Don t use a pot that s too big.
Bulbs to force for christmas.
Prepared hyacinths need to be kept below 9 c for six weeks while unprepared bulbs need 10 weeks.
Plant a succession every two weeks from the beginning of september until mid october to provide fragrant blooms from christmas onwards.
Prepared bulbs have been pre chilled to force them to flower at christmas or early in the new year.
Prized for its willingness to produce large lily like trumpet blooms which generally last indoors for several weeks amaryllis is a fabulous choice for holiday centerpieces.
This is commonly done to hyacinths.
Method 1 place the potted bulbs in a black polythene bag and stand them in a cellar or dark corner of a shed or garage check regularly and water if there are signs that the growing medium is drying out or that the vase needs topping up bowls or pots without drainage holes should be tipped on their.
Around christmas most stores sell only white and red that s all i ve ever found.
If you want your amaryllis to bloom for christmas you will have to force it to go into dormancy earlier.
Your foray into paperwhite growing can start one of three ways.
Dormant bulbs can be purchased from local nurseries and flower shops as well as from online bulb purveyors such as brent and becky s bulbs and white flower farm.
How to force amaryllis bulbs for christmas.
Start withholding fertilizer in august.
To begin the forcing process soak your hippeastrum bulbs in water for a few hours before planting.
With many bulbs ordinary garden varieties are fine.
Forcing hippeastrum is best done towards the end of september if you want to be sure of flowers in time for christmas day.
Fill a pot with compost and sit the bulb on top.
Amaryllis like being pot bound.
Amaryllis which can be purchased as bulbs in the fall or as blooming plants in december has become a popular year end gift.
When choosing a pot to plant your amaryllis bulb in choose a pot less than twice the diameter of the bulb.
You can order other colors online.
Then when you bring your plants indoors in september or october place the pot in a cool spot with indirect sunlight.
This will help to re hydrate them more quickly thereby kick starting the growing process.
All that the bulbs grown inside need is protection against the worst of the wet and cold.
Cultivate christmas cheer with our bulb forcing guide.
If you can get hold of ordinary garden hyacinths early enough in autumn you can prepare them yourself.
This is true for crocus bulbs fritillaries anemones tulips and narcissi bulbs.
Hyacinthbulbs can brighten up the darkest days of winter and are very easy to grow.
This means they re easy to force into flower simply by exposing the dormant bulbs to water.
