Flax-leaved Tulip

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Flax-leaved tulip Is a long-term flowering crop belonging to the genus Tulip of the Liliaceae family. In Latin, its name will sound like this:

Tulipa linifolia … For the first time, the presented species was introduced into culture by the Petersburg Botanical Garden and described in 1885 by a botanist, Doctor of Philosophy and a scientist gardener Eduard Ludwigovich Regel.

Area

In the wild, flax-leaved tulip prefers mountain slopes and rocky plains. The area of its growth is the Pamir-Alai mountain system, located in the southeast of Central Asia, and covers countries such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, belongs to the category of endemic plants, since the territory of its growth is very limited.

Characteristics of culture

The species in question is a herbaceous bulbous plant that rises no higher than 25 centimeters above the ground. On a smooth leafless peduncle there are basal, closely planted, different-sized, narrow, long, lily-shaped leaves, slightly bent back, in the amount of 4 - 8 pieces. The color of the foliage is usually bluish or green with a reddish fluted border around the edges. A single inflorescence with a diameter of about 5 centimeters has a highly open cupped shape.

The perianth petals are strongly curved outward with a pointed apex and vary in size, closer to the base they become straighter and smaller. The texture of the petals is smooth, shiny, the color is bright red with a dark spot at the base, sometimes there are individuals with a white edging along the edge of the inflorescence. In the center of the petals is a bunch of short filamentous stamens and anthers of a dark purple or brown hue. A miniature ovoid bulb in diameter reaches a maximum of 2 centimeters, completely covered with hard scales of dark brown or black color. The fruit is a triangular, elongated, green box; in an adult full-fledged plant, the number of seeds varies from 150 to 200 pieces.

The species of plants in question belongs to the category of early flowering, by the end of April one can observe a rich colorful flowering, the period of blooming of the buds directly depends on climatic conditions, solar activity, the level of soil moisture and the health of the bulbs, it can last as long as 2 weeks or 1, 5 months. At the beginning of June, the plant begins to bear fruit, this is the best time to collect seeds and divide the bulbs.

Reproduction

The flax-leaved tulip reproduces well both by seeds and bulbs. In the conditions of a garden plot, the most relevant is the vegetative method of reproduction, that is, by dividing the mother's bulb into children, since the seed method is very time consuming and takes a lot of time. From the moment of sowing the seeds to the first flowering, it takes from 5 to 8 years, for this reason, this method of reproduction is mainly used by breeders when breeding new varieties of tulips.

The propagation of flax-leaved tulips by bulbs will be most productive if at the beginning of July, after the active flowering phase has passed, the children that form under the layer of onion scales are separated, after which they must be thoroughly cleaned of husks and dirt, and dried in a warm, dry room for a month … In mid-September, the bulbs need to be planted in open ground, the inflorescences will look most impressive if they are planted in even rows at the same distance.

In order for the plant bulbs to take root and comfortably survive the winter period, it is better not to delay the planting time, before the first ten days of October, the bulbs should be planted, or you can leave them for the next year, storing them in a breathable container, in a dry cool room at a temperature not higher 12 degrees Celsius.

The bulbs are planted to a depth of 15 centimeters in a previously prepared fertile weakly acidic soil and covered with a layer of earth or sand. In preparation for the winter period, the plants must be covered with a mulching and peat layer, from an excess of snow cover by laying spruce branches on the top of the bed. In the first three years of the plant's life, for the full development of the bulbs during the flowering period, it is necessary to cut the buds, leaving a few leaves at the base of the peduncle, through the leaves of the bulb they will receive all the necessary nutrients.