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ALL ABOUT PLANTS


Bulbs to force for Christmas


One of the loveliest decorations you could have in the house over Christmas is a display of flowering bulbs – hyacinths, narcissi, or amaryllis. There’s still time to grow them, and you’ll certainly have blooms inside during the dark days of January even if you leave planting until the end of the month. They also make a lovely personal gift.


The bulbs need to be forced to grow well indoors at this time of year for early flowering. It means planting them in pots and keeping them in the dark for several weeks before bringing them out to start flowering.


Try to find bulbs that are marked ‘early’. These will have a better chance of getting a result for you. Some bulbs are prepared especially to flower within a few weeks.


Delicate narcissi


The most reliable and easy to get to bloom indoors are the paperwhite narcissi, which would not survive our winters outside but are great indoors, a real breath of spring with their delicate fragrance. They have been bred from the wild species Narcissus papyraceus, native to the eastern Mediterranean.


The popular paperwhite narcissi – easy to force into bloom


The flowers are small but there are several flower heads on a stem and they make a lovely display if grouped together in containers. The bigger the bulb the more flower stems it will produce. Plant at least three bulbs to a 13cm (5in) pot, more in a bigger


container, in bulb fibre. Bulb fibre contains oyster shell and charcoal to stop the bulbs from stagnating and even rotting if over-watered – it is essential to use bulb fibre if you are using a container without drainage holes.


You can grow them in gravel in bowls without drainage holes, keeping the water level just below the base of the bulbs. Even if you plant in mid-November you should get a display within five to six weeks. Keep the pots in a cool place, less well lit to start them off.


Hyacinths


You can buy specially treated hyacinth bulbs as well as ordinary ones. Trials have not shown conclusively that it is vital to get specially prepared hyacinth bulbs which are more


The delicate Apple Blossom Amaryllis variety


There’s still time to plant up bulbs to enjoy over Christmas and making the right selection of slightly more unusual varieties will bring even bigger rewards


expensive, but it could be an insurance policy to buy them.


Buy bulbs marked ‘early’, plant three per 13cm (5in) pot and put them in a box in a cool, dark place such as a potting shed or garage – the ideal temperature is 10ºC. If they are left like this until they are 5cm (2in) high, they are less likely to flop, although many need staking with twigs or small canes.


Once they reach this height, bring them into a cool room and stand them where the light is good. Too much warmth and not enough light results in more leaves than flowers, with long, floppy stems.


Amaryllis


The showiest bulbs, the blooms often in festive red, but they are often slower to get going. Two varieties have been recommended for flowering at Christmas: ‘Apple Blossom’ and ‘Minerva’.


Place a single bulb, with any dead roots cut off, in a pot with drainage


holes that is only 2-3cm (just over 1in) larger than the bulb. Bigger bulbs are more likely to produce at least two flower stems.


Don’t over water and never allow the pot to sit in water, just water sparingly until the leaves develop. When the plant has flowered, cutting off the pollen-bearing part of the stamens makes the flowers last longer.


Tips for forcing bulbs


 and amaryllis, more flower heads 


 dark to start   


 and water until the leaves have died down, store in a cool place and they may flower again next year


 August, move to a cool, shady spot, and return it to a sunny windowsill in October, cutting off the leaves, add a slow-release feed and start watering again


Country Gardener


17


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