I've tried this and it is wonderful. To this, I always force some forsythia and apple branches in the winter. They are beautiful also.

About the corkscrew willow: I'm in zone 6 too, will that withstand winter outside in a pot?

I've done this before and it works. Put the plant in a container and submerge it into the ground so only the top part of the pot is showing. It looks better than a pot sitting on the ground and in the spring, you can just dig it up and put it wherever you want.

The main reason I'm putting it in a pot is that I don't want to disturb its roots in the spring, when I move it.

Cher

my corkscrew willow is hardy here in zone 5.
and don't forget, if you force bulbs, plant them outside next spring. i get about a 50% return, depending on the variety.

Cher: do you know what kind of paperwhites they were? They may not be hardy in that zone 6 climate if they were actually paperwhites. Perhaps you got a tazetta narcissus that is hardy, but zone 6 gets very cold. You may want to dig some up, pot them up (they're probably starting to root now,) and enjoy them again by keeping them indoors, above freezing.... but I don't think you can overwinter them outdoors there.

You CAN enjoy your hyacinths up there though. I'm jealous: I have to keep mine in the refrigerator to force! Oh well, the trade offs of the zones... :)

NJCher,

The easiest way to have a sequence of bulbs flowering at different times is to pot them all the same weekend, but bring the pots in at different times. Bulbs need 10 to 12 weeks chilling, but easily accept longer. (Paperwhite narcissus and Muscari 'Christmas Pearl' are the exceptions. The paperwhites ned no chilling, and the grape hyacinth very little to none at all.) Say you plant 10 pots this weekend. You can bring the first ones indoors in 10 to 12 weeks - sometime in December. The rest can sit in the chilly place for another week or two, when a couple more come indoors in late December. Then two more in early January, more in mid-January, late January, and so on. Better to let them root now than have the bulbs sitting around waiting to be planted. But bulbs are very forgiving, so just about anything works.

I potted some Guinea hen flower, Fritillaria meleagris. SHould be nice.

Into the Woods

Thanks for the advice! It makes sense, now that I think about it.

IntotheWoods, do you add on weeks if the weather isn't cold?

Cher

Think about it - bulbs that are in the ground now are rooting and readying themselves for winter. Bulbs in pots are doing the same thing. Putting pots into the refrigerator (ideal temperatures of 38° to 42° Fahrenheit, but mine is full of food ) might hasten things along but I doubt it. Trust me, cold weather is on the way. And night temperatures are also dropping. Plus, the soil mass in a pot is less volume, cools more quickly than the garden/ ground. Just keep the pots in a shaded, i.e. cooler place rather than in the sun. Besides, it will only be the first set of pots that you bring in that might be "shorted" as far as cooler temperatures are concerned. So choose those bulbs that naturally flower earlier in spring. I'm teaching a Hunterdon County Adult Ed class on potting for forcing on October 20th - we'll do hyacinths, I'll explain the nuances for tulips and a special technique for daffodils, do paperwhites in pebbles and everyone goes home with a pot of bulbs. I'm looking forward to it.

Into the Woods

Wish I could take your class, Into the woods. Want to come to NW Missouri and do one? Suzan T.

Suzan, I do travel. In fact, just last week I did a garden design with foliage workshop and spoke about Japanese plants at a seminar in Madison WI at Olbrich Botanic Garden, and did the workshop again, and a lecture about choosing and using bulbs at the Chicago Botanic Garden. So if there is a botanic garden or some other organization in your area that offers gardening programs with speakers from outside the area I'd be happy to discuss things with them.

Into the Woods

I would like to learn what bulbs (other than paperwhites) are suitable for forcing over just touching water and colored glass/ pebbles. I saw a pot with rocks for sale at BJ's Wholesale Club - it had two large purplish bulbs included - but no directions, or clues to the bulbs on the package - or in it. I am tempted to go back and buy it - just to let it grow and see what they are!

I went to an open house this week - where the hostess had placed lots of paperwhites over pebbles in very tall glass vases of different sizes and shapes all over her house....The height of the vase supported the flowers as they grew and they looked beautiful with large lacy gold bows on the vases. I thought that the arrangement was
very clever - as my problem with paperwhites over the years has always been their tendancy to fall over when they are fully mature.

Any ideas for other bulb choices? Thanks!

Stuy: OH I bet those were hyacinth bulbs. Kinda round huh? They're often forced in glasses of water or on pebbles. But they do need a chilling period. You can read more about forcing hyacinths at www.bulb.com They have great articles there about them. (And I've been very successful following their advice.)

The vase/paperwhite idea is very clever and Smith and Hawkins was showing a lot of arrangements that way. They had all sorts of hurricaine glass forms and similar favorable vase shapes that they put pebbles at the bottom with bulbs. I thought it was clever too. You can try their website, they may still have photos up.

About three days ago I brought in a couple more pots of bulbs. I brought them in through the basement and they were pretty cold, if not frozen. So I left them at the base of the steps to thaw. It was my intention to go downstairs the next day and bring the thawed pots up.

I forgot to get them and finally went downstairs today to bring them upstairs and water them. Much to my surprise, they had already started sprouting! When I brought them in, I didn't see a single thing coming through the soil. But today, only three days later, every bulb is pushing through!

Cher

I don't have the patience (or space) for potted bulbs to force. But I always have a lot of paperwhites going all winter long. Every week I pull a few more out of the fridge and put them in pots with pebbles.

One of the nicest (and easiest!) arrangements I have this year is three different size tin cans, labels removed and middles wrapped with a raffia "obi", grouped together. The paperwhites seem less likely to flop over, and the cans a re watertight. (Not to mention cheap, cheap, cheap!)

What a cool idea, Alison. I have raffia...I have cans...I need some paperwhite bulbs, though. Not to worry, will get them! I love this idea!

I wanted to post an idea I have come up with to keep my cat from digging in the bulbs. I took wooden skewers (the kind used for kababs) and put them around the edges of the pot. She thought that was a game! Knock out the skewer. She was flinging dirt all over the place and it all seemed to go on the WHITE couch and in the hardest places to get to with the vacuum cleaner.

But then I put a plastic bag on top and it stopped her, finally.

Cher

Yesterday my garden center client and I went on a business trip and while driving, I told him how disappointed I was that my bulbs seemed to be growing so slowly. He gave me this tip:

The growers sometimes use a growth retardant when they water bulbs because there will still be a flower but it retard the growth of the foliage. This gives you a flower faster than waiting for all the foliage to grow. The problem is that the growth retardant is expensive plus one would not use it very often.

The tip he gave me is to water bulbs that are being forced by watering them with a mixture of water and gin. One tablespoon of gin to a cup of water.

Cher

About forcing bulbs, I have Hyacinths, pre cooled, paperwhites, muscari, and Amarylis. I'd like to have a succession of bloom for the month of December and January. When should I pot up each of these plants?

Also I have misc other bulbs I would like to pot up for bloom in the beginning of May, Tulips, Crocus, Daffs, Snowdrops, etc. How long should I pre cool and when do I pot up?

Ok, I have a question too. I bought six paperwhite daffs about three weeks ago. I have them stored in a paper baggie in the basement. Averages I would 60 degrees down there. I pulled three out today to pot up and they were all sprouting in the bag, no roots. Do they need to go into the fridge to prevent this? Are the temps in the basement to be the cause of the premature sprouting? I also have several veggies and fruits stored in the fridge.

Thanks!
James