Forcing Hyacinths

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

Blooming flower beds in the middle of a cold snowy winter - isn't this the dream of avid gardeners? And such a miracle can be arranged, but only in indoor conditions, by putting the bulbs and rhizomes of your favorite garden pets for distillation. This technique will force plants, at the request of a person, to form and dissolve their buds at a time of the year that is not typical for this natural phenomenon. And if you guess right, you can arrange such a lush home garden for a larger family celebration, the New Year or the 8th of March

The benefits of distilling hyacinths

Many plants have to be prepared for distillation in advance. This is necessary so that they have time to form a sufficient number of full-fledged flower buds by the required time. For example, when preparing for the winter forcing of bulbous plants, even in the summer it is necessary to monitor the temperature regime in which your planting material is contained.

So, tulips are dried for at least 4 days, at a temperature of about + 25 ° C. Then, until the second decade of August, their bulbs are stored in a room where the temperature is maintained at + 17 ° C. After that, the thermometer is lowered to + 9 ° C, and the planting material is kept in such conditions until the very moment of forcing. For daffodils, the temperature is lowered from June 15th.

Hyacinth, on the other hand, compares favorably with these flowers in that for him the timing of lowering the temperature, as well as digging out the bulbs from the garden, are not of fundamental importance.

Hyacinth distillation technology

For forcing, the best hyacinth bulbs are selected, with a diameter of at least 6 cm. These specimens should be not only large, but also dense, heavy. Pay attention to the bottom - it is impossible for it to have any damage, signs of disease. At the beginning of winter, it is difficult for flowers to get out of a dormant state. And in order for the flowering to be as lush as possible, the planting material must have good potential, not weakened by diseases.

Each onion is dipped in a separate 11 cm pot. At the bottom, a drainage layer of broken shards about 2 cm thick is arranged. The soil mixture is prepared from the following components:

• sod land - 2 parts;

• greenhouse land - 2 parts;

• sand - 1 part.

Hyacinth bulbs are forced when the sprout is approximately 5 cm high. The arrows will rise faster if covered with a dark film. It also contributes to the development of a full-fledged inflorescence. The shelter is removed when the inflorescences become noticeably higher than the leaves.

It is necessary not to miss the moment when the arrow extends 10 cm long. Then the pots are moved to greenhouses, where within three weeks the temperature level is gradually brought to + 21 … + 22 ° С. It is important to ensure that the greenhouse does not get hotter, otherwise the flower will have a powerful green mass at the expense of the strength of the flower arrow.

To speed up flowering, hyacinths need to arrange additional artificial lighting with electric lamps in the dark morning and evening hours, imitating a long daylight hours in summer. Their number is calculated in such a way that for 1 square meter. accounted for 100 watts. They start lighting up when the leaves are about 10 cm long. Lighting devices are installed at a distance of about 60-70 cm from the pots with plants.

After distillation

When the hyacinths have faded, the bulbs are kept in pots because they are still growing. It will last until mid-summer. By this time, the frequency of watering is reduced. The pots are then laid on their side. This technique will speed up the shedding of leaves. Then the bulbs must be dried at a temperature of no more than + 23 ° C. This process will take 2-3 days.