Recently, the classic colors of tulips (red, yellow, burgundy) give way to flowers with an unusual color. Today, many people like dark tulips. Cafe noir stands out among them. In more detail about it further.

Botanical grade description

Cafe noir belongs to simple late tulips. This variety was bred in 1999. A flower of a classic goblet shape, but with a square bottom. It is large with shiny petals of black-purple or chocolate-burgundy, with a black bottom. The petals themselves are wide, with a blunt end. The height of the glass is 6–9 cm.

Inside, behind the petals, there is a light yellow pistil and purple anthers. The foliage of the plant is long, not wide, with a bluish-green color.

It rests on a long stem, about 50 cm tall. The total height varies between 45–65 cm. Cafe Noir blooms in May and exudes a rich aroma for two weeks. Saves a form for a long time.

Growing Features

For growing a flower, planting material (bulbs) is required. Its preparation is worth doing in advance. Dig bulbs when the foliage turned yellow. The harvested crop must be dried at a temperature of + 24 ... + 30 ° C.

Important! The best time for planting is considered mid-autumn, when the thermometer is at + 10 ° С.

Then it can be folded into storage boxes at a temperature of + 20 ° С until the end of August and at t + 17 ° С - from the beginning of September until disembarkation. It is necessary to acquire seed material a few days before placing it on the ground.

Landing rules

When planting in autumn, it is very important to take care of the tulips so that they do not freeze in the winter. On how successful the wintering will be for them, the riotous flowering for next year depends.

Did you know? Tulips were first cultivated in the 11th century, and the peak occurred in the 15th.–XIII century in the Ottoman Empire.

Before planting, each bulb is carefully inspected (it doesn’t matter if you grew it earlier or was purchased in a store) and is checked for diseases and pests. If there are the slightest signs (spots, dots) - it is better to dispose of it. Before planting, the bulbs should be soaked for 30-60 minutes in a 5% solution of potassium permanganate.

The soil is selected light, slightly alkaline or neutral, in a well-lit place or partial shade and protected from the winds. Wells break out in it, exceeding the size of planting material by three times. The distance between the pits should be 20 cm, and between the rows - 30–40 cm. The bulb should be deepened into the soil by 10–15 cm, small ones by 5–7 cm.

If there is no light soil on your site, only heavy, then the size of the planting pit should be 2 times larger than the seed. The remaining parameters are the same. Its quality can be improved by adding compost, sand, drainage. The surface of the bed is harrowed by a rake and mulched by peat, straw, dry foliage or sawdust.

Important! The tulip bed needs to be moved to a new place every 4-5 years.

If it is not possible to carry out planting work in the fall, then you can carry out them in the spring, but then Cafe Noir will bloom profusely only next year. Description of the planting process in spring is similar to autumn.

Video: Planting Tulips in Autumn

The subtleties of care

Quality care is the key to good flowering. You need to start looking after the flowers with the appearance of the first shoots. First you need to inspect the beds and remove those bulbs that did not sprout. This will stop the spread of disease.

It is very important to carry out irrigation procedures in a timely manner, since the flower loves moisture. Especially plentiful should be watering during the formation of buds. In order to soak the soil to a depth of 10 cm, 10–40 liters of water must be poured per square meter of beds (depending on soil conditions). Moisture should not get on the leaves so that they do not appear burns.

First feeding held in early spring with the advent of sprouts. You can use a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium mixture in a ratio of 2: 2: 1. 50 grams of fertilizer is needed per square meter of bed. Second time nutrients are introduced at the time of bud formation. The same elements are mixed, but in a ratio of 1: 2: 2. Per square meter you need 30–35 g.

Third feeding carried out at the end of the flowering period. Nitrogen is no longer used, and phosphorus and potassium are mixed in equal proportions. The amount of fertilizer per square meter is the same as with the second feeding. It is regularly necessary to loosen and weed the bed. You need to perform manipulations after watering.

Pests and diseases

The main enemy of any tulips is the variegation virus. It manifests itself with characteristic stripes and spots on the petals and leaves. Unfortunately, it is impossible to save the plant. It must be dug up and disposed of. For preventive purposes, planting material should be carefully selected, cut flowers with a sterile knife (after each, disinfect).

Another very dangerous disease is the necrosis virus. Because of it, the stem is bent, the flower is covered with stripes, and the bulb is covered with dark spots. The diseased instance must also be disposed of. The soil in its place is treated with a liter of water, in which 3 g of boric acid and 10 g of potassium manganese are diluted.

Did you know? In Europe, Western, tulips first came in the middle of the XVI century and for 150 years were considered the most valuable decorative culture here.

The solution is poured hot into the well. You can replace it with wood ash. For prophylactic purposes, the “Fundazole” solution is used. In rainy times, various fungal diseases actively develop. For prevention, the soil is treated with fungicides.

Among the pests are purple scoops, snails, bears, ticks, slugs, rodents. The mite is expelled with a 2% solution of “Celtan”, the scoop - with mothballs, bears, slugs, snails - with the help of boards, slate, plywood laid out on the site, under which they will hide in the daytime. It remains only to collect them and destroy them. Against rodents, you need to use mousetraps.

Use in landscape design

Typically, Cafe Noir is grown in flower beds or in containers. From it create compositions in the spring flower garden. It goes well with any light colors, for example, white daffodils, blue or white hyacinths.

This variety of tulips gives good germination both in open ground and in distillation in the middle and late periods. Unusual color flower will be the decoration of any suburban area. Subject to all the rules for his care, he will not cause unnecessary trouble. Cut flowers will delight the eye in the vases for a long time.