Orange tulips: popular varieties, planting and care

Currently, breeders have bred a huge variety of tulip varieties of various shades, but orange varieties are of particular beauty.

For many millions of years, tulips have spread throughout the planet. In Russia, wild types of flowers were known back in the 12th century, and garden ones - during the reign of Peter I. Legends were made about them, for example, it was believed that happiness was hidden in the bud of a yellow tulip, but no one could get to it. One day a little boy touched a flower and it bloomed. This is how happiness was found.

Tulips were considered the flowers of wealthy people, since only in the gardens of sheikhs did whole tulip "carpets" bloom. This flower was even protected by law, it could not be taken out of the country - the offender could lose his head. Turkey hosts an annual holiday dedicated to these flowers.

A perennial herb belongs to the Liliaceae family. Their flowers are shaped like a glass. The leaves are elongated, pointed upward, green with a bluish bloom. Height can be from 15 to 90 cm. The range of colors is impressive: there are from white to almost black, yellow, red, orange. However, there are no blue ones among them.

Among the orange flowers, there are many wonderful varieties worthy of attention.

• Orange Juice. Belongs to the class "Triumph", reaches a height of 60 cm, flowering begins in the second half of April and lasts up to two weeks. Has a large red-orange glass. The simplest flower among this type of plant. Most often used for cutting, but can also grow in a flower bed.

• "Orange princesses"... Peony variety with double edges, has a bright orange color with purple veins in the middle of the petals, and at the base of the glass there is a needle pattern of the same shades. The diameter of the flower reaches 8 cm, the height is 50 cm. They bloom in different regions in different ways: they can both early and late.

• Louvre Orange... The tulip is rich in color, has a color from dark orange to light orange at the edges. Fringed petals with needle-like edges. Height reaches 50 cm. Belongs to the "Triumph" group. Flowering begins in May and lasts up to 2-3 weeks, is not afraid of the sun and wind, has a strong stem.

• "Orange Dynasty"... Flowers of this variety grow up to 30-40 cm, blooms in April - May. The color of the petals is not uniform: from bright red to orange and almost yellow at the edge. It is oval in shape, small glass. It looks very beautiful both in a bouquet and in a flowerbed.

• Orange van Eyck. A variety belonging to the class "Darwin hybrids". It begins to bloom in April - May. The size of a glass of a flower can reach 10 cm. The color is red-orange. Classic variety 40-60 cm high, quite common.

• Another excellent grade "Orange Imperial". Its coloring is truly imperial: orange glasses measuring 6–8 cm, in the middle of the back of the petal, green strokes, elongated and sharp. They dissolve in April. Due to their low height, up to 35 cm, they are suitable for decorating garden paths or "alpine slides".

So that every new season beautiful bright blooming tulips appear on your flower bed, you need to take care of them properly.

• The soil should be well-drained, dug 30 cm deep, moderately moist. All roots, weeds are removed. Alkaline reactions are preferred; for this, in addition to compost and humus, ash is added to the soil.
• The planting depth is about 3 times the height of the bulb itself, and if the bulbs are very large, as in the Gesner variety, then 15 cm. In clay soil, planting is carried out slightly higher, in sandy soil - deeper.
• To protect from severe frosts, the beds are mulched with peat, but usually tulips are not threatened by freezing.
• Planting is best done in September - October at a temperature of + 5 ° - + 7 ° C, about 20 days before persistent frosts, so that the plant bulb has time to take root.
• Digging of the bulbs is carried out in August, until the leaves of the plants dry up: this will ensure in the future an increase in the size of the bulbs themselves, as well as their number. After they are dried in a dry ventilated room, inspected and sorted, selecting the damaged ones, treated with fungicides, stored until planting.
• During the growing season, it can be fed with mineral fertilizers.
• If reproduction of the bulbs is required, then after the opening of the buds, they are cut off, leaving the stem and leaves. This will provide the bulbs with more nutrients.
• The distance between plants can vary from 5 to 15 cm.

As soon as the tulips sprout do not overmoisten the soil, as bulb rot may occur, which will lead to the death of the flower. Watering at the rate of 10-40 liters per m², depending on the condition of the soil, once a week. After the end of flowering, watering continues for another two weeks.

For information on how to properly grow tulips, see below.