Eichler's Tulip

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

Eichler's tulip is a perennial bulbous plant belonging to the Liliaceae family, in Latin its name will sound like this:

Tulipa eichleri … In the wild, it chooses dry mountain slopes and desert plains of the Caucasus and Iran. The presented species of Tulip was bred in the Petersburg Botanical Garden, and described by the doctor of philosophical sciences and botanist Eduard Ludvigovich Regel. Due to its unpretentiousness and bright colors, the Eichler tulip is one of the most common plants among florists and gardeners in the territory of the Russian Federation.

Characteristics of culture

The Eichler tulip is a flowering perennial plant, about 40 centimeters high. The bulb of the species in question is egg-shaped, reaches 4 centimeters in diameter and has many hard, leathery, dark brown scales. The peduncle is straight, pubescent with short villi, around which there are 3 to 5 leaves. The leaves are dark green, with a red-colored edging, have a smooth or pubescent texture, depending on the variety, a curved linear-lanceolate shape with a pronounced corrugated edge. The lower foliage is large, spreading along the ground, the upper leaves are much smaller, and are located in a chaotic manner throughout the stem.

The inflorescence of the presented plant species is single, lush, has a goblet shape, reaches 6 centimeters in diameter and 8 centimeters in height. The petals of the perianth are oval, concave inward, bright red with a yellow or beige edging and a greenish-yellow spot at the base. In the center of the peduncle is a bunch of filamentous anthers and dark purple or brown stamens.

The fruit is a tricuspid elongated capsule with brown-black seeds. The number of seeds varies from 200 to 300 pieces. In mid-May, this flower culture begins to decorate the places of growth with lush and colorful flowering, unfortunately, this period does not last long, only 15 - 20 days.

Cultivation conditions

Despite the unpretentiousness and adaptive qualities of the Eichler tulip, it is desirable for him to create the most favorable conditions for growth. The soil for growing this flower crop should be fertile, drained, light, with a neutral level of acidity. For a full and colorful flowering, it is advisable to choose a dry, elevated, sunny place for planting. With high humidity and low light, the bulbs can begin to rot and their lifespan will decrease dramatically.

In order for tulip bulbs to root easily and be less susceptible to various diseases, they must be planted no earlier than mid-September and no later than the first decade of October, when the soil temperature drops to 5 degrees Celsius. In winter (the first two years after planting), the bulbs are not dug up, it is enough to cover the beds with a peat and mulch layer, after this time, for full protection from the cold, it is advisable to store the bulbs at home at a temperature not higher than 10 degrees Celsius. With annual digging, the possibility of a large onion being released increases, as well as the risk of disease occurrence decreases. At 2 - 3 years of life, the bulb enters the stage of full maturation, and babies begin to form in it.

In the horticultural economy, it is preferable to propagate the Eichler tulip in a vegetative way, it consists in dividing the mother bulb into daughter ones, the option of propagation by seeds is also possible, but this is a rather long-term process. Tulips belong to the group of ephemeroids, that is, in the wild, they are forced to adapt to harsh arid habitats, and during the growing season they need to have time not only to bloom, but also to accumulate nutrients for further growth and reproduction of a new generation. Therefore, young individuals accumulate useful elements for a long time, and only then enter the phase of active growth. When planting seeds in a garden, regardless of favorable conditions, the development of a plant from a seedling to an adult flowering individual takes from 6 to 8 years.