Bright white, sunny yellow, tubular and simple, with a red center - such different daffodils grow in every plot. Gardeners love them for their unpretentiousness and ease of cultivation. Daffodils bloom for a short time. But I picked up varieties with different flowering periods. As a result, the process stretches for a month and a half.
The daffodil has blossomed. What to do next?
This wonderful flower is being replaced by others. And I have to remove flower stalks from daffodils. I take a pruner and cut near the ground itself, otherwise the seed box will draw nutrients from the plant, weakening it before retiring. I cut the leaves only after they turn yellow. Greens provide photosynthesis in plants, prolonging his life. Some gardeners weave braids from the leaves so as not to spoil the appearance of the flower bed with the collapsed leaves of daffodils.
The leaves will wither in one and a half to two months after flowering. Until they are cut off, I continue to water the plants as before, gradually reducing the amount of water. At this time, daffodils accumulate strength for the coming season.
Before the daffodils go to rest, they need to be fertilized, especially if the soil is poor. This is necessary in order for the adult bulbs to mature and the children to grow up. It's not worth overfeeding. I adhere to the golden mean and act according to the instructions. Fresh manure should not be introduced, as the bacteria contained in it can cause diseases.
What top dressing do I use for daffodils:
- I put ashes into the soil, then I water it.
- I'm bringing in the overdose.
- I use ready-made mineral fertilizers designed for feeding bulbs.
How to dig bulbs
The leaves have dried up, and the bulbs can be dug up. You can’t delay with this, otherwise the foliage will disappear, and the place where the daffodils grew can be lost. This happens if they do not grow in a separate flower bed, but are planted between other flowers. A long wait can also lead to the fact that the plants take root again. In this case, when digging, it will be possible to injure them.
I pull the bulbs out of the ground when they have grown so large that they interfere with each other. Another case - I want to divide the bulbs and propagate this culture. Or, according to observations, the flowers have become smaller in size than they should be in accordance with the varietal characteristics.
I dig carefully, but do not act "extremely carefully" as recommended. Planting material is not fragile at all. I treat him like an onion, but still try not to injure. Although I don’t really care about this either: daffodils grow so much that if you accidentally cut one or two specimens, there will be quite enough for planting. Every time after digging daffodils, I distribute the surplus to the neighbors.
What do I do after removing the onions from the ground:
- I sort out the dug out bulbs, rejecting the diseased and damaged ones.
- I cut the leaves.
- I separate the children from the adult bulbs.
- I sprinkle ashes on the places of separation.
- I spread it in a box in one layer and send it to dry under a canopy with good ventilation. The time for complete drying depends on the weather: if it is warm and sunny, they will dry quickly, and in wet weather the matter will be delayed.
How to store bulbs?
Before storage, planting material is treated with potassium permanganate and dried. After that, I put it in a paper bag. So the bulbs are stored until September. Daffodils should be planted at such a time that they have time to take root before the cold weather. I usually do this on the twentieth of September.
Proper care of daffodils after they bloom is the guarantor of their health. Next season they make me happy again.
What do you do with this crop when it has faded?
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