Pre-chilled forced winter bloomers for 2010 - Anyone!

Usually for Christmas I get an order of paperwhites. This year.. Wallyworld had the kits for $5. You know the kind, you get the plastic pot, the soil and a handfull of bulbs that are pre-chilled to force bloom just in time for the holiday. They had amaryllus and well, I passed on those because for me they end up being a throwaway later.

So are you prechilling your own or just waiting until spring? Hows your bulbs doing?Well lets see how close to Christmas they actually bloom!

I got mine about a week or so ago and pottted them right away and well today 12/2 they are almost 4 inches tall! I have them in my livingroom under a light.

When spring comes I will transfer these bulbs to a one gallon nursery can and then sink that into a spot in my garden. I have done this for years and in the spring I have lots of flowers from the forced bulbs I have gotten in winter! Sinking them in the cans helps me find them later when it comes time to lift and divide and the cans also deter the critters from disturbing them.

So what bulbs are you forcing for winter bloom? Whats in your livingroom now and in your garden later?

Show and tell time for your bulbs!

Amaryllis - Baby Doll (last of it's show for this year...it had two stalks, one had 8 flowers, this one had 6...amazing, to me, for a minature).

refrigerator full of tulips and daffodils (21 pots)

I will not do tulips.. they end up to be throw aways for me and only die later in the garden due to the flooding. Daffidils oh yeah, I willtake in every orphaned daff my grubby lil paws can get a grip on!!

Seriously and addiction! Besides that I am not done with the border of the bed I am edging out! Probably need about 1500 bulbs yet!

That amaryluss is gorgeous.. I need to stay away from them too. As lovely as they are, I hate throwing them away!

LOL! Love the fridgee! LOL! Got milk?

The refrigerator content is 110 bulbs. I do the tulips for their sheer color impact in the middle of winter; though you're right, they're pretty useless after a forcing as they inevitably split. I've had great success with the daffodils after forcing and then into the ground for a next, new season of bloom. I'll also be forcing hyacinths on water and have had pretty fair return blooms after placing them in the ground after forcing. They sometimes might skip a bloom the following season but bloom the next season.
I ordered about a hundred more bulbs from Brent and Becky's half off sale that should arrive soon. Most will go into pots that are placed in large tote containers and situated in a covered outside stairwell to the basement. If the ground is too hard to work when they arrive, they'll all go into the aforementioned forcing environment. This last order includes crocus, muscari, and lilies besides tulips and daffodils, all quite force-able.
And then there's the paperwhites...I've 20 of them and need to get some of them going...I usually place them on marbles in water to force their flowers.
Incidently, I've had good return bloom results with Amaryllis when I plunge the pots outside over summer, let them rest inside during the fall and restart them early winter.
I've also got Lachenalia, Ornithogalium dubium, and Velthemia growing that'll bloom over winter. These are kept inside but allowed to rest all summer in pots in the basement with new growth every fall.

LOL...Milk is regulated to the frige upstairs.

LOL! I thought so! Right now the only bulbs in my fridge are cannas in the crisper... so far so good. Hope they hold to pot up long about Feb-March.

Here's the stairwell where the totes of bulbs will go; old comforters are thrown over them to maintain a steady cold temp.

18 more pots from Brent & Becky sale placed in totes to be placed in stairwell.

Normally I shy away from things at WallyWorld, but here it is, the paperwhite bloomed today. Regret my other sources had none. Next year I think I am going to order some from a bulb grower.

So you like Brent and Beckies? I only heard of them recently...I get hooked on service.

They are reliable. John Scheeper is as well.

Seen there cat, could use some pictures! Specially of the newbs! Nice ta know what Im looking at!

Thanks for all the details on your forcining operation, jmorth. I always love to hear about your latest crop!

I always force a nice bunch of bulbs too for mid winter bloom and love to have the bright color in the house during these grey days of winter around here. So in the past couple of years I have purchased Brent & Becky's featured 'pre-cooled' tulip bulbs, received them in late December, and then immediately planted these pre-cooled bulbs in my cache pots, set them in my sunny windows for bloom on Valentine Day. FYI Here's a link to the B & B pre-cooled collection on bulbs: http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/spring/precooledbulbs.php

Now, I have a question and was wondering if you and other tulip forcing fanciers on DG can share your opinion:

From what I read on the internet, most people buy random tulip bulbs, 'pre-cool' their tulip bulbs by planting them in pots such as you describe above, and then put the pots and all outside protected, or in an extra fridge for a good chill.

But I am wondering, wouldn't it be just as productive and space saving to cool the bulbs in their paper sacks in the extra fridge and then plant them in pots when you wanted to start them growing on your sunny windowsill? This way I can save a lot of refridgerator space and trouble hauling my pots around.

Or won't the tulips chilled in the fridge in bags and then potted up be as strong and big as tulips bulbs pre-chilled while potted up?

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks for any tips on your experiences with pre-chilling. t.

Oh, and jmorth, can you tell us which are your favorite tulips to force? This year I am doing lots of Abba (B&B pre-chilled) and Salmon Pearl, lots of hyacinths and muscari, too. No daffs this year though.

tabasco - I believe the usual process of potting them up and then refrigerating them is to promote a healthy root system. That said, I've had excellent results with hyacinths by putting the bag bought in in the refrigerator during late fall and letting them stay cold till January or even Feb. then placing them in a hyacinth jar to force them in water. The ones illustrated in pic were put into their water jar earlier this month and are doing well. After allowing the roots to develop I'll move them into warmth and before long be blessed by their aromatic bloom.
I've never tried using the pre-chilled bulbs.
My favorite tulip to force is Gen.deWet, an early single with a supreme aromatic side to it. I also force a lot of Flair and Princess Irene. My favorite early double is Monsella. Nearly all the early singles and doubles are excellent choices to force due to their shorter stature. Most of the Triumph division and many Darwins are good for forcing as well. However, many Darwins are so robust and big they're best forced in a pot with an attachment to support their height. Last year I had success with Red Hunter, one of the shorties in the species and misc. category; this year I'm trying Little Beauty from the same category.
J

I just got B&B's catalog.. see ya later.. got to go drool!

J. Have you ever tried to force the 'peony' type tulips?

I would love to try the Orange Princess (which I have grown outside in pots but would love it inside during the winter).

I'm betting they're too late and too heavy. What do you think? http://www.vanengelen.com/catview.cgi?_fn=Product&_category=Tulips:Peony

tabasco, never tried to force a peony type...I bet that Orange Princess is a neat tulip, described as a 'double or triple' Princess Irene. It's listed height would be manageable but I bet it has a 'heavy head'. The lateness factor doesn't preclude successful forces, I've had some success with single lates, I usually just let them stay in the cold longer. The height of many late bloomers can carry a negative connotation.
I think its about time to start bringing some of the pots out of the refrigerator and let them acclimate under fluorescents in my cool basement before transferring them upstairs for this year's show.

Looks like my red spider lilies are going to die back soon.. the grass on them is gettign brown tips. I wonder if they are gonna bloom this summer -

Cant wait to see them.. hoping they do!