Why I Oughta...

We're one month past Christmas.  I think that's enough time to pass for me to officially declare that my PaperWhites are a failure.  No blooms at all.  I bought them in early November - a week-plus ahead of when we traditionally buy and start our Amaryllis bulbs.  But...here's the key (I think):  I bought them from the orange big box store .  I planted them as directed:  in gravel.  And watered them in up to the middle of the bulbs.  They responded immediately.  And strongly.  With a thick, dense and vibrant root mat that came off of each of them.  They also shot up new green shoots from the top of the bulbs.   Based on what I've done before (with Amaryllis bulbs) and what was suggested on the Web, I watered them in with a diluted alcohol mixture .  In an attempt to stunt their growth and keep them from 'flopping over' and getting too leggy.   I last checked-in on these in mid-December.  More than a month after the roots emerged.  And they all had multiple green

We're growing Paperwhite bulbs for the first time this holiday season.  In early November, we bought an inexpensive package of Ziva Paperwhite bulbs at the orange big box store and planted them in a glass jar with some gravel at the bottom .  A couple weeks later - and one month ago today - we decided to add a little bit of rubbing alcohol to the mix in an attempt to stunt their overall growth .  (Everything you read on the Web will tell you that Paperwhites are prone to flopping over, so the alcohol keeps them compact in size.) With two weeks to go until Christmas, how are the Paperwhites doing?  Here, below are a few photos: They've grown up and most of the bulbs have multiple stems (and or leaves) that have emerged.  They're not yet to the top of the jar, but a couple of them are getting close (see the last photo that shows the tips compared to the rim of the jar).   A couple things of note here in the Paperwhite Diary.  First... is that *some* of the tips are brown.  My

Just a week later and this is what our set of Paperwhite bulbs look like in their glass jar:  roots have gone wild and the tips of the stalks have all emerged and are starting to shoot upwards.  This happened REALLY fast (at least in my view) and I've tried to follow the recommendations so far - including keeping them out of a bright room while the roots establish.  Below is photo showing the current state of these Ziva Paperwhite bulbs : I went back and bought a 2nd bag of stones to help bury the bulbs up about half-way to help get them more solid ahead of the potential 'tipping' that happens with Paperwhites.   This am, I also began the poisoning of these bulbs in an attempt to keep them compact.  Below is the bottle of rubbing alcohol (91%) that I added in a small amount to the gravel.  It is about 5:1 water:alcohol added.  This will, hopefully, stunt these enough to keep them from 'flopping over'. I've used a similar alcohol treatment to Amaryllis bulbs in

For the past few Christmas seasons, we've grown Amaryllis flowers from bulbs with (mostly) good results and have learned a little bit about different bulbs and planting situations with those .  This year, I'm trying (for the first time) to reuse some of my Amaryllis bulbs from last year .  I grew them in containers and had them bloom in the dark of Winter.  Then, I put their pots out in the sun all Summer-long.  And, finally brought them in to try to force them by putting them in the basement and trimming all the foliage off.  They've been in my basement (currently) for ten weeks.  I'll get them out in mid-November.   Besides, Amaryllis bulbs, another winter-time gardening project that people take on is growing Paperwhites from bulbs.  I found an eight-pack of Ziva bulbs and decided to try these at home.  Here, below, is the packaging from the bulbs from the orange Big Box store: Interesting that these are 'grown in Israel', no?   First, though...what are Paperw