It's time: how to properly dig up tulips
Although there are a number of tulip varieties that do not necessarily need to be removed from the ground, for the majority of them the digging procedure is mandatory.
An expert of the online publication BelNovosti, agronomist scientist, landscape designer Anastasia Kovrizhnykh told how to properly carry out this “operation”.
First of all, let us explain how to understand that it is time to pick up a shovel.
The main guideline in this matter is the appearance of the plants. Tulips should be dug up when at least half of their leaves turn yellow.
In doing so, it is worth following several valuable rules.
1. After digging, do not forget to attach tags to the bulbs with the variety name on them – this will help you avoid mixing up the plants.
2. Experienced gardeners prefer to use plastic baskets (boxes) to collect dug up tulip bulbs, which are very convenient to store, stacking one inside another.
3. Another piece of advice from experienced flower growers: don’t leave too small babies – they will dry out anyway.
4. If, when digging up tulips, you find a bulb with a leaf that has not yet dried out completely, do not be afraid and put such a specimen in a basket with the rest. After a short time, when all the nutrients have passed into the bulb, it will dry out, and you can remove it.
