December Bulbs

By Lie Leendertz for Hartley Botanic
Photographs courtesy of Hartley Botanic

The days are short and gloomy, and the Greenhouse is packed with plants that are just huddled and sitting out the winter, passing time. There is a time for everything and now is for exactly this sort of plant limbo, but…but…us gardeners do get itchy green fingers even in these darkened moments, and it just so happens that this is the perfect moment to use the Greenhouse for something a little more lively.

This is a great moment to push some bulbs into pots and to force them for spring. Many of us do this for Christmas, but while a pot of paperwhites is a gorgeous addition to festive decorations, it is so much more welcome in late January or February, when the gloom still lingers but without the Baileys and mince pies to help us ignore it. At those moments pots of forced bulbs are harbingers of spring, scented and pastel coloured and exactly what we need to drag us through the final stretch to spring.

Paperwhites and tete a tete daffodils are the obvious place to start because they are easy and quick, and they require no cold period. Just pot some up into any container and they will shoot away and be in flower within 4-6 weeks if kept in the house, slightly longer if kept in the cool Greenhouse – nicely brightening up that miserable cusp of January and February. Growing in a cool Greenhouse can suit them very well as long as the temperatures don’t drop too low, as in the house they tend to get drawn up and leggy by reaching for the light.

Hyacinths are similarly easy, as long as they have been pre-chilled, which helps to force them into growth. Check when you are buying. They too can be potted up in the Greenhouse and have similar timing, blooming within 4-6 weeks in the warmth of the house and taking a little longer in the Greenhouse.

Tiny miniature irises would be my next choice – irises reticulata, histroides and danfordiae – perhaps very slightly less amenable but not by much, and so delicate and pretty. They look gorgeous in shallow ‘pan’ type pots, or planted in groups of three or five in little terracotta pots for dotting around on kitchen windowsills and mantlepieces.

While you can bring any of these into the house when you are ready for them, or to hurry them along if you want their flowering to hit a particular date, I also love letting them see out their blooming in the Greenhouse. Nestled among all of the slumbering and overwintering plants they bring life and colour and scent, and lure me down to the Greenhouse even on cold days to begin my early spring business. The scent is wonderful but can become a bit overwhelming in the house, whereas down in the Greenhouse the cool seems to keep it in check. They will certainly last longer in the Greenhouse.

Whichever bulbs you are planting, do it generously. Bulbs should be cheek by jowl – we are aiming for an almost instant display after all and this is not the place for naturalistic drifts. Pack them in. Having said that you can pair them with a bit of nature to display them. As paperwhites grow they become gangly and unwieldy, and lean dramatically. Before they reach that point, cut a load of twiggy growth from something like a hazel or a cornus and push it into the compost around and between the bulbs, tying it together to form a dome. This will support the growth and prevent toppling. And all bulbs look beautiful finished off with a bit of moss from the garden tucked around them. All will help you to bring a bit of spring to late winter, in the house or the Greenhouse.

TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

All Hartley Botanic’s Glasshouses and Greenhouses are handmade, bespoke, and made to order. Customers interested in purchasing a Hartley Botanic Glasshouse visit: www.hartley-botanic.com or call 781 933 1993 for more information.

OR CLICK HERE TO REQUEST A BROCHURE

All articles are copyrighted and remain the property of the author.

Article URL:
https://www.gardensmart.com/?p=articles&title=December_Bulbs