Plants Wintering in the Soil in the Chui Valley
Bulbous and tuberous plants wintering in the ground.
This group includes most of the beautiful flowering early spring and spring plants. They are mainly used for decorating flower beds, borders, lawns, alpine slides, and water bodies. They are good for forcing and cutting.
Hyacinth (Hyacinthus^ L.). A perennial early spring bulbous plant. The eastern hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis L.) and its numerous varieties are widely cultivated.
This plant attracts with the pleasant aroma of flowers of the most diverse colors — white, yellow, blue, lilac, blue, pale pink, and purple. The varieties differ from each other in the degree of doubleness of the flower, shape, and structure of the inflorescence.
The bulb of the hyacinth is large, up to 3—5 cm in diameter, broadly conical, consisting of numerous juicy storage scales (16—20 pcs.), tightly overlapping one another, with the outer scales being dry and membranous (2—4 pcs.), serving a protective role. The base represents a modified shortened stem; in a mature bulb, the inflorescence is located at the top in the center, and at its base, there is a new renewal bud, due to which the bulb grows. Bulb offsets are formed in the axils of the scales at the base of the bulb.
The leaves of the hyacinth are channel-shaped, concave, strap-like, 20—25 cm long. The flower stalk is cylindrical, juicy, leafless, ending with a racemose inflorescence of 10—30 flowers. The flower is bell-shaped with a constriction at the throat, fused into a tube with lanceolate lobes, bent back to half its length.
In the conditions of the Chui Valley, hyacinths winter without cover; late spring frosts do not have a destructive effect on them.
The success of growing hyacinths depends on a number of agricultural techniques necessary for their normal growth and development. A light, highly fertile sandy loam soil is required, but fresh manure must not be applied under any circumstances. The bulbs are sensitive to excess moisture, especially during dormancy. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid water stagnation in winter during thaws; however, in summer, the plantings need to be watered occasionally (every 18—20 days).
1.5—2 months before planting, the area should be dug up and well-rotted manure and mineral fertilizers should be applied in the following amounts: ammonium nitrate 40—50, superphosphate 60—80, potassium salt 15—20 g/m2.
Bulbs are planted in late September — early October at a depth of 8—12 cm, spaced 15 cm apart with rows 25—30 cm apart. During the growing season, the plants are fertilized 2—3 times. The first fertilization with mineral fertilizers is carried out in early spring immediately after the snow melts in the following composition: ammonium nitrate 35—40, superphosphate 40—50, potassium salt 10—15 t/m2. The second fertilization is given during the appearance of buds based on: ammonium nitrate 30—35, superphosphate 60—70, potassium salt 15—20 t/m2. The third fertilization is done after flowering: ammonium nitrate 25—30, superphosphate 70—80, potassium salt 20—25 g/m2. Bulbs are dug up in July when the leaves turn yellow.
It is very important to store the bulbs correctly after digging, as this is when the inflorescence for the next year is formed. The storage temperature should be 22—25°C, and the room should be well-ventilated to avoid bacterial and fungal diseases.
Below is a description of the best varieties of Hyacinths available in the Botanical Garden:
Bismarck — pale violet flowers, with a longitudinal, more intensely colored violet stripe on the tepals. The flower stalk reaches 18—20 cm, the inflorescence is conical. Blooms in late March — early April;
Grand Lila — light blue flowers with a delicate lilac-blue stripe along the petals. The flower stalk is 18—24 cm tall, the inflorescence is cylindrical. Blooms in the second half of March;
Indigo King — flowers are dark purple to black, lighter at the throat, shiny, with broad petals without bending. The inflorescence is cylindrical. The flower stalk reaches 15—17 cm in height. Blooms in late March — early April;
Marie — dark blue flowers with a dark purple longitudinal stripe on the tepals, the throat of the flower is white. The inflorescence is cylindrical. The flower stalk is 18—20 cm tall. Blooms in late March;
Lord Balthifur — lilac-pink flowers with a darker longitudinal stripe. The inflorescence is cylindrical, the height of the flower stalk is 20—24 cm. Blooms in March;
Madame Haubensak — semi-double pink flowers, with a thin dark pink stripe along the tepals. The inflorescence is cylindrical. The flower stalk is 20—24 cm. Blooms in the second half of March;
Anna Marie — light pink flowers, the tube of the tepals is yellowish-pink. The inflorescence is cylindrical, the height of the flower stalk is 18—23 cm. Blooms in early April;
Queen of Pink — bright pink flowers, with a bright pink diffuse stripe along the petals, the tepals are slightly bent back. The inflorescence is cylindrical, the height of the flower stalk is 16—20 cm. Blooms in April;
Victuar — dark pink flowers, shiny, with a darker stripe along the narrow petals. The inflorescence is cylindrical, after flowering the flower stalk spirals. Blooms in the second half of March;
Tubergen's Scarlet — flowers are shiny carmine-scarlet. The tepals are bent outward. The inflorescence is cylindrical, the height of the flower stalk is 10—15 cm. Blooms in late March — early April;
Innocence — flowers in semi-bloom are creamy, after blooming they are pure white, gathered in a rather dense raceme. The inflorescence is cylindrical. The flower stalk is 15—18 cm tall. Blooms in early April;
Sunflower — a plant with pinkish-cream double flowers, the outer tepals are significantly shorter than the inner ones. The inflorescence is cylindrical, narrow. The flower stalk is 20—22 cm tall. Blooms in mid-April;
City of Harlem — light yellow flowers that become almost white by the end of flowering. The inflorescence is cylindrical, short.
The flower stalk is 23—26 cm tall. Blooms in late March — early April.
In addition, the following varieties deserve attention: Bora — light blue; Grand Maitre — light blue with a purple hue; Grand Blanche — white with a delicate creamy-pink hue; Codro — dark purple with a steel hue; Ostara — porcelain blue, Eros — dark pink, Gertrude — pink, Amethyst — lilac-raspberry flowers.
Colchicum, autumn crocus (Colchicum L.) — a tuberous plant with funnel-shaped bell-like flowers, similar to crocus flowers. Of the known 65 species, 12 grow in the USSR, flowering both in spring and autumn.
The most interesting is the autumn crocus (C. autumnale L.), which blooms from late August to mid-September for 20—25 days. The height of the flower stalk is 10—12 cm. The flower is light lilac, up to 6 cm long. The leaves are elongated, erect, flat, wide, up to 30 cm long. The tuber is elongated, slightly flattened, up to 3—4 cm in diameter, with black-brown scales. The plant is poisonous.
Development features: the flowers bloom in autumn, while the leaves appear the following spring simultaneously with the fruits. After the seeds ripen, the leaves dry out.
It is unpretentious, prefers sunny places, in partial shade, staying in one place for 3—4 years. It is mainly propagated by daughter tubers. They are planted in July — early August at a depth of 8—15 cm.
Water moderately throughout the entire period of above-ground development.
Crocus, saffron (Crocus L.). In the USSR, 19 species grow wild, in Kyrgyzstan — 2.
This is a miniature bulbous plant, up to 5—10 cm tall, with a tuft of stiff, narrow linear leaves, a leafless flower stalk, and a long funnel-shaped flower of white, yellow, orange, lilac, or purple color. The bulb is small, round or flattened and covered with membranous, fibrous, or net-like tunics.
Crocuses are divided into two groups based on flowering time: spring-flowering (March—April) and autumn-flowering (September—October). The first group is the most numerous.
In cultivation, crocuses are unpretentious. They are planted in sunny places with light fertile soils.
They are mainly propagated by bulbs. Spring-flowering ones are planted in September—October, and autumn ones in August. Planting is done at a depth of 5—8 cm and approximately at the same distance from each other. They grow in one place for 2—3 years or more. They are dug up when the leaves dry out, in May—June.
Among the tested species and varieties of crocuses in the Botanical Garden, the following are the most interesting:
spring crocus (C. vernus (L.) Wulf.). Includes many varieties and large-flowered forms, more commonly used in cultivation. Varieties: Gelbe Extra — small flower, up to 3 cm in diameter, orange; Queen Blue — large, up to 4—5 cm in diameter, solitary, light lilac; Pallas — large, light lilac, striped; Jubilee — large, light purple;
golden-flowered crocus (C. chrysanthus Herb.). In natural conditions, it is found on the Balkan Peninsula, in Asia Minor. Garden forms are used in cultivation, in particular, the Snow Bunting variety, which has small, white flowers with bluish-green stripes on the outside. Blooms in March;
saffron crocus (C. sativus L.). Native to the Eastern Mediterranean. The flower is large, lilac-purple. Blooms in autumn;
narrow-leaved crocus (C. angustifolius West.). A plant of the natural flora of Crimea and the Balkans. The flower is small, golden-yellow, with a purple-brown center on the outside. Blooms from the first days of March;
Etruscan crocus (C. etruscus Pari.). Native to Italy. The flower is small, light lilac. Blooms in March.
Lily (Lilium L.) — a bulbous plant. The genus Lilium includes about 80 species, 16 of which grow in the USSR, in the Caucasus and the Far East. Lily species are divided into Asian, martagon, European, American, tropical, tubular, eastern, and other groups.
The organ of vegetative reproduction is the bulbs, which, depending on the species, can be concentric, stoloniferous, or rhizomatous. The leaves are elongated, lanceolate, or less often ovate with alternate or whorled leaf arrangement. The perianth is simple, consisting of six petals.
The shape of the flowers is tubular, cup-shaped, chalice-shaped, and bell-shaped, collected in racemose or umbellate inflorescences, sometimes solitary. The flowers are fragrant or odorless. The color of the flowers is diverse — pure white, greenish, yellow, pink, rose-carmine, rose-lilac. Some have speckling on the inner side of the petals.
Lilies are propagated by seeds and vegetatively: by offsets, scales, stem bulbs, stem, and leaf cuttings. Most lilies poorly tolerate high temperatures and dry air, requiring shaded habitats. It is better to plant them near shrubs and low trees that provide shade but do not dry out the soil, which should be light, well-drained, enriched with old compost, and deeply tilled. Lilies do not tolerate waterlogging but require regular watering during the growing season. They are planted in furrows spaced 25—30 cm apart at a depth of 10—25 cm, depending on the size of the bulb, with 15—20 cm between bulbs in a row. Transplanting can be done every 3—4 years.
Caring for lilies during the growing season involves regular watering, weeding, and fertilizing with organic and mineral fertilizers. Fertilization and loosening should be done very carefully, especially for those lily species that produce shoots up to 40—50 cm away from the mother bulb. During the growing season, the plants need to be fertilized at least twice: the first time in early spring, immediately after the snow melts, and the second time during the budding period (in both cases, 50—60 g of ammonium nitrate, 70—90 g of superphosphate, and 15—20 g of potassium salt per m2 should be applied). The fertilizers should be evenly scattered and incorporated to a depth of 8—10 cm.
The species and varieties most interesting for green construction include:
white lily (L. candidum L.). The flowers are pure white, fragrant, wide funnel-shaped, collected in a cluster. The anthers are yellow. The stem is strong, straight, smooth. The leaves are sessile, smooth, alternate, elongated or linear-lanceolate. Blooms in June. In August, a rosette of leaves grows from the bulb, which persists through winter;
regal lily, Chinese or Tibetan (L. regale Wils.). The flowers are drooping, funnel-shaped, collected in clusters (up to 15 flowers) with a strong aroma. The tepals are white on the inside, yellow at the base, with cherry-red stripes on the outside. The anthers are golden yellow. The height of the plants is up to 30 cm. Blooms in the second half of July — early August for 13—17 days;
leopard lily (L. pardalinum Kellogg.). The flowers are chalice-shaped, orange-red, collected in a pyramidal sparse cluster. The tepals, in the inner upper part, are carmine-red with large reddish-brown spots, their base is green in a star shape. The anthers are orange. The leaves are dark with a yellowish-green hue, lanceolate. Blooms in late June — early July for 15—17 days. The height of the plants is 100—170 cm;
narrow-leaved lily (L. tenuifolium Fisch.). The flowers are chalice-shaped, scarlet-red, collected in a loose cluster. The anthers are scarlet-red. The stem is cylindrical, green, bare or with a velvety pubescence. The leaves are sessile, linear, arranged spirally. Blooms in June for 18—25 days. The height of the plants is 55—70 cm;
tiger lily (L. tigrinum Keg Gauwer). The flowers are chalice-shaped, orange-red with large purple-black spots. The anthers are reddish-brown. The stem is straight, cylindrical, ribbed, dark purple with dense white pubescence. The leaves are alternate, sessile. During the growing season, 1—2 bulb-like buds are formed in the axils. The height of the plants is 90—120 cm;
Shovitsa lily (L. szovitsianum Fisch. et Ave-Lall). The flowers are gray-yellow with small reddish-brown speckling along the edges of the petals. The tepals are bent back, with small brown streaks at the base and on the tips.
The flowers are collected in a pyramidal inflorescence. The anthers are bright orange. The stem is light green, straight, densely leafy, 70—140 cm tall. The leaves are alternate, lanceolate or elongated, elliptical. Blooms in June for 12—18 days.
The following species can also be used: Daurian lily, David's lily, David's lily, Wilmot variety, bulb-bearing lily, Henry's lily; and varieties: Destiny, Karara, Nutmeg, Redstart, Saulaine, seedling GBS M 364—20.
Onion (Allium L.) — a numerous genus uniting over 400 species, of which more than half are found in the Soviet Union. It has been cultivated since ancient times and is widely used as a vegetable, vitamin-bearing, medicinal, and phytoncide plant.
Some onions are beautiful and original and can be used as decorative plants. Among them are dwarf plants and giants. They are good in solitary or group plantings, among perennials, on alpine slides, in rock gardens, along paths.
Onions are unpretentious, easily propagated by seeds, bulbs, division of clumps, and rhizomes can be transplanted at any time.
For garden and dacha plots, we recommend 3 species that belong to rhizomatous-bulbous plants, whose bulbs are almost not expressed, and the rhizome is very short:
fragrant onion (A. odorum L.). In Kyrgyzstan, it is known in cultivation or in a wild state under the name "zhé-tsé, jussai" and is used in food in fresh and salted form. The plant is up to 50—70 cm tall with slightly ribbed stems, at the base of which are closely spaced narrow linear leaves. The inflorescence is a loose umbel of white star-shaped flowers that appear in summer and autumn;
Ledebour's onion (A. ledebourianum Roem. et Schult.). It grows wild in Western Siberia, in the Amur region. The plant is up to 40—60 cm tall. The inflorescence is spherical, dense, made up of bright pink-purple flowers. The leaves are semi-cylindrical, hollow.
Blooms in summer and autumn, for up to 20 days;
chives or scallion (A. schoenoprasum L.). One of the best onion species for borders. It is widespread in the Northern Hemisphere from tundra to steppe zones. The bush is compact, up to 30—40 cm tall, covered during flowering with a mass of dense inflorescences. The flowers are lilac-pink. The leaves are narrow, hollow inside. Blooms from mid-May for 25—30 days. After mowing the faded inflorescences, it quickly regrows, keeping its greenery decorative until frost. The leaves are edible.
Mouse hyacinth, muscari or snake onion (Muscari Mill.). Up to 50 species are known, 18 of which are found in the USSR (in Crimea, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the European part).
This is a low-growing (15—20 cm) plant with few linear basal leaves. The flowers are blue and violet, less often white and blue, small, fragrant, barrel-shaped, cylindrical, or tubular. They are gathered in terminal racemose inflorescences.
They are propagated by offsets and seeds. When propagated by seeds, the plants bloom in the third year. Vegetative propagation by bulb offsets is the most productive. Each bulb has a diameter of 2.5-5.0 cm.
The hyacinth blooms in early spring — from late April to mid-May, for 25—28 days. The flowering is abundant and creates a solid bright blue background.
Muscari winter without cover, are unpretentious, and grow well in open, semi-shaded, and even shaded places in any soil. They are planted in ribbons or groups at a depth of 6—8 cm. Soil preparation for planting and care for the plants are the same as for all bulbous plants.
For green construction, the following are the most interesting: Armenian muscari, grape muscari, Colchian muscari, broad-leaved muscari, seaside muscari, pale muscari, peculiar muscari, drooping muscari, multi-flowered muscari, racemose muscari, Stein's muscari, Shovitsa muscari, Tubergen's muscari.
Daffodils (Narcissus L.). One of the most popular flowering crops. Native to the Mediterranean, Southern and Central Europe, Eastern Asia. Of the known 40 species, 4 are found in the USSR. Due to their early flowering, decorative flowers, good ability to reproduce, and versatility of use, daffodils have become widely distributed in almost all climatic zones of our country.
Daffodils have a perennial storage organ — the bulb. It is pear-shaped, covered with a strong thin skin. These are membranous outer scales of straw-brown color. Under them are juicy fleshy scales that vegetate for several years. Inside the bulb at the base, there is a renewal bud, which consists of a flowering shoot and leaf primordia. In the axils of the fleshy scales, offsets are laid and formed.
The leaves are linear, numerous, in dense basal rosettes. The flowers are quite large, often fragrant, differing in shape and size. The flower stalk is leafless, sometimes ribbed, ending with one or 2—5-flowered inflorescence. The perianth is white, cream, or yellow. In the lower part, it is spathulate, with a tube and a large star-shaped reflex of six oval lobes. In the center of the perianth is a cup-shaped or bell-shaped corona. The perianth and corona may be of different colors or have the same color. Below the corona, 6 stamens are attached to the tube of the perianth. The fruit is a three-celled capsule.
The seeds are black, round, or angular.
Daffodils are mainly propagated by bulb offsets. Each bulb, with good agricultural care, produces 8—15 offsets in two to three years, and in five years — 30—40 offsets. Daffodils grown from seeds bloom in the 6—7th year, while those planted from offsets bloom in the 2—3rd year.
All species and varieties of daffodils grow well in both sunny and shaded places. The soils should be light, sandy, and permeable. If the soils are heavy and clayey, it is necessary to improve air access by adding coarse sand. Daffodils are planted in the fall (late September — early October) in furrows spaced 20—30 cm apart and 15—20 cm from each other. Soil preparation for planting and care for the plants are standard, as for all bulbous plants. Daffodils can be planted singly or in combination with other spring plants on lawns or in clearings among trees and shrubs.
Regrowth occurs at the end of February and, depending on the variety and conditions of the year, continues until the end of March.
They bloom 25—35 days after regrowth. Flowering lasts 10—17 days, depending on the variety. They can be used for cutting and forcing.
Currently, there are more than 12,000 varieties known, which, according to international classification (1950), are divided into 11 groups — tubular, large-cupped, small-cupped, double, triandrous, cyclamen-flowered, jonquil-like, tazetta-like, poetic, all cultivated species and their natural hybrids, and other daffodils. The Botanical Garden's collection includes 6 groups with 50 varieties. The most interesting are as follows:
Tubular daffodils. This group is characterized by the presence of one flower on the flower stalk. The tube is equal in length to the lobes of the perianth or longer. Varieties in this group may have the same or different colors for the tube and lobes of the perianth (mainly white and yellow). Noteworthy varieties include: Birsheba — white flower with a slight creamy tint; Desi Schaefer — with a white, slightly creamy perianth and a yellow corona with a creamy edge; Dutch Master — with a bright yellow corona and short flower stalk; Golden Harvest — very large, bright yellow; Magnificence — lobes of the perianth are yellow, the tube is bright yellow, crumpled and frilled, with a very wavy edge; Mount Hood — very large, white; Rembrandt — with golden-yellow lobes and a similarly colored corona with a fringed edge; Charity — with creamy-white lobes and a pale yellow tube.
Large-cupped daffodils. Varieties with one flower on the flower stalk. The corona is shorter than the lobes of the perianth, but no more than one-third of their length. The flower colors are diverse. Most plants are tall. The best varieties include: Albeliard — perianth is greenish-cream, corona is dark yellow, with an orange edge, slightly frilled; Alcesta — with white lobes of the perianth and a dark yellow corona; Beat All — with a greenish-white perianth and a wide bright yellow, frilled corona with an orange hue; Carbonier — with light yellow lobes of the perianth, the corona is light yellow with light orange streaks all over, the edge is wavy; Carlton — with yellow lobes and a dark yellow corona; Flower Record — white with a slight yellowish tint, with a bright orange border; Fortune — with lemon-yellow lobes of the perianth and a dark yellow cylindrical crumpled corona; Mrs. R. O. Backhaus — lobes of the perianth are white with a greenish-cream tint and a delicate apricot corona with a wavy, slightly frilled but darker edge; Sempre Avanti — with creamy lobes, darker towards the base of the perianth, and a bright yellow corona with light orange streaks all over the surface, crumpled and wavy with a frilled edge; Ice Foliez — with broadly rounded overlapping lobes of the perianth and a saucer-shaped, adjacent to the perianth, egg-yellow frilled corona.
Small-cupped daffodils have one flower on the flower stalk, and the corona does not exceed 1/3 the length of the lobes of the perianth. The predominant flower color is white-cream. The best varieties include: Brilliance — lobes of the perianth are lemon-yellow, the corona is dark yellow with a festive orange border; Evangelina — lobes of the perianth are white with a slight creamy tint, overlapping each other, with a lemon-yellow frilled corona with a serrated edge; Lady Moore — with white-cream lobes and a bright yellow corona with a red-orange border; Sigall — with white-cream lobes and a lemon-yellow border.
Double daffodils — varieties with double flowers. They are characterized by an increased number of lobes of the perianth and a "double tube" or corona. Their stamens and corona have transformed into leaf-like structures. The most interesting varieties include: Cheerfulness — with creamy-white flowers; the outer lobes of the perianth are six, quite large, the inner ones are small with curled edges, interspersed with creamy-yellow growths of the corona; Indian Chief — with yellow lobes of the perianth, alternating with bright orange growths; Inglescomb — with flowers having lemon-yellow petals with darker tips; Orange Phoenix — with bright lemon-yellow lobes of the perianth and reddish-orange growths.
Tazetta daffodils have 2—5 fragrant flowers on short pedicels on one stem. The lobes of the perianth are obovate. The corona is goblet-shaped, one-third shorter than the length of the lobes. The best varieties include: Canary Bird — lobes of the perianth are light yellow, the corona is orange-yellow, with 2—5 fragrant flowers on one flower stalk; Innocence — lobes of the perianth are white-cream, the corona is yellow, the flower stalk is slightly lower than the leaves, with 3—5 flowers on it; Elvira — with white-cream flowers and a yellow corona with an orange border.
Poetic daffodils. This group includes varieties obtained by crossing the poetic daffodil with other species.
It is characterized by the presence of one flower on the flower stalk. The corona is saucer-shaped, very low, bordered with a red rim.
The best varieties include: Actea — with a white perianth and a lemon-yellow, slightly frilled corona with a dark orange border; Horace — pure white lobes of the perianth and a yellow corona with a bright orange edge; Orantus maximus — lobes of the perianth are pure white with a yellow-orange corona; Sarchidon — pure white with a light yellow corona with a dark red border along the finely serrated edge.
Scilla, squill (Scilla L.) — a low bulbous plant with basal linear or lanceolate leaves and small flowers. There are about 80 species. In the USSR, there are 13 species, distributed in the European part, Crimea, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Far East.
They are cultivated like other decorative small-bulb plants. They are propagated by bulb offsets, less often by seeds. In garden plots, the most suitable are the meadow and Siberian squills.
Meadow squill (S. pratensis Waldst. et Kit.). An elegant plant up to 20 cm tall with a green stem brown on the ribs and purple at the top. The leaves are channel-shaped, the same length as the stem, numbering 6—8. The inflorescence is a raceme consisting of small light blue flowers. The bulb is oval, white, up to 2 cm in diameter, covered with membranous brown tunics. Blooms in May for 7—14 days.
Siberian squill (S. sibirica Haw.) — popularly known as the "blue snowdrop." The plant is up to 10 cm tall. The inflorescence includes from 1 to 5 small blue flowers. The leaves, 2—4, are broad-linear, keeled. The bulb is broadly oval, small, with dark gray tunics. Blooms in March for 10—20 days.
Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum L.). The genus includes up to 100 species, 25 of which are found in the Soviet Union, but only a small number are used in cultivation.
For garden plots, we recommend umbrella star-of-Bethlehem (O. umbellatum L.). The plant is up to 20—25 cm tall. The flowers are star-shaped, white, with a green longitudinal stripe on the outside, 3—4 cm in diameter, collected in umbellate inflorescences of 6—13 flowers. The leaves are linear, channel-shaped, bluish-green. Blooms in the second half of May for 8—14 days. The flowers open only by midday.
It is an unpretentious, soil-non-demanding plant. It grows well in sunny places and in partial shade, under shrubs and trees. It propagates easily vegetatively. The same cultivation techniques are used as for crocuses.
Tulip (Tulipa L.) — one of the best spring plants, long cultivated. Tulips are classified into 15 classes based on flowering time, flower shape and color, and other characteristics, including about 4000 varieties and 150 (in the USSR — 83) wild species. The classes are grouped into 4 categories: early-flowering, mid-flowering, late-flowering, and species, varieties, and forms close to the original wild species.
The tulip is a plant with a short period of above-ground development and a long relative dormancy, during which it remains in the form of a bulb. The bulb is a modified shoot and consists of a base and scales.
The base is a greatly shortened stem to which juicy storage scales are attached, wrapped in dry protective scales. At the edges of the base is a root collar with root primordia that develop in the fall and die off in the summer. In the axils of the storage scales are buds from which bulb offsets develop. The central bud forms a replacement bulb, which becomes the mother bulb in the next season. In some varieties and young bulbs, special narrow growths (stolons) extend downward, which end in daughter bulbs.
The stem is straight, cylindrical, bare or pubescent, ranging from 8—10 to 70—80 cm in height. The leaves, from 2 to 5, are sessile, bare or pubescent, some with purple streaking, stripes, or speckles. Young non-flowering plants have one leaf. The flowers vary in color (only blue and purple are absent) and shape: goblet-shaped, cup-shaped, spherical, peony-like, lily-shaped, star-shaped, parrot-like. Generally, they are solitary, less often several.
Tulips are used in landscaping, for cutting, and some for forcing.
Garden tulips are very demanding regarding cultivation techniques and soil. In spring before digging and in autumn after planting, the area must be free of weeds, loose, and moderately moist. The best places for them are sheltered from the wind among sparsely standing trees and shrubs. They prefer light loamy or sandy fertile soil. Soil preparation should be done a month to a month and a half before planting. Depending on soil fertility, up to 10—20 kg (2—4 buckets) of compost, 60—80 g of superphosphate, and 30—40 g of potassium fertilizers should be applied per m2.
Tulips are planted when the soil temperature in the bulb zone drops to +9—10°C. In the Chui Valley, this is the second half of October. In case of very late planting, the area is covered with brushwood or leaves so that the ground does not freeze for a long time and the bulbs can root. The insulating material is removed in spring before the sprouts appear. The planting depth equals three or four times the height of the bulb, measured from the base, and the distance between them is approximately two of its diameters.
With deep planting, the plants tend to be taller, the flower quality is better, but fewer offsets are formed.
Tulips are dug up annually when the protective scales acquire a light brown color (the second half of May). The bulbs are dried in the shade, cleaned of soil, remnants of the mother bulb, and stored in a dark cool place. For disease and pest prevention, the bulbs are treated with pesticides before storage and planting (for detailed cultivation techniques, see: N. Abdykerimova et al. Growing tulips in open ground in the Chui Valley of the Kyrgyz SSR.— Frunze: "Ilim, 1983).
Tulips have a fairly high demand for nutrients throughout the growing season, but it increases significantly during budding and flowering. They are first fertilized when sprouts appear on the soil surface, in late February — early March. For 1 m2, 20—30 g of ammonium nitrate or 15—20 g of urea are scattered. During budding, 13—15 g of ammonium nitrate or 10 g of urea, 30—40 g of superphosphate, and 15—20 g of potassium salt are applied. The third fertilization is given at the beginning of flowering — 25—30 g of superphosphate and 10—13 g of potassium salt per m2. The fertilizers are incorporated with a hoe. Watering is done depending on rainfall during the growing season 3—5 times and 1—2 times after planting.
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