My Bit of Earth

Big Fat Paperwhites

Those of you who've been around for a bit know that I'm a paperwhite evangelist during the holiday season.  But I'm afraid I've led you all astray as to the best method for growing them.

In years past, I've simply put them in a bowl with rocks and water.  They always ended up a little spindly (I tried alcohol to combat this one year), but still lovely.

This year I didn't have enough rocks to fill my bowl, but I did have a leftover bag of potting soil.  So I used soil to fill most of the bowl, and just put a layer of rocks on top to make it pretty.

Guess what?  Paperwhites like soil.  They like it a lot.  These are the biggest, fattest paperwhites I've ever grown.  While you can certainly get by with just rocks and water, I don't believe I will ever be doing so again.

Gentle Reminder: It's Paperwhite Season

Just my friendly yearly reminder that if you want paperwhites for Christmas, now is the time to get them started.  This year, I planted mine in a baking dish half filled with pebbles, then disguised it all with some mossy-grass and a basket.  I hope it will be all kinds of pretty once my bulbs bloom, although it is kind of a PITA to monitor the water level right now.  Ah well, totally worth it! 

Here's the full schpeel on how to plant paperwhites if you're a newbie, and here's a little paperwhite science experiment I tried a few years ago (with some success) if you're up for such things.  

Lemons!!!

Despite what might seem like an inhospitable time of year for it, it's once again time for May Dreams Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  Follow the link to see what's blooming this month all over the world.

This month, I am ever-so-proud to announce, I've got lemons!!!

Yes, my little "Meyer" lemon tree--a Christmas gift from Sweet Husband way back in 2004--has finally produced it's first fruit.  They've taken about four months to finally turn yellow, but I think they're finally done.  Now...what to use them for? 

Poinsettia Paradise

One of my favorite December field trips?  A quick detour to my favorite greenhouse to soak in some fresh (non-freezing) air, and walk through their rows and rows of poinsettias waiting for Christmas homes.  Of course, one of those Christmas homes always ends up being my home!

Wishing You All Had Sniffable Internet

My Annual Paperwhite Pep Talk

OK, I know I post about this every year, but really, they're so easy--if you enjoy fresh flowers there's really no reason not to plant a few paperwhites.

For those who haven't heard my schpeel, just get a few bulbs (your local garden center will have them, or you can get little kits at a big box store), a small pot, and some rocks.  Add the rocks to your pot, nestle in the paperwhite bulbs, and put in just enough water to barely touch the bottom of the bulbs.  Place in a sunny spot, keep the water topped up, and *wahlah* in 4-6 weeks you'll have beautiful, sweet smelling flowers.

(Cross-posted at BlogHer.)

Indoor Gardening

The other day I was flipping through some gardening blogs and saw "Calendula and Concrete" was organizing her seed stash.  I totally dig her organization system.  No fancy note cards or fruffy boxes to get muddy the first time they're taken outside--just fat binder clips organized by the time the seeds need to be planted.  Less is more.

While my little ex-chocolate-box'o'collected-seeds is not nearly as extensive as her collection, I went through all my tiny packets this evening and sorted into flowers, early vegetables, and late vegetables.  Very nice!

And as I was pittering around in the kitchen, I noticed my daffodil bulbs (the ones I potted up in September) are finally blooming.  This picture doesn't show it, but these "miniature" daffodils are almost two feet tall.  They look kind of silly with their teeny blooms on top--the stems just kept growing!

But they do smell awfully nice.

Pickled Paperwhites' Progress

My paperwhites have started opening up, and the smell is heavenly!  Combined with the baking I've been doing, I could happily just sit in my kitchen all day and sniff.

As you will recall, this year I'm experimenting with my paperwhites pursuant to a study done at Cornell University.  I've been watering my paperwhites with a solution that's about 5% alcohol in order to stunt their growth and keep them from being tall and floppy. 

For the most part, the experiment has been very successful, but I've noticed something peculiar.  All the bulbs I planted in deep containers (e.g. jam jars, vases) are perfectly about half as tall as they should be.  But the five bulbs I planted in this shallow bowl are just as tall as they were last year.  I can't think of why the depth of the container would make a difference, but that's the only variable I can see.

I'm tempted to write Cornell and see if they can tell me what's up....

Drunken Paperwhites

Every year about this time I always start a big crop of paperwhites.  And every year three weeks later, I go around the house with a packet of stakes and string, tying the paperwhites up because they're falling over on their spindly stems.

Apparently other people have this problem too, because some Nice People at the Cornell University Flower Bulb Research Program have come up with a solution--getting your paperwhites drunk.

Nope, not kidding.  Researchers discovered that, when watered with a solution that's 4-6% alcohol, paperwhite growth is stunted by 30-50%.  The flowers aren't effected, just the stems.  From the Cornell report:

"We suggest planting your paperwhite bulbs in stones, gravel, marbles, glass beads, etc. as usual. Add water as you normally would, then wait about 1 week until roots are growing, and the shoot is green and growing about 1-2” above the top of the bulb. At this point, pour off the water and replace it with a solution of 4 to 6% alcohol, made from just about any “hard” liquor. You can do the calculations to figure the dilution, but, as an example, to get a 5% solution from a 40% distilled spirit (e.g., gin, vodka, whiskey, rum, tequila), you add 1 part of the booze to 7 parts of water. This is an 8-fold dilution yielding 5% alcohol."

The report goes on to say you can also use a solution of 1 part rubbing alcohol to 10 or 11 parts water to get the same effect.  That's what I'm going to try this year--it's cheaper than the good stuff--and hopefully I'll be reporting back in a few weeks with some pretty, mini-paperwhites.

Beautiful Bulbs

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Spring flowers.  But I think I might like Fall bulbs even more. 

I went to the nursery this afternoon to get some daffodils and spent the better part of a half an hour playing in the bulb bins.  You'd think a bulb is a bulb, but when you look closely there are all kinds of differences in color and size and texture of the skin.  Daffodils are brown and peel-y, while the tulips are pinker and smooth.  The allium bulbs are big as onions (which they're related to) and white with no skin at all, and the muscari are tiny enough that they're almost more like seeds.  And the hyacinths--although their blooms are many different colors--all start out bright purple.

I really could have brought home a few of each, but I was good for the most part and limited my choices to the space I actually have available...for once.

I did splurge on a few pre-chilled bulbs to grow inside this winter.  If you will recall, the last forcing experiment did not go so well, but I'm hoping--since they're ready to go and won't have to live in the fridge for two months--these will work better.

For a list of what I chose, click onward....

They Call It a Wanderer

This was another bit of good karma that came as a result of the spare hens'n'chicks I passed out.  Nice Friend has been rooting it for weeks, and finally deemed it ready for potting.  She tells me it's called a "Wandering Jew".  With a name like that I knew it had to have a story.

Of course, wikipedia reveals all.  Here's the info on the plant--which is properly called Tradescantia zebrina, by the way--and here's the story behind the name.  Apparently you can make tea with it's leaves as well.

Paperwhite Zen

I'm not exactly sure what I did right, but I think it was a matter of water.  Or rather lack of water.  All I know is that I watered the paperwhites I had at work a lot, and they're all leggy and tumbling over and dying; I watered these very sparsely and they're sturdy and green and one even has a double bloom. 

Unfurling Paperwhite

Paperwhites Pushing Up

These are some paperwhites that I planted the day before Thanksgiving.  I think a deeper container might have been good.  I'm continually tamping down dirt around the roots, and they're still pushing up, as you can see.  But really, that's what I love about these bulbs; there are good years and bad years, but even when you do something wrong you really can't screw them up. 

This year I'm trying an experiment--I'm trying to grow some in my office under only fluorescent lights.  So far they're doing just as well as these that are growing in my windowsill at home.  If they keep going as they've started, I'll be completely convinced that paperwhites are the perfect plant.  They're always pretty, they always smell great, and (what's even better) there's still time to plant some and have them blooming for the holidays--so what are you waiting for?

Branching Out

My nice little tree branches have bloomed beautifully. Their counterparts outside are also starting to open up--not having been killed by our almost non-existent snow--but they aren't as far along as these.
I really need a leaf to be able to figure out what kind of tree it is, but just from the blossoms I'm guessing it might be some kind of cherry or crabapple tree?

Saved?

It's supposed to snow so I didn't feel too bad cutting these blooming branches off of a tree near our house and bringing them in to bloom inside.
I'm working on ID'ing the tree they came from, but I'm not sure what kind it is yet.

Encouraged Bulbs Were Unencouraging

The "encouraged" bulbs that I gave up fridge and shelf space for were...well, frankly, it didn't go so well. I'm not sure if I didn't chill them adequately, or if it was the mold? Or maybe we had fruit in the fridge that retarded the blooms?

There were a few sorta-kinda successes.

The Amarylis was gorgeous, but a little unwieldly. I think next year I need to study up on how to keep it from getting so leggy. I need to aim for nice short, stout little stalks.

The Paperwhites were also nice, but next year I need to either plant in a bigger container or less bulbs.

Unfortunately almost everything else was pretty disappointing.

The "Tete-a-Tete" Daffodils looked like they might do ok, when the first one bloomed. By the time more started to bloom though, the first were terribly raggedy. I kept hoping for a pretty little pot full, but they were so staggered that it just never worked out.

The "Greigii Diantha" tulips also began well. The leave variegation was really pretty at first, but then they got brown at the tips. (I watered them, I swear!) They're still sitting in my windowsill with no sign of a flower any time soon.

The "Woodstock" Hyacinths almost bloomed. And they were pretty in their forcing glasses if nothing else. The chilled ones did a little better than the unchilled (which pretty much looked dead as they were blooming) but just a very little.

The worst disappointment was the Lavendar Muscari. Each little corn put up a single green shoot, that promptly began to turn brown and die.

I'd like to say I'll try again next year--and I suppose I might on a smaller scale--but really that was a lot of work for what I got out of it. And from a cost standpoint it's just as cheap (if not cheaper) to buy professionally "encouraged" bulbs.

BUT as soon as we're properly situated somewhere I want to plant a whole plot of the "Greigii Diantha" tulips--the leaves were too pretty...while they lasted.

A Calculation to Remember

Forced Daffodils COST Bulbs....$4 Potting Soil....oh, let's say $.50 Time, energy, and fridge space....let's not even talk about it!

BLOOMS....not all that spectacular

Fresh-Cut Daffodils From Grocery Store
COST
Price....12 for $3
Time and energy....about 10 seconds to put water in vase, re-cut flowers, plop flowers in vase

BLOOMS....Gorgeous

Clearly this is something to think about next year.

Blooming and Bloomed

We were just walking out the door Monday night to head to Topeka for the bar exam Tuesday morning, when I noticed that my little Tete-a-Tete daffodils were just beginning to bloom. I took it as a good sign.

When I got home today, they were in nice full bloom.

It's funny, we haven't really had enough winter for me to have Spring Fever yet. And we're planning on trying to move this summer, so there's no outside garden for me to plan and anticipate planting.

But the daffodils have reminded me that while I've been holed up with my books, the year has been trudging on--it's almost Spring!

Variegation

I pulled the tulips out of the fridge about two weeks ago. I had checked about a week before that and saw that they had a few inches of roots, but they didn't have any sign of sprouts. The bulb book said they were supposed to be just barely sprouting before pulling them out, but I decided they had been cold for long enough and went ahead and brought them into the kitchen.

The first week they didn't do much, and I thought I had done something wrong. This week they've really sprung up though. I picked these out because of the pretty variegated leaves, so I was excited yesterday when I noticed that the leaves were beginning to show some color.