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Fight the winter blues by forcing these bulbs to bloom
Don’t throw away your bulbs once they are finished blooming! Stop watering and let them go dormant again.
Happy New Year, dear readers: We not only mark the beginning of a fresh calendar year, but also celebrate the recent winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of our season. It may seem trivial, but passing the solstice gives me hope that spring will return to our gardens soon enough and that the light grows imperceptibly longer each day. While the outside world remains largely dormant, gardeners can enjoy verdancy, flowers, and fragrance indoors with winter-flowering bulbs. Many are associated with the December holidays but need not be enjoyed only then.
We will begin with paperwhites, a variety of intensely fragrant daffodils native to Mediterranean climates. Paperwhites are super easy to force and can be grown in several ways. First, when selecting yours, be sure to inspect them, looking for any signs of rot or softness in the bulb. Healthy bulbs should be consistently firm and protected by papery sheaths. These bulbs can be planted in potting soil, either entirely under the soil or half in-half out. Many gardeners will top-dress their bulb pots with decorative stones or moss. A second method involves growing them in water with stones or marbles as the rooting media. This step is crucial as the bulb will rot if it touches the water. I like this way because I can use a shallow dish and arrange five or seven bulbs for a more prominent floral display. As with all the bulbs mentioned here, the warmth of your home, combined with indirect sunlight, will coax these beauties out of their dormancy.
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One of the most popular paperwhite varieties is called Ziva, producing blue-green foliage and clusters of very aromatic white blooms, each flower with a golden tinge at the center. Try Inbal, a classic variety with all-white flowers and stout stems for a more demure aroma. It tends to be slower than others but doubles as an excellent cut flower to extend your enjoyment. Finally, Grand Soliel D’Or offers a different take on the paperwhite, producing gorgeous sunshine-yellow blossoms with orange centers and a sweet, fruity fragrance. This variety is also slow to force, but your patience will be rewarded once this beautiful bulb bursts into bloom.
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Don’t throw away your bulbs once they are finished blooming! Stop watering and let them go dormant again, removing the yellow foliage and cutting back the roots at the bottom. Store in a cool, dry place until next winter arrives.
More Ask the Gardener
Few winter bulbs provide a floral show like the amaryllis. Countless varieties are available, and many are on sale as the holiday season has ended. The bulbs are large, easy to handle, and, with a bit of patience, produce stunning flowers, some reaching 6 inches in diameter. Botanically, there are only two species of true amaryllis, both native to Southern Africa. The plant most associated with the name amaryllis belongs to a different genus (Hippeastrum sp), a much larger group with 90 species and more than 600 named varieties.
We all know and cherish the common amaryllis for its winter blooms. These bulbs can be grown similarly to paperwhites in soil or a rocky water medium. Some growers even offer bulbs sealed in wax, claiming that you have to do nothing to enjoy the plant. Just like paperwhites, you can save your amaryllis bulbs once they finish blooming. Cease watering, allow them to enter dormancy, and keep them in cool, dry storage until next winter. Check out your local garden centers and bulb catalogs for great deals on amaryllis bulbs. Amaryllis.com offers a fantastic selection of colors, fast growers, and specialty varieties.
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Your enjoyment of forced bulbs need not stop at paperwhites and amaryllis. Tulips, Muscari, and scilla are all among the small minor bulbs well suited for containers and for being forced indoors. Winter-flowering and forced bulbs offer a wonderful way to experience a taste of spring long before the outside world awakes.
Uli Lorimer is the director of horticulture at the Native Plant Trust in Framingham. Send your gardening questions, along with your name/initials and hometown, to [email protected] for possible publication. Some questions are edited for clarity.
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