Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Come out, come out, wherever you are

Everybody else I know is way past Paperwhite Season, but not here at Gardening at Night Central. I've got approximately six containers housing narcissus bulbs, started at various times throughout the winter, and they all look pretty much like this now:

Actually, this sort of late blooming is right in line with the G@Nt aesthetic, which calls for starting things way too late (at night, or in the year). And it's not a bad look, as looks go--ripe with potential. Just no payoff. Not yet, at least.

Anybody reading this have any idea what's going on? These aren't zivas but Grand Soleil D'Or tazettas, which are supposed to take longer to do their business, but still. Some of them have been at this stage for weeks; others have just reached it. Some have gotten lots of sun; others less. There's plenty of water, but not too much. In short, I've done nothing differently than in other years, when I've had more success.

The hyacinths I forced (keeping no good record of when I started their 10 weeks of cold) have also been taking their sweet time, but they're basically doing fine, and I'm getting essentially one in bloom at a time, which is pretty much what I had hoped for in the first place. The paperwhites, though, are a bloomin' mystery!

3 comments:

Garden Wise Guy said...

Hey! Just came across your blog and am enjoying what I see. Welcome to the wonderful world of plants and gardens. And thanks for adding a link to my site in your blog roll. I'm eye-ball deep in a career change and not doing much blog maintenance, but I'll try to remember to set up a reciprocal link from my site.

Later, skater.

EAL said...

I still have Grand Soleils blooming, so I am sure these are fine. They do like heat (at this stage) so if they are in a chilly place, that could be the reason for the slowness. It is just slowness.

Ron E. said...

Thanks for the compliments, GWG--I've enjoyed your blog for a while now, particularly its sense of humor.

And thanks, Coach, for the encouraging words re Grand Soleils. They haven't been particularly cold, just particularly slow. But I won't give up on them just yet.