Can’t wait for spring
The sun is out and the temperature will get up to 58F today. Days are getting longer and it sure feels like spring! I really can't wait, the gardener in me can't wait to come out.
Back in December I wrote a post about forcing paperwhites and I realized I never came back and post the updates. The paperwhites did really well but nothing really happened with the Amaryllis. The Amaryllis just kept growing long green leaves but the flower stalk I was waiting for never came out.
Paperwhites are fool-proof and it's great if you're looking for some blooms during the winter months. I grew the paperwhites in a tall narrow pot but I think next year I'll look for a wider and shorter pot so I can put more bulbs in it. Paperwhites look great when planted in groups.
Beautiful New York winter
It's been quiet on the gardening front but last week New York got slammed by a snow storm and it turned into a winter wonderland. We took advantage of the fresh snow and went skiing at the Catskills for the weekend. Catskills is about 2 hours north of NYC. Up in the Catskills, they had over 7 feet of snow in 4 days. I've never seen anything like it. Many people are still out of electricity and there were a lot of down trees. We have a little bamboo forest at my work campus and it was destroyed by the snowstorm, I kinda felt bad because it's been there for a long time and it really isn't something you can rebuild. I wonder if this is an indication of a really warm summer?
My deck.
Skiing at Hunter Mountain.
Near Kaaterskill Falls.
Ice climbing.
Forcing bulbs- Paperwhites (Narcissus)
Woo-hoo! Winter Solstice is here, longer days of sun here we come! Today is the shortest day of the year, which means we have the shortest daylight and the longest night of the year. On the bright side this means after today the days will gradually be longer. I'm counting down to the longest day of the year (15 hours of sunlight!) which arrives on June 21, 2010.
Previous post I talked about forcing Amaryllis bulb in container. BJ's sells this gift pack which includes one Amaryllis bulb and five Narcissus bulbs for under US$20. The bulbs look healthy but don't expect these to be high quality bulbs from nurseries but if you just want to have some blooms for the holidays this might be the cost-effective way to go.
Box comes with a nice green ceramic pot, one dehydrated coco peat, and five paperwhites 'Ziva' bulbs.
Follow the instructions from the previous to hydrate the coco peat and fill half of the pot.
Paperwhites don't mind to be in a small pot and the bulbs can touch each other. Just remember to keep the soil moist and not wet. Oh and they like bright light too!
Did you know you can add vodka or gin when you water to stunt their growth? Now that's something I want to try! Take a look at the gorgeous paperwhites from Flat Bottom Flowers.
