garden withindoors

The White Amadeus amaryllis are spectacular. The buds opened the last couple days. The Minerva amaryllis flowers are tiny by comparison but still beautiful flowers. Scarecrow on the windowsill, Rocky on the table in the foreground.

The hyacinths included to show the difference in sizes.

Wedgwood hedgehog with crocus bulbs. I just brought it out of the cellar today so the crocus shoots are looking very anemic but they will green up in a few days. As I recall every bulb flowers, unlike the crocus in vases below.

I  have had variable results forcing crocus in vases. So far this year, they are looking good and the roots are growing well. I never get flowers from every bulb but enough to make me keep trying. I'll see how many flowers I get this year from 12 bulbs.  Cranberry vase back right is by glassroots and matches a hyacinth vase by glassroots in the same colour and style that I have.

my first amaryllis bloom, Minerva, a variety I have not tried before but very happy with it

I took this photo of Rocky in the morning, the amaryllis bud was not open; in the photo above, taken in the afternoon, the amaryllis bud was open

huge fat buds on the White Amadeus amaryllis - looking forward to flowers very soon

I've heard that forced hyacinths need to come out of the dark and cold by December 1st if they are to bloom by Christmas - but some bulbs grow faster than others - certainly a better chance of Christmas blooms the sooner they come out into the light and warmth.

these have been out for a couple days and have started to green up, initially the stems are yellow after being in the dark

a closer view of some of those fat buds

this one has two stems

Sainsbury's usually has a hyacinth vase and some bulbs for sale every autumn. I didn't see any hyacinth bulbs this year but I finally saw the hyacinth vase (which comes with a bulb) yesterday and of course had to buy one to try it - even though I have too many hyacinth vases  already and it's only £3. Today's helper, Jeffrey.

standard instructions on the back

the bulb it came with doesn't look great but still viable

it's a bit late to be starting hyacinths (must check the others in the cellar, some probably ready to come out) for forcing so wanted to start this immediately, fill the vase with water to just under the bulb then into the dark for a few weeks

amaryllis starting to grow

As I'm home sick with covid (after a booster vaccination in October!) I organised my crocus bulb forcing. I positioned crocus bulbs with their stems through the holes in the Wedgwood hedgehog. I then filled with compost. It got a bit dirty while trying to organise that so must wipe it off.

if the crocus bulbs had stems sticking out the sides, I removed them

without those extra stems, the energy can go into the main stem

I filled each vase with water. Unlike hyacinths, crocus bulbs need to sit in the water to kick-start them into growth. Those two vases on the right have the colour painted on and it's flaking off. I decided not to use them as I have enough other vases. Rocky came to sit on the table.

when I got a box to put the hedgehog and vases in to put them into the cellar, Rocky, being a typical cat, had to investigate the box

I guess I'm going to need another box

a couple days later, I was in the cellar and thought I'd check the bulbs and saw the crocus bulbs already have roots starting - bulbs are magic - give them water and they grow

My amaryllis bulbs arrived this week (I was very late in ordering them), Victor was pleased to have a new box.

I ordered 6 bulbs forgetting I only have 3 vases so had to scramble around improvising pots: Amaryllis Apple Blossom in the tall clear vase on the left and the light green pot at the back on the right; Amaryllis Minerva in the red vase and the Adams biscuit barrel; Amaryllis White Amadeus in the dark green glass pot at the front on the left and the shorter clear vase at the back, second from left.

I am still unsure what to do with the Sternbergia lutea. Most were in the dark for the last few weeks but I took them out yesterday as they all have root and leaf development. I still don't know how they bloom September / October when I didn't even receive the bulbs until the end of October.

A few more vases to use, a few are new ebay purchases and the small ones on the right I thought I would buy those small hyacinth bulbs from Sainsbury's but they don't have them so just using the bulbs I have. 1 pack of Aqua hyacinth bulbs left so using them for a bulb bowl. Socky keeping me company. At least one cat usually comes to the table when I'm doing bulbs.

bulb bowl with Aqua hyacinth bulbs, I have too many bulb bowls and nowhere to put them so just using 1 this year, the bowl and the vases are filled with water to just below the bulbs and put into the dark for a few weeks

Sternbergia lutea which I am not sure about. I've not grown them before so not sure what to do, especially as the label says they bloom Sept / Oct. Well I only just received them! Do they go into the dark like hyacinths? Do they stay out? I've put all of them into the dark except that on the left which looks like it has a flower bud in the stem.

Before I decided to put them in the dark I had put them on the windowsill, two of the stems broke off in transit. I hope they recover.

My bulbs were delivered this week, all 114 of them (!). Not much room on the table for the cats but they find a way. I put a bulb in each vase which I had filled with water to just under the bulb (the bulb mustn't sit in water). I put all the vases in my cellar in the dark. I'll start checking them in a few weeks.

I thought the hyacinth bulbs might not be very good this year after a summer of drought and heatwave but they look great. Scarecrow had to check them out.

Rocky, only Scarecrow and Rocky came came to supervise my bulb forcing this year.

Delft Blue, "the" haycinth bulb for forcing

Jan Bos hyacinth bulbs

Blue Eyes hyacinth bulbs

Aiolos hyacinth bulbs

Gypsy Queen hyacinth bulbs, I thought I'd used these before but I don't remember the silvery colour - love it

Blue Star hyacinth bulbs

Miss Saigon haycinth bulbs

Aqua hyacinth bulbs, a new variety I have not used before

Sky Jacket hyacinth bulbs

Sky Planet hyacinth bulbs, a new variety I have not used before

Caribbean Dream hyacinth bulbs, a large variety I buy to use in my largest  vases but this year the Blue Eyes bulbs look even larger

Pink Surprise hyacinth bulbs, a new variety I've not used before and the only bulbs this year that don't look very good, all are split and don't look very good in a vase so I've used them in vases where the shape covers them a bit

Socky came to supervise starting the final 15 hyacinths a couple days later

small Pink Pearl hyacinth bulbs - so small they fit in crocus vases - but blooming beautifully and one Delft Blue normal-sized hyacinth

Blue Jacket double-stemmed hyacinth, in a vintage pickle jar improvised as a hyacinth vase

last Delft Blue hyacinth for this year

last Blue Jacket hyacinth, on the left, for this year, small Pink Pearl hyacinths on the right, first starting to bloom

it's time to give up on these 3, no roots