SPRING BULBS 2011 - WHOSE IN?

Saw this handy hint from P. Allen Smith.

been doing it this way for eons....

http://www.pallensmith.com/articles/pot-up-bulbs-now-for-spr...

So whatcha all planting? Most folks are poking an amaryllus in a pot this time of year for a Christmas bloom. I do spring bulbs and bring them indoors.

Since I use the method on that website above, I can easily dig up a few cans this time of year and bring them indoors. For the holidays I use pot covers to hide the nursery cans and stick in big bow as they get to blooming.

Right now mind are still in the garden and nothing showing on top of their pots...

Im looking for space in the house to bring a few cans in.... Im decorating for Christmas and dont know yet where they are going.

Well, I got a great deal on some pink hyacinths and pink and white mixed daffs....need to poke them in pots and pray they bloom their fool heads off!

Was thinking on doing the hyacinths in water. Never done them that way before, how about anyone out there, have you tried it that way? I probably do not want 16 bulbs of hyacinths in the living room though.. I can imagine the aroma, but being a bit much. Course that might just be the ticket to my house mouse problem. Had field mice indoors this year, more than I care in numbers.. Never have had that many before, but thats coountry living.

So ok, 26 of ya'll are peakin, SOOOOO...whose poking??? Show them, even if they are not blooming! Cmon, tell us what ya got!

I was walking the garden here and I have daffodils...SPRING dafs peaking out 3 inches...now these guys are sposed to wait until fall, but we have been unseasonably warm here.

Ok, the pink daffs or as the pack says, mixed pink narcissus


....never did figure there was a difference between dafs and narcs, other than spelling, perhaps someone can explain that one to us!

and the hyacinhs.....they are called Pink Surprise..... I expect them to surprise me with a nice bloom! Oh man, theres ten in a bag...! Got two packs of them

The daffs had 20 in a bag.. got two packs on them,

Had some Paperwhites blooming in the house last week. Most bulbs can be planted in pots and remain outside down here. Have several new Amaryllis in pots and in the ground. Planted them a few weeks apart so they wouldn't all bloom at the same time. Here is Amaryllis "Lemon Lime" this morning. If you leave them in the ground here they will adjust to their normal blooming cycle within a year. They typically bloom in April in South Florida. Have quite a few Ranunculus bulbs planted in the ground that have just emerged in the past 2-3 weeks. They won't bloom until March.

OooOooo! Thats gorgeous! Cant do those all year here, but love to have one for Christmas. Have not got one yet. They sell them prechilled for us this time of year.. runnning around $8-12 bucks each with an el cheapo plastic pot.

I will probably put the narcs in nursery cans about 3-4 in a can...

Heres a few in the garden.. its waaaay to early! They are gonna crawl back in the ground before spring...too bad the bulbs might get a little spent before spring. Its only 11/30~!

Another can.. Im yanking this one to bring indoors.. they are about 5 inches tall and I hate to see them go to waste...

We buy the prechilled Amaryllis bulbs during the fall/winter also. Since they are tropical type flowers you can plant them directly in the ground or transfer them to in the ground after they bloom in their pots. The bulbs multiply over the course of a few years. They've been much cheaper down here this fall. Sold at Lowes for $4.99 each.

Well, they will get that low up here at the sales ends for the Holidays. Often times they have lots leftover at half price. Maybe less depending on the retailer.

What gets me.. when the sales hit sometimes you see 75% off on items.. hmmm like we all want to pay that kind of markup....pressure sales thats all it is... I mean I knopw its typical of retaielrs to ask a big markup, they have to stay in business, but it feels like rape all the time. In this day who can afford much any way. Then if you got a credit card... Holy G! 25% interest? What ever happened to the friendly bankers that gave you an incentive to save and a gift to boot just wanting your business.. well enough of that before we go too far off topic and I get to mentioning printers and standards and get the thread tossed...I will go to my off-line corner now and scream! Move over kids, make room for BB!

So, Jon, do those amaryluss bloom the next year on a new formed bulb or does it take a couple years to generate a blossom? They have so many now. I love that one your showing. Never seen one like that. Up here its white, reds, peppermints, pinks, but not seeing any peachy or yellows. I tried getting them to bloom the second year on a purchased for holiday bulb, it would wither and die first.

We got some snow today, just a sciff, but enough to make things not to pleasant for walking or driving. Then I forgot to yank that pot of daffs.. I best go run and get it now before the cold totals it.

It's going to drop into the 50's the next 5 or 6 nights. Like it when we get those temperatures. If I buy and plant chilled Amaryllis bulbs now they won't bloom the second time until April 2012. They take a whole year to adjust to the climate and get back on their normal blooming cycle. They will bloom from the same bulb and there will probably be a new smaller bulb that will bloom also. The foliage remains evergreen during the rest of the year. One leaf will die and a new one will emerge from time to time, but they still look evergreen since they don't completely die back. I see a red one opening out front in the yard. It's too dark or I'd take a picture.

Is there any secret to storing them liek for up here? I have tried letting them go, dry stocking them, I tried leaving them in a pot that dint work either...the bulbs just shrink and wither to nill. I just never get that second bloom off a store bought and cant put them in the ground. So in essence they turn into a throwaway after the season.

Not sure Blossom. I'm assuming they whither away because they don't get the amount of real sunshine they would need to continue to do well over a long period of time. Dry stocking them may not work because they need over one year down here to adjust and store enough energy to bloom again. There probably is a way but its probably complicated just like it is with poinsettias. There is a way to get those to bloom again the next year but I recall it being a long precise method involving lightness and darkness treatments during the year.

Here's my first round of potted up to force bulbs. Today I got my shipment of bulbs from Brent and Becky's half price sale, most of them will join those already in the refrigerator dedicated to forcing in a day or so.

First forced paperwhites.
In regards to 2nd year and beyond Amaryllis bulbs: I've had success the following years by cutting off the flowering stem when bloom is over, leaving plants where they receive plenty of light (oft on a table in basement where they receive 12 to 14 hours of light from a bank of fluorescent tubes). When spring has warmed enough to accommodate them I move the pots outside (I use terra cotta to facilitate this move) and sink the pot into the ground. That fall I bring them end, stop watering, allow them to rest a few months and start the cycle anew.

Nice. I can see how that method would work (high light & consistent warm temps) with getting Amaryllis to rebloom in colder climates. This one is Amaryllis "Oskar" blooming in the front yard this morning. This was one of the $4.99 Amaryllis bulbs from Lowes.