Please help...my forced bulbs have greens no buds!

Hi Bud-dys; :-)

I chilled some beautiful, butterfly daffodils andd did so with a Blue Hyacinth as well from shelf-bought bulbs (chilling in the fridge for about seven weeks) and then planted in pots just slightly larger than the bulbs themselves. The Blue Hyacinth was MAGNIFICENT and filled the house with more perfume than I have ever experienced with any other bulbs in the past.

Anyway, the butterfly daffodils have gorgeous greenery with at least 3 slender leaves from each bulb; but, after awaiting the blooms' coming until the leaves had reached 14" long at the tips with not even a bud in the center, I thought that you good folks may have some advice that would make my bulbs sing and flower whether it was to chop off most or all of the large leaves to FORCE the flowers to show their gorgeous selves at long last or some other method. Please help me save a project which has just taken too long for no real reward. Thanks alot and I really look forward to any "fixes" you might have. Oh, they have been fertilized as instructed by Holland Bulbs, but obviously, to no avail. Please help me before the bulbs energy is entirely spent!

Sincerest Thanks,
Thor

After you potted your Daffodils, did you give them a time in a cool, dark situation to form roots? If they went from the fridg to a pot of soil at room temperature, that could be the problem. They not only need to be cooled, but also time to form a good root system before being exposed to warm temps to bloom.

While you may not see blooms this year, if you allow the foliage to remain attached and growing till it dies off naturally, you should be able to plant the bulbs outdoors where they'll get on a regular schedule of rooting, cooling, and blooming on their own.

Gee Whiz,
Well, thanks so very much!! That's precisely what I did and so I will follow your advice for the coming year with them. They do stay green such a long time and my Blue Hyacinth too. Heck, that one is sending out a side-shoot in its little pot, so what in heaven's name should I do to that? Thanks for answering the questions! I greatly appreciateit that as this is my first year forcing bulbs and so my knowledge base is zero up until now!

Sincerely,
Thor

I'd just leave the side sprout on the Hyacinth, sounds like a baby bulb forming that should stay attached to the mother bulb another year or so. I've done the exact same thing when forcing, so I recognized the symptoms, LOL.

Gemini,
Wow, you are indeed a Sage or do you just like Sage...LOL? I actually had wondered about that and was going to let the whole thing go with continued--unclorinated-water, and fertilize modestly every 2-3 weeks with Miracle Gro All Purpose Flower, vegetable and Plant Food. Once it dies, I should unpot it and plant it, right?

Sincerest Gratitude,
Thor

LOL, I'm just fond of sage, ....and have screwed up a lot over the years, LOL. Still do, too. My big fiasco this year was setting several pots of bulbs outside in February that had been in the basement for several weeks to root. Well, it got really cold and they're all mush now. Live and learn.

You could wait to plant the bulb till fall. They like to spend dormancy dry (a lot of spring bulbs do), so that works well. Some people dig their tulips every year to store them dry for better reblooming.

hahaha :o) I getcha! Oh man, ouch! That hurts just to read about, I'm telling you!! I hear you but am trying to figure out, other than a fridge, what would be a cool place in a 3rd Floor Victorian house--made into 4 apartments!

I am going to be growing fruits and vegetables for the local HIV & AIDS service agency's food pantry which has been a BIG rock in a very HARD place for us both financially--in the form of requesting rental startup assistance from a larger agency with a Ryan White Care Act Grant--and nutritionally, well...as nutritious as non-perishable (canned/boxed/jarred) foods can be...by giving us what we are able to heat from the food pantry. Now, it is my turn to give back, helping a) With whatever we aren't able to eat from our small 3-bed, raised garden and b)By growing all of the veggies, fruits, and herbs that I can grow! I have been lent a larger piece of garden then my 4 raised beds and it will allow me to grow all of my major verticle crops. This is a private project because I am going this on my own this year, but I would love to incoporate as a former non-profit corp. next year. For now, I'm just trying to afford things to help me to do harcore garden stuff; tools, transplants to stagger my harvests and because mine under the grow lights are doing well but not there yet, since they were started just 3 weeks ago. I am on SSI for the virus but I am determined to get gift cards for Lowes of Home Depot or even ACE or whatever people give (plants, tools sin good shape, etc.). If you hear about anyone with an place in their heart to help me give these nutritious vegetables to those with failing immune systems but who are living longer and longer, let me know, please?

Anyway, thanks from the heart for the bulb advice and good sense of humor! You made me laugh. :o)

Thor
[gardenerthor@comcast.net]

As far as storing bulbs during summer dormancy, a warm, dry place is best. I've stored them in closets, hanging in onion bags in the garage, under the bed- as long as its dry, they're not picky. Many spring bulbs are native to mountainous regions with gritty, lean soil, and endure dry summer baking during their summer dormancy, so they've evolved to be tough that way.

Wonderful work you're planning! Last summer we undertook the care of a dear friend through his illness and passing here at home. Hand tremors and speech difficulty turned out to be the onset of PML (Progressive multifocal leucoencehpalopathy) symptoms, which lead to the HIV diagnosis. The PML had already progressed too far for HIV treatments to combat it, so his battle only lasted a few months. I do the cooking, and packing as much good nutrition as possible into the small meals I could get someone to eat who has no appetite was challenging. I wished I had grown lots of veggies many times last year. His care was paid for by an agency with the Ryan White Care Act Grant, great to give back to keep the good work going.

I've been focusing more on food plants this year. It's really hard for me to keep from giving the flowers first priority, and admittedly I'm still doing it, LOL. I have at least started 14 pepper varieties, and have sown 24 varieties of tomatoes, so that's a start. Now, if I can just quit planting Lilies, Iris, Roses, and Dahlias in every new garden spot available, there might be hope, LOL.