, then the first shoots should be expected a little later. Flowers are not afraid of spring frosts.

The subtleties of care

Blue Diamond are unpretentious in care. However, In order for the flowers to please you for a long time with magnificent flowering, the absence of diseases and pests on the bush, it is necessary to observe some rules of care:

1. Blue Diamond loves moisture, therefore, organize regular watering of the flower garden in the evening with warm water, heated for the whole day by the sun's rays, be especially responsible for this process during the formation of buds and flowering. Waterlogging threatens rotting bulbs. Moisture should not get on the leaves when watering, so use a special watering can with small holes on the nozzle, with which water in the holes formed around the plant. At the end of the flowering period, plentiful watering is continued for 15 days, then this process is gradually reduced.
2. After moistening, the soil is loosenedeliminate weeds every seven days.
3. Flower mulching retains moisture in the soil - the plant can be watered less.
4. Fertilize bushes 3-4 times a year. Nitrogen fertilizers introduced during the early spring period help to stimulate the growth and development of the bush. Do not miss the time of bud formation, during this period you should make a complex of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. At the end of flowering, phosphorus fertilizers must be added to strengthen the bulbs. If you did not dig the bulbs for summer storage, then in the fall, apply potassium fertilizer, which will increase frost resistance and will contribute to the rejuvenation of the onion material.

Important! By planting a combination of early and late varieties on one flower bed, you will continue the flowering process from April to June.

Pests and diseases

The Blue Diamond pests include:

1. Onion arachnid white-yellow tick, which affects the bulb, as a result, the bush fades, the leaves turn yellow. To destroy it, use any fungicide.
2. Slimmer snailsappearing prolonged rainy weather, and spoiling not only leaves, peduncles and flowers, but also bulbs.
3. Aphidsfeeding on the juice of peduncles, leaves, flowers, stored bulbs. Use a soap or manganese solution to rid plants of aphids.
4. Bears, which can damage or completely eat the bulbs of the bush, because of which the peduncles, leaves and flowers go awry. Destroy the bear with poisoned baits.

Many diseases spread quickly from one bush to another, so if you identify one infected plant, it is treated and transplanted to another place.

Among the diseases affecting the Blue Diamond are known:

1. Gray rot - These are yellow spots on the leaves, peduncle and flowers, which eventually change color to gray. The reason for gray spots is improper storage and care of the plant.
2. Powdery mildew manifested by white coating on the leaves, in order to avoid disease, the bushes should be treated with a soap-alcohol solution.
3. Incorrect landing spreads root rot on the bulbs due to waterlogged soil, as a result of the peduncle weakens, wilts, flower development does not occur.
4. August disease manifested by brown stripes on the stems, bulbs and leaves. To avoid the spread of the disease, the bush is dug up and burned.
5. In case of defeat Fusarium peduncle weakens, becomes thin, bud development does not occur. The bulb when digging is soft with affected areas. It must be burned, the soil treated with a manganese solution.
6. Soft rot manifested in yellowed leaves, a bulb covered with pink spots. Infected bushes should be burned.
7. As a result of the defeat typhulosis leaves and flowers turn red and curl, the bulb turns yellow. The disease is spread by weeds and pests.

Proper care and planting of Blue Diamond can prevent the defeat of diseases and insects.

Tulip in landscaping

In every spring garden or park you will see tulips. Colors from bright to dark, different shapes of flowers, a variety of varieties that differ in flowering periods, such characteristics allowed the tulip to become a "favorite" of landscape compositions.

Tulip bushes adorn:

• mixborders and rabatki;
• flower beds;
• alpine slides;
• tree trunk circles.

A common method for landscape designers is to plant tulips in arrays that should be knocked out with small onion perennials.: daffodils, yellow hyacinths (7 bulbs are planted per 1 m.), bright blue muscari. Bulb “neighbors” can be a full-fledged mixborder element or serve as a background.

Combine tulips with an array of forget-me-nots, pansies, daisies, primrose, small-flowered crocuses, hionodox. Pick plants that bloom in the same color scheme. A multi-colored combination forms a floral carpet. The tradition of public parks has been the organization of large tulip festivals.

Did you know? Not far from Leiden in the Netherlands there is a Keukenhof flower exhibition in an area of 32 hectares, where more than 7 million flowers bloom in spring. Over 50 years, the exhibition was visited by 40 million people, including 60% — Foreigners.

A variant of the cottage landscape composition of tulips is the organization of the spring "vernissage" along the paths.

Plant square tulips of each variety, enclose them with picture frames, suitable in size and painted in a similar color with flowers.

To get a spring garden on the terrace, in the fall you should plant the bulbs in pots, bury them in the soil, and in the spring, remove, wipe and place in a beautiful flower pot.

Container planting of tulips using ready-mixed soil is becoming popular., which allows you to dig out containers from the flower garden at any convenient time and fill the place with summer plants. This method relieves the flower bed of the unsightly appearance of yellowed leaves.

Tulip bushes are planted between broadleaf perennials, such as hosts, ferns, or between daylilies, phloxes, geraniums. Tulip bushes are combined with ornamental shrubs: spring spiraea, steppe almonds, Padonbara magonia, Japanese henomelis, forzia, rhododendron and weigela. Blue Diamond goes well with common lilacs, resulting in a wonderful monophonic composition.

Did you know? The town of Liss near Rotterdam is famous for the Black Tulip Museum. He tells the story of growing tulips, "tulip mania" 1620–1637, when the price of the bulb exceeded the value of gold. A separate story concerns attempts by flower growers to develop a black tulip variety.

In the Middle East - the birthplace of tulips, these plants were grown singly or in the form of "carpets" - on unpaved green patio areas. Tulip bushes played the role of the main element of the composition. You can use the Middle Eastern method of planting Blue Diamond if you have stylized your garden in the form of Oriental gardens.

Another way is rowing. Its appearance is associated with the period of bulb distribution in Europe, when the “regular gardens” style appeared. Flowers are planted in rows, but care must be taken so that the type of planting is not characterized by monotony and unnaturalness, a compositional conflict between the general landscape and tulips. This method is applicable only with regular garden planning.. At the same time, a division is made into sectors in which elements are repeated. For example, you can divide the territory into squares, rectangles, triangles, fence them with a hedge, and on each of them plant a certain variety of tulips, which differs from the others in color and flower structure.

Modern landscape designers use the tulip border planting technique. This technique is used, combining with other plants tulip bushes, which after flowering are in a dormant phase and look completely undecorated. When forming the border plantings, keep in mind that the aerial part of the tulips after flowering should completely dry, and then they are dug up. Therefore, neighboring plants should cover an unsightly appearance, for example, a gypsophila planted next to it will also take away excess moisture from the soil, which is undesirable for the bulbs.

Natural and harmonious landscape compositions are combinations of tulip groups with perennial grasses that bloom later. Seedlings of annual plants are prepared in advance and planted instead of tulips. The border composition during the summer period pleases with abundant flowering.

Using the “natural” method of planting, tulips are placed in small groups in the middle of the lawn or in the near-tree circle of trees. At the same time, they try to plant low-growing varieties in the near ranks of the flower garden, varieties with medium height - in the middle, and tall ones - in the background. Planted in a group of 3-4 bulbs or several dozen, thereby creating islands of flowers. A bunch planting method is used, in which 6-10 bulbs of the same variety are placed in the neighborhood. One variety undergoes all vegetation periods at the same time, therefore, planting, cutting and digging are carried out simultaneously. As a result, bulbs of a different variety are not damaged.

Important! Use color sketchy sketches of flower beds to select the appropriate combination of plants in landscape compositions. On the slopes and in the shade, tulips are not recommended to be planted.

Try to create group plantings of tulips of the same variety - “color spots”that will add contrast to the landscape composition or use a smooth transition of shades. Many lonely representatives of different varieties on the flower garden will not create an interesting effect.

As a result of the formation of a separate tulip flower bed in the depths of the garden in spring, a saturated color geometric shape is formed, which in the summer will be hidden under the trees.

Blue Diamond is a great companion to other lighter terry tulips. Continuity of flowering flower beds can be achieved by selecting different varieties so that they bloom one after another. Early varieties begin to bloom in late April. In mid-May, late varieties open their buds. The composition consists of 8-10 bulbs of each type

When planning flower beds, correctly place future flowers of plants, combine their shadesso that the plantings do not block each other, and the flower garden should look great from different sides of the garden. Consider cutting flowers for the bouquet, while the appearance of the flower bed should not be affected.

Planting and caring for a Blue Diamond is simple, so new gardeners can grow this bush. Flowers with purple petals are considered one of the most beautiful, and certain lighting can transform them into blue.