forcing bulbs

I have Matt Mattus to blame (and thank) for these primulas. I never would have looked for them at my local Wegmans if he hadn't mentioned that's where he found his. (Wegmans in Massachusetts? Who knew?) Since he brought it to my attention, when I saw them for 99 cents each I grabbed two. Finally, [...]

I've bought yet another plant after saying I was tired of my houseplants. I pounced on this forced hyacinth in bud while grocery shopping. I didn't force any hyacinths myself this year because I was short of funds and many of the bulbs I tried to force last year went moldy on me. But right [...]

A long winter is not for sissies. If you are new to the tribe of hardy plants and hardy souls, here are 10 time-honored ways to beat cabin fever. How many do you already practice?

Forcing hyacinths is not that difficult. The hardest part is remembering to order them early and start chilling them soon enough. If you want them to bloom in mid-January, you should start chilling them by October 23rd. At that point in the gardening season, you are more likely to be frantically planting the last of [...]

The weather outside is finally frightful (subzero Fahrenheit as I write this, and dropping), so I can't show you the pansy that had been blooming in the unseasonably mild weather. I do have more blooms than usual in the house for January, thanks to a thoughtful friend, a container plant wintering indoors, and an impulse [...]

Just like last year, I forced some hyacinths to cheer me up. I think I was a little more successful than last year. First of all, I used good quality bulbs. Last year I bought some on impulse at a big box store. This year I subscribed to Brent and Becky's email newsletter and waited [...]

The bulbs that I am forcing have started to bloom. I put one hyacinth in a forcing glass into the basement on November 29th. I potted the rest up on December 5th. I brought them all up when I saw green tips emerging from the bulbs. I now realize this was too early. According to [...]

There's Nothing Blooming Outside The plants I saw two and a half weeks ago are buried under snow. No Houseplants Are Blooming The Christmas cactus that provided a bloom this time last year dropped its one and only blossom a couple of days ago. My Forced Bulbs Aren't Ready Yet--Neither Hyacinths My forced hyacinth is [...]