We spent some time at Helen’s place, planting some bulbs to be forced and raised indoors for lovely winter colour. The following four videos cover all the phases of planting cold weather bulbs (hyacinths) and tropical bulbs (amaryllis). We hope you will watch the videos and then follow the steps to plant your own bulbs. And it would be wonderful if you would send us photos when they start to flower — we will post them on the site for the world to see!

Planting the hyacinths, part 1

Planting the hyacinths, part 2

Planting the amaryllis

Good luck with your bulb planting, and don’t forget to send us your photos (or your questions to Barbara).

Just a few little pointers on bulb maintenance

Hyacinths - A Few Words on Care:

Place in fridge

Water 1x per week (only if dry) and just enough to moisten soil

When you see the little green sprouts at the top of each bulb - remove from fridge and place in a bright spot.  Turn your pot 1/4 if you find the hyacinths are leaning toward a light source.  As they grow they may need water every other day.

After the bulbs have bloomed you can put them in your garden.  It will take a couple of years before they regain their size and bloom again.  Unfortunately they cannot be reforced.

Amaryllis - A Word on Care:

Soil should be kept barely moist until you see that they’ve started to sprout.

Pot should be kept in a bright area.  Turn the pot 1/4 daily if you find the amaryllis is starting to lean toward a light source.  You may need to use long twigs and tie a little support so that your blooms don’t topple.  Red dogwood stems make a pretty support.  During its period of growth it may need water every three days.

If you want to try to get your amaryllis to bloom again, follow these tips:

When the flowers are finished, cut back the large stock and allow the leaves to grow, watering when dry, and fertilizing every other week.  The leaves will turn yellow eventually.  At this point, stop watering.  Let the bulbs go through a resting period for a couple of months, add a little more soil if necessary, and start to water again.  With any luck you’ll have a beautiful amaryllis for many years to come.

Update: This short video was shot four weeks after planting.

The double bloom on the first stalk is now finished (it lasted about a week). Following Barbara’s instructions, Helen “deadheads” the amaryllis, in this case taking the stalk away too.