November 2016 Newsletter

Michelle’s Tips for Easy Holiday Bulbs

If forcing bulbs is a new interest, choosing Amaryllis is the right place to begin. Amaryllis deliver huge, brilliant flowers, in abundance and in lots of jazzy color combinations. Some are even fragrant. They are also, surprisingly, among the easiest plants to grow. The amaryllis we sell don’t need any special cooling or conditioning and will come back year after year with just a bit of care. Let the fun begin!

Amaryllis are hard flowers to categorize. They look tropical and exotic; large, lily-like trumpet blooms on tall, straight stems, with a base of strappy leaves. Flower colors go from white to deep red and include some eye-catching striped varieties. You’ll pay more for the more exotic varieties and larger bulbs, but larger bulbs produce more flowers. You can expect your Amaryllis to bloom 7 weeks or longer.

Planting Amaryllis Bulbs

Choose a bulb(s) that’s plump and still has some roots at the base. Make sure the pot you chose is just large enough for the bulb. Generally a 5 – 7″ pot will work fine. The bulb needs to feel crowded to bloom. Partially fill the pot with potting mix and place the bulb so that top third of it will be exposed when you fill in potting soil around the sides of the pot.

Site the containers where they will receive bright light or partial sun. Cooler temperatures (55-65F) will prolong flower life so consider placing your pots in an area that’s a bit on the cool side.

Water well, gently soaking the soil and settling it around the bulb. After the initial watering, wait to add more moisture until after you see stem and/or leaf growth to prevent overwatering. One of the most common problems that occur with indoor amaryllis is overwatering.

Most good quality amaryllis bulbs with produce more than one flower stem, each with 3-5 flowers. As your amaryllis grow rotate pots a quarter turn every day or two to keep stems upright and to counteract their tendency to lean towards the light.

Amaryllis are easy to re-bloom if you follow these easy (really!) steps:

Put the plant near a bright window and water as needed, feeding every two weeks with a well balanced, all purpose fertilizer. Remove faded flowers and stalks, but do not cut the foliage. In mid-September/October, gradually begin withholding water.

Once the foliage dies down, trim it all off and put the plant in a cool, dark place (like a basement or garage) for six weeks.

Do not give the plant ANY water during these six weeks.

After the six week rest period, bring the amaryllis back to the brightly lit window and begin watering normally again. You should have foliage and flowers in a few short weeks!

Paperwhite bulbs require little more than to be potted and watered to produce clus ters of fragrant blooms. You can either pot your bulbs right away or store them at room temperature in a dark place for up to 4-6 weeks. My grandmother had paperwhites blooming all winter by staggering her plantings. She would pot up 6 bulbs in a 6” pot every 3 weeks. With that interval she had color and fragrance all winter long. Bulbs generally bloom 4-6 weeks after potting.

Paperwhite Narcissus will grow happily and bloom with nothing more than water and stones. To “plant” your bulbs, use marble chips or small stones instead of soil. The bulbs can get tall and in soil they will fall over. Paperwhites root easily in stones and the roots are anchored to prevent tipping from the weight of all the flowers. Pick a container or vase that does not have drainage holes, Paperwhite roots need to stay wet, so a vase or ceramic pot with no holes is a perfect choice. Once you’ve layer some stones on the bottom of your container,  place the bulbs close to each other, roots facing down. Put  stones around and between the bulbs to anchor them in the container. Leave the tops of the bulbs exposed. Finally, add water until the level reaches just below the base of the bulbs, but no higher (if the bases of the bulbs sit in water, they will rot).

When Paperwhites are forced to bloom indoors, they have a tendency to topple when in flower. Keeping them cool will help keep the height down, so avoid warm rooms or spots near a fireplace. If your bulbs do get too tall, use some stakes and twine to tie the foliage together.

After Paperwhites finish blooming, we recommend that you throw the bulbs out or toss them on the compost pile. They won’t bloom again indoors and can take several years to rebloom outdoods.

Happy Holiday Season!

Michelle and Team Lakeview!