Bloom Day February 15 2017

A mild winter means we have early blooms.

Tulip magnolia:

Star Magnolia, Leonard Messell:

Azaleas are opening much too early. Frost could ruin these but others are holding back, just in case. Mostly it depends on whether they're protected from cold wind.
This is Pink Pearl azalea:

Back when Loropetalums were first popular, the famous hort guy at UGA dismissed the white as not of any consequence. I did not agree and when Miss Billie offered me seedlings, I took them. Later he changed his mind as to whether they were worthwhile in the landscape.

White Loropetalum:

Rose pink Loropetalum:

Loropetalums tend to make trees when not kept harshly pruned into hatboxes and meatballs as landscapers in town do.

I let mine grow into trees and prune the bottoms:.

Some daffodils are just beginning to come up. The season is long if you plant different ones.
The early ones like Ehrlicheer and these Sweetness jonquillas are blooming:

This was not a good year for Hyacinths for lack of chill but some are blooming, just not very tall.
The darker pink one had an earlier bloom; this is the second bloom.

It's fun to have something besides the usual daffodils, hyacinths and iris.
Snake's Head Iris:

 The 3 Camellias below are seedling plants that I planted seeds some 15 years ago. They're not outstanding but they are a novelty.

The Camellia below is more than 40 years old and embarrassingly gaudy when cold doesn't take out the blooms:

White Camellias are my favorite.

Long may She Wave!

Happy Windy Bloom Day.

Bloom Day links are Here.

A December Peek at Tomatoes and Hyacinths and Things

We've moved into typical Gulf Coast December weather, where there's fog at night and mist in the daytime. He-Who wonders about these things could not decide why we had no tomatoes in the fall.

Sure enough, as soon as night-time temperatures fell, we commenced to see small tomatoes.  Pollen fails in heat. There are tomatoes that set fruit in hot weather but few are indeterminate types, which are necessary for continued growth and fruit set over months, even years.

Tomatoes are sharing space with Thanksgiving Cacti in bloom.

Holiday Cacti are sharing space with Hyacinths. My hyacinth trials using last years' bulbs that were allowed to grow on in their little pots were a success considering that many of them did set buds and bloom again after chill; a failure as far as size.

 They have as great a fragrance as ever despite the small size and sparse blossoms. The bulbs will go into the garden after blooms fade.

Arrowhead vine and Foxtail fern keep company with Chlorophytum and a bromeliad decorated with a begonia flower.

Areca palm culm that I pulled out of the big pot by accident has made another plant. Rooted Persian  Shield with Purple Heart and Purple Jew are crowded in with Begonias and Dark Alternanthera that grows in pots and in the floor at will.

Still outside awaiting a freeze to encourage dormancy are potted Agapanthus.

Inside, I'm waiting for the sun to shine. Maybe I'll make a fruitcake today.

Hyacinths for Christmas Bloom

Dutch bulbs were on display in the Big Box store when we were in Alabama today. If bulbs are out in Lower Alabama, they're surely everywhere.

I bought a bag of 15 mixed color bulbs for about ten dollars. I separated them by color, 6 light color and 9 purplish. The dark bulbs may be blue, or they may be dark pink. The white will likely be white or yellow.

Last year, I planted my bulbs before I chilled them. I don't think it matters. It is terribly inconvenient to have pots of bulbs in a refrigerator, even one you don't use every day. I tucked this years' bulbs into paper bags and labeled them including a projected date 10 weeks hence for taking them out to plant.

Pre-potted bulbs come out of the refrigerator with roots growing. Those that were just bagged and chilled might have a few tentative roots, but they catch up quickly once they're potted and watered.

A month after they were brought into a warm environment, last year's Hyacinths were showing promise.

In three months from starting chill, I expect buds showing color.

I hope my timing is such that we'll see color if not open blossoms by Christmas. Last year I almost forgot and I had hyacinths blooming indoors and outdoors in February. I hope this year's lot will be more timely for indoor bloom.

This is how I forced bulbs before we built the greenhouse, in an unheated laundry room in containers of water and stones. I stopped forcing bulbs in water, which works just fine but renders the bulbs almost useless for rebloom. Potted Hyacinths are easily slipped into garden soil outdoors after blooms are spent and will bloom the next year in late winter or early spring.

White Pearl, early 2014.

Now's your chance to have hyacinths blooming this winter, if you start soon.

Notes on a Warm Day

The temperature outside today was 70º and sunny. Inside the greenhouse was perfect with the door open. Ladybugs lined the ceiling. I saw a fencepost lizard yesterday and the cachepots are full of peeper frogs.

The palm I repotted looks pretty good today. After I made a spot for 

it on the NW corner, the rest of that shelf needs reordering.

Hyacinth foliage is showing above its companion sedum.

The sedum took off ahead of white hyacinths.

White hyacinths and sedum acre. Pink hyacinths and Graptopetalum.

Some hyacinths are showing nice buds.

Angel Wing Begonia in bloom.

I rooted a pot full of new cuttings in the fall.

Begonias growing outside are dead.

Birds Nest Fern, Setcreasea and Persian Shield.

Anticipation. 

Note the second bud emerging.

The next freeze is expected Wednesday night with 28º as the low. 

Hyacinths for Christmas

Last year I forced Blue Jacket and Gypsy Queen Hyacinths. This year the choices are White Pearl and Pink Pearl. I've never grown White Pearl.

I saw a blog in which hyacinth pots contained a succulent. 

I just happened to have a tray of Graptopetalums rooted.

I gave each Pink Pearl bulb a companion Ghost Plant. 

Leaves always get broken off Ghost Plants when they're handled. 

I tucked every little leaf into a pot. Pots need some sheet moss to cover the 

soil. I will wait until there's more growth. 

In just a day, a third of the bulbs are showing a green tip.

Most had white roots beginning to sprout in the bag before

I took them out of the refrigerator.

These are 4" pots, room for a single bulb and a companion 

Rosette or two of Graptopetalum.

There were only 21 pots so the last four are potted in a

larger pot. I saw some fine moss growing in front of the

tractor shed that I'll tuck in that pot later.

These were labeled to complete 10 weeks of chill on December 14. I took them out a week early.

There are still 25 White Pearl to be potted. I'll pot them in groups in larger pots since I used up

all the 4: pots. I need to start collecting pots earlier next year.

Wednesday I should receive 3 more Amaryllis bulbs. I've given up Paperwhites. 

Are you forcing any bulbs this winter? They're not only for Christmas. A fragrant bloom mid-January or early February is a spirit raiser. I no longer force in water. I favor soil planting.

Pots and More Pots

He-Who-Mows had an appointment in Alabama City this morning. When that was over we went to various places including Home Depot who had the 4" clay pots in sufficient number for my Single Hyacinths project.

These are last year's Hyacinths. This year I have Pink Pearl and White Pearl. In another week thry will be ready to pot up after a nice chill.

I needed a few extra of larger sizes and found a display with some great unglaszed square pots imported from Viet Nam. The glazed pots from Viet Nam that I bought years ago at the dollar store held up well. These all rang with a great tenor. I'll show you them later after I get them unwrapped and lined up for planting.

The only thing better than a single bulb in a clay pot is a big pot full.

One of these is Pink Pearl. I think the one above might be China Pink.

 Peink Pearl is one of the best forcers. 

This was a single bulb, forced and then planted in the garden.

Eventually after a few seasons, the bulb split into three.

Appleblossom Hippeastrum bulbs are on their way to me

Amaryllis need clay pots, too.

 For years I was under the spell of 'forcing' bulbs in water and stones. 

No more. Every bulb goes in a pot soil now. 

Mama always forced paperwhite Narcissus. My favorites are Hyacinths and Amaryllis.