|
Create
Show-stopping Flower Displays for the Holidays
 (ARA)
- Many people are confused about how and when to force bulbs
and think it must be much more complicated than it looks. As
with any show, the key to creating a beautiful forced-bulb flower
display is setting the proper stage. That starts with giving
your plants a comfortable setting, refreshments, cool temperatures
and low light. When show time arrives, the lights and the temperature
come up and your flowers' urge to emerge is irresistible.
There are only
two types of bulbs for indoor growing: those you need to pre-chill
and those you don't. For fool-proof flower displays of pre-chilled
bulbs, growers such as Dutch Gardens make available several pre-potted
flower arrangements that come pre-chilled and are ready to bloom
in about 3 to 4 weeks once they're delivered to your door. Here
are two easy ways to get beautiful color in your home for the
holidays:
You Are Guaranteed
Success with These Bulbs
Two of the
simplest bulbs to grow are amaryllis and warmth-loving narcissus
varieties such as paperwhites. These are zone 8 to 9 bulbs,
which have never known winter; so don't expect a cooling period.
Here's where
you can add your special touch by choosing a glass dish, large
saucer or pot to plant these types of bulbs. Just fill with soil;
each bulb will come with planting instructions. Or just grow
them in a shallow bowl and use pebbles to hold the bulbs in place.
They'll usually bloom just four weeks after "planting."
To help keep stems short and sturdy, provide indirect light and
temperatures of about 50 degrees F for the first two weeks, and
then warmer, brighter conditions after that. If you're growing
your bulbs in water, it should cover no more than the bottom
one-fourth to one-third of the bulb.
Amaryllis are
available in many interesting colors and forms: There are bright
reds, but you can also have white, lilac or peach, with single
or double blossoms. Try the smashing new and striking amaryllis
called Charisma. It took years for the Dutch Amaryllis breeders
to produce this unique variety that displays a sumptuous color
combination of "raspberries and cream." For a long
lasting flowering extravaganza of dazzling amaryllis blooms,
try growing three amaryllis in one pot. This grand sight will
stop any flower lovers in their tracks!
Paperwhites
offer beauty and a strong scent. Buy a couple dozen of these
no-chill bulbs and store them in a cool, dry place. Start some
every few weeks for blooms right through January.
Want Absolute
Fool-proof Color? Try Pre-Chilled Plantings
Bulbs that
need pre-chilling require cool temperatures to stimulate a biochemical
response inside the bulb, which "turns on" the embryonic
flower so it starts developing. Most bulbs need 16 to 18 weeks
of cold before the flower is fully formed. At that point they're
ready for light and warmth. If you cut the time short, the flowers
will emerge, but they will not be fully formed.
To force these
bulbs yourself, you need to plan about 16 to18 weeks ahead of
time. Fortunately, Dutch Gardens has already done this work for
you. All their bulb plantings are pre-chilled; so all you have
to do is add water, place the planted bulb basket in a bright
spot, and experience an early spring as it unfolds on your windowsill.
To help chase
away the gray days of winter and enjoy the full bounty of spring,
try the Deluxe Mixed Dutch Garden. With this planting, you will
be treated to the beautiful colors and delicate fragrances of
spring with pink, white and cheery yellow daffodils; sunny yellow,
strawberry and cream colored tulips; regal purple hyacinths,
with their heady fragrance; and the earliest harbingers of spring,
striped crocus.
If you want
to give the ultimate gift to a plant-loving friend (or to yourself),
consider three or six months of blooming Flower Bulb Baskets.
They make spring last even longer with an array of bright, fragrant
bulbs in bloom in your home from December through May.
Why make a
choice between amaryllis and spring bulbs? Combine the pleasures
of both with holiday red amaryllis and pristine white tulips
and fragrant hyacinths in Dutch Gardens' Red and White Holiday
Basket.
|
author: |
|
Courtesy of ARA
Content |
ARTICLE POSTED
NOVEMBER 10, 2003
|
WHAT'S NEW?