Hyacinths

Good gardening friend Paul Parent of the Paul Parent Garden Club (http://www.paulparent.com/) sends out a great newsletter every week with pertinent gardening topics. I encourage you to go to his website to sign up for his newsletter. Paul can also be heard every Sunday morning from 6 AM to 10 AM at his website or at WBACH (104.7 FM) every Sunday morning from 6 AM to 9 AM. Paul recently sent this article out called "Hyacinths" (I occasionally add a few comments in italics) and here it is:

"When I think of fragrance in the garden, there is no better flower than the hyacinth! When in bloom, the flower produce a perfume that will fill the air around the garden with unforgettable fragrance that will bring you on your knees to take deep breaths of its intoxicating fragrance. The original hyacinth is a wild flower that grows all over eastern Mediterranean, in Asia and from Syria to Persia, where it stills blooms wild.

The Dutch took this wild flower to their breeding fields in 1562, and began to hybridize the plant to what you see today. Today, this plant is known as the Dutch hyacinth all over the world. In the early eighteenth century, the plant breeders had developed about 50 varieties, but today there are about 2,000 varieties available and more coming every year. Madame de Pompadour recommended to Louis XV extensive hyacinth plantings for his palace garden. At the time each bulb sold for $500.00--I like today's prices much better.

A well-known Grecian myth tells how the hyacinth received its name. Hyacinthus was a gifted and handsome mortal youth, beloved by Apollo, the Sun God, and also by Zephyrus, God of the West Wind. Hyacinthus preferred to spend playful time with Apollo. Zephyrus became jealous and was annoyed that a mere mortal, however talented and beautiful, could command Apollo's affection and interest.

One day when Apollo had challenged Hyacinthus to a game of quoits or throwing the discus, Zephyrus let his jealous fury go. He blew strongly on the discus and caused it to strike Hyacinthus on the forehead, ending his life. Apollo was grieved and vowed the beauty of the young Hyacinthus would always be remembered. From the blood of the slain youth, he caused a path of fragrant, purple flowers to spring up and named them after the dead youth.

The original purple hyacinth has been hybridized to a wide range in colors and many shades of each color for you to choose from. Hyacinth flowers have the truest and largest variety of blues of any spring flowers. Besides blue, look for white, yellow, pink, orange, scarlet, maroon, salmon, violet and just about every color in the rainbow. Hyacinths are the easiest of all Dutch bulbs to grow in your garden. They do better if planted a bit deeper than most bulbs.

Hyacinths will flower longer than most bulbs because of short, thick stems and the way that the flowers are arranged on the stem in rows side by side and close together. This tight flower will not blow over in heavy winds or rain like tulips and daffodils do. If you do not move the bulb once planted, it will last for many years and usually outlast the time in the garden of most bulbs. Hyacinths will do best in a light soil with good drainage, a soil conditioned with compost or animal manure and a soil that is refreshed every year with fertilizer like Bulb-Tone when the plant is in bloom.

When the flower fades, remove the entire flower stem right to the ground but do not touch the foliage until it begins to turn yellow, as this foliage is making energy for the bulb for next year's flowers. Hyacinths do best when planted in a sunny garden but will tolerate a bit of shade early in the day. Plant early in the fall to give the bulb time to make big roots and get established before the ground freezes. Plant bulbs in groups so they can brace each other in stormy weather, and remember groups of colorful bulbs look better and are more eye-catching than bulbs planted in rows or scattered throughout a large flowerbed as single bulbs.

Dig your hole 10 inches deep; add a bit of Soil Moist moisture retention granules and Bulb-Tone bulb food, never BONE MEAL, to prevent animals from digging up flowerbed looking for real buried bones. Cover the soil and keep the garden soil well watered until the ground freezes. Space the bulbs 4 to 6 inches apart in the hole to give them room to grow. I like to cover the planting bed with bark mulch for extra winter protection.

One of the nice things about hyacinths is that they are not eaten by rodents such as mice, voles and squirrels. In addition, when the plants begin to bloom, hyacinths will not be eaten by rabbits and deer--and that is one thing less we have to worry about in the garden. All the rodents and animals we just mentioned love tulips and will eat them in the ground and above ground--but not hyacinths. Hyacinths are easy to plant and care for--and the animals that live around your home will not bother them.

For forcing--if you have an unheated garage or tool-shed, pot some bulbs in containers filled with soil and keep them watered and cool with temperatures less than 50 degrees. For the next 10 weeks, the plants will make roots and begin to think of flowering, so keep them cool.

I have used the steps that lead down into my basement from the bulkhead door with great success. Halfway up to the outside doors seems to have the best temperatures. Watering the potted bulbs is necessary during those 10 weeks of growing. After 10 weeks, bring a pot or two into the house and watch the bulbs begin to grow; enjoy the fragrant flowers in a couple of weeks. If you are going to force the hyacinth to flower, always use the biggest bulb you can find and stay away from bag bulbs--as they are too small to force.

Also look for the pre-treated hyacinths for forcing, in the special hyacinth glass that looks like an hour glass that tells time filled with sand. This special hyacinth glass holds the bulb in place and keeps the bulb in water at the right level to prevent root rot. I always buy extra bulbs and store them in the vegetable crisper to keep them cold, as they were tricked to believe that they already had winter.

When the bulb finishes flowering, toss it into your compost pile or pot it up with soil and place it on a sunny window for 4 to 6 weeks so it can make energy for next year. After the 4 to 6 week period on your windowsill, place the potted bulb in the basement and allow it to dry up. Plant in the garden in April and it will flower next fall.

If you have a grassy area or wild flower bed on your property and would like spring flowers, look for the miniature hyacinths called grape hyacinths. Grape hyacinths come in blue and white and will spread quickly in these areas as long as they receive plenty of sun.

                                                                   (grape hyacinth)
If you have a shady area with good soil, look for wood hyacinths, which will naturalize very easily for you. Wood hyacinths come in white, pink, blue and purple. Just like the Dutch hyacinths, grape hyacinths and wood hyacinths are not eaten by rodents and other animals.

Like the Dutch hyacinths, these two beautiful hyacinths are fragrant, long lasting and spread in a soil that is well drained and fertile, so feed the when planting and every spring when they come into bloom with Bulb-Tone fertilizer."

Paul Parent Garden Club
October 2010

October (mid October) Garden Talks

Hello again,

What a pleasant month October has been so far. Very fine weather interspersed with some good soaking rains has been the rule here in Skillin's Country. Rain is about to arrive for Wednesday and into Thursday the 19th and 20th but our plants will use this rain to grow stronger roots so that they can perform even better in 2012.

But first there is a variety of good gardening tasks that can be done now. The general idea is to clean up well (it is always nice to clean up well I believe!) and then even take some steps for some good natural soil conditioning. This cleaning and conditioning will save you valuable chunks of time next Spring.

And again, the weather is so nice this time of year in Skillin's Country--frankly it is often nicer weather now than in April or May when you are hurrying to get these garden chores done now. So garden well--and smile and enjoy your time outside!

We start our Garden Talks with a print of a timely post by good gardening friend Paul Parent.

Good gardening friend Paul Parent of the Paul Parent Garden Club sends out a great newsletter every week with pertinent gardening topics. I encourage you to go to his website to sign up for his newsletter. Paul can also be heard every Sunday morning from 6 AM to 10 AM at his website or at WBQW (104.7 FM) every Sunday morning from 6 AM to 9 AM.

Paul recently sent out a post titled "October is Fall Clean Up Month and Time to Prepare Plants for Winter". He brings up many helpful points for this month. It is so helpful I am including his entire post:

"Let's start with the vegetable garden and get all the plants pulled out and the soil raked and cleaned. This will remove some of the potential problems for next year, because all insects and diseases have left insect eggs and disease spores in the garden to continue the cycle of life in your garden. By cleaning the garden now, you should have fewer problems next season. By placing this plant material in your compost pile, you should have plenty of recycled organic matter to add back to your soil in June.

Conditioning the soil will make a big difference for next year garden if you do one of the following things. If you live near the seashore, go to the beach, collect seaweed after a big storm, and cover your garden with it. Most years I will add 3 to 6 inches of seaweed over the garden and till it under in early April. Seaweed is like adding peat moss to your garden but seaweed is full of the natural fertilizers, minerals and nutrients that will improve the quality of your soil and help your plants to grow better. (If picking up seaweed is not practical for you we have some great sea based composts that will help get you to the same place--I am thinking specifically of Quoddy Blend by Coast of Maine or Little River Compost; both readily available here at Skillin's!) This is a great time to take out worn out annuals and vegetable crops from your garden and to supplement the soil!

Rake your fallen leaves and pine needles into the garden and chop them up with your lawn mower. Never put them into trash bags and dispose of them, recycle them into your garden and turn them into wonderful soil conditioners. (I have many leaves in the fall and I mow as many as I can back into the lawn. Leaves will break down steadily into an organically fed soil--and that is what my lawn has!)

 If you live far from the ocean and have no source of leaves, go to your local garden center, nursery or feed and grain store and purchase winter rye seed. Winter rye will grow a root system up to a mile long in your garden, plus provide wonderful shiny green foliage this fall. In the spring, as soon as the ground thaws, it will continue growing--reaching 18 inches by late April. Then, mow the grass down with your weed whacker, and then rototill everything together into the soil. The foliage of the winter rye and the root system is considered a green manure crop and it will help to condition your soil. This will help sandy soil hold more moisture during the summer months and it will also help to break apart clay-type soils to provide better root growth by plants.

If you live in an area where the soil is acidic, now is the time to add limestone to the gardens to help sweeten the soil. If you see moss growing in your lawn, if you have pine, maples or oaks growing in your yard, or if your plants never seem to have real green foliage and lack vigor, it's time to add limestone to the garden soil. If you have a wood stove or fireplace and you burn wood products, save the ash and spread it over your garden when you clean it for the same results. NEVER burn pressure-treated lumber inside your home and NEVER use that wood ash either in your vegetable garden because of the wood preservatives in it. Apply limestone at the rate of 50 pounds per 500 sq. ft. of garden and wood ash at one 5-gallon bucket per 500 sq. ft. of garden.

Either of the products should be added to annual, perennial and rose gardens to help them grow and flower better. If you have flowering shrubs and trees that are not productive but mature, the acidic soil could be preventing the plant from flowering. Clematis vines and lilacs love lime and should be treated every year in the fall. Even rhododendrons, azaleas and hollies can grow better with an application every 3 to 4 years where acidic soil is common. If you're feeding them and they still won't flower in your yard, try applying lime or wood ash around them now. The only exceptions are blueberry plants and if you want to keep your blue hydrangea blue--keep these products away from them or the blueberries will have fewer berries and your blue hydrangea will turn pink.

In the perennial garden, cut back to the ground all perennials that turn yellow and brown and remove the foliage to the compost pile or Compost Tumbler. Rake the garden clean, apply lime products, and fertilize the garden at half the recommended rate with organic Flower Tone plant food. If you have the time, add one inch of compost or bark mulch on the garden to help protect the roots of the plant during the winter months, it will be one thing less to do in the springtime. If you have open areas in the perennial garden, how about planting some spring flowering bulbs for early color in your garden?

In the rose garden, all you have to do in rake it clean and pull all the weeds growing there. Removing the leaves with black spots on them from around the plant helps to prevent fungus problems next year because you are remove dormant disease spores from the old leaves that will infect next year's new foliage. You can also lime the garden but do not apply fertilizer EVER after September 1, or you could promote new growth with the nice days we will receive in the next few weeks. You want your plants to begin to harden off or become tough for the winter and go dormant, that way the branches become woody and are better able to fight off the damaging winds of winter.

In addition, DO NOT prune your rose plants at this time of the year; ALWAYS prune in the spring, NEVER in the fall. Open cuts on the stem will allow moisture to escape during the winter months and the rose stems will dry up and die. If your roses are finished flowering, it's also time to build a mound of soil or bark mulch around the base of the plant to protect the graft of the plant for the winter. Make your mound 12 to 15 inches high and just as wide and, believe me, your plants will survive the winter much better if you live in a cold climate. Around Thanksgiving, spray all exposed branches with Wilt- Pruf or Wilt Stop to help the plant retain moisture in the stems in windy areas.

If you have fruit trees or flowering crabapples trees, be sure to rake all the fallen foliage from around them to remove potential disease spores left on the foliage for next year. When all the foliage is off the trees, spray them with All Season oil and liquid Copper spray to kill overwintering insect eggs and disease spores; repeat in late March or early April. These two sprays will make a big difference in the quality of your plants for next season.

If these trees are new and young, be sure to stake them down for the winter months with a staking kit available at your local Garden Center. This will prevent damage to the roots caused by winter winds and heavy snow bending the tree over and breaking. Also, if you live near a wooded area or an area with much tall grass, be sure to wrap the trunk of the trees with hardware cloth wire to prevent mouse, rabbit and porcupine damage over the winter. Push the wire collar into the ground a couple of inches and have the wire reach the first branches.

If you have new strawberries in your garden, you will not believe the difference with the plants for next year if you spread an inch or two of garden STRAW, not hay over your plants for the winter. Great protection for the plants, it will encourage new runners to develop faster and fruit will form faster and grow larger. For blueberries use 2 inches of straw, pine needles or bark mulch for root protection and feed them at half rate with Holly Tone  evergreen fertilizer. Because these plants love acid soil, add aluminum sulfate plant food to acidify the soil to help make them more productive next year. Aluminum sulfate is also used to keep or intensify the blue color on your hydrangeas, and a fall application will make those flowers deep blue for next summer.

If you have raspberries or blackberries in your garden, be sure to remove the canes or branches that made fruit this year, as they will not fruit next year, just make foliage. By removing the old canes, you will encourage much new growth for next year that will be productive. Also, add 2 inches of straw, pine needles or bark mulch to protect the roots and help keep out weeds. Before you mulch though get some compost or cow manure down around the raspberries.

Rhubarb should be cleaned of all old foliage. Add a couple inches of compost or composted manure around the plant, that's all. Asparagus should be all cut down to the ground when the foliage turns yellow to brown. If the fern-like foliage has small BB-shaped fruit on it, be sure to pull them off and spread them on the ground to start new plants next spring. Asparagus loves to be fertilized in the fall with cow or chicken manure fertilizer--use 50 lbs. of composted cow manure for every 10 feet of row or 10 lbs. of dehydrated manure. If you're using chicken manure and it's fresh. Use 25 lbs. per 10 feet of row or 5 lbs. of dehydrated.

Hydrangeas need special care also and here is what to do this fall. The white-flowering varieties should be cleaned of all their flowers as soon as they turn brown. If the flowers stay on the plant during the winter and you get an ice storm or heavy wet snow, the flower will hold the Ice and snow, causing the branch to break with the weight. I have seen many beautiful plants, especially the tree form, destroyed this way. White varieties can be pruned in the spring or fall to control size and to create a tree shape of the plant. Fertilize in the spring, not the fall. New hybrids are best pruned in the early spring before the new growth has developed and again in June to remove dead branches from the plant. Cutting back existing branches in half will help develop stronger stems with many side shoots off of them.

The blue or pinks should also be cleaned of flowers for the same reason but only remove the flower on both types, never cut back the plant during the fall. Prune only in the spring to prevent winter dieback when the winters have little to no snow cover. Keep limestone away from the plant or it will turn pink due to acidity levels in the soil. New varieties do not need winter protection, but I always spray my plants with Wilt-Pruf around Thanksgiving just in case we have a cold winter and little snow cover to protect them. If you have new plants, build a mound of bark mulch around the base of the plant 12 inches high by 12 inches wide for the first year to help give them extra time to get established in your garden.

If you have any containerized plants such as roses, needle evergreens or perennials, be sure to move them under cover for winter. An unheated garage, tool shed, or under a tall deck will do well and help prevent the container from filling with ice and killing the roots during the winter. If this is not possible, place the containers up against a solid structure like your house or garage for protection from the wind and weather. Always avoid placement where water runs off the roof and never cover the plant with plastic bags--burlap bags will work well as long as the top is open to the air and a bit of sunlight in. Spray evergreens with Wilt Pruf around Thanksgiving for added protection. Have fun!!!"  Thanks Paul!

*Ripening green tomatoes: This is the time of the year that the cooler weather we have received have shriveled our tomato plants but we still have many green tomatoes on the vine. Jim Crockett of Crockett’s Victory Garden wrote: “for some reason, the common wisdom about green tomatoes is that they ripen if left on a sunny windowsill and that wisdom is absolutely wrong. Green tomatoes shrivel and become pink and bitter tasting in the sun. They ripen best in darkness in a spot that gets no warmer than 45 or 50 degrees. I put my tomatoes in an old picnic cooler and set them in the garage. The ripening process is given a boost if a ripe apple is stored with the tomatoes. These ripened tomatoes don’t have the quite the flavor of the vine-ripened fruit but they’re better than any available in the stores and they ripen so slowly that they will last through Thanksgiving. Be sure that all tomatoes to be stored are free of blemishes. Any cuts or cracks in the skin will allow decay to set in and ruin the fruit. It is a good precaution also to wash and dry the tomatoes before storage.”

*Forcing bulbs: There is no quicker way to bring spring indoors during the winter than with a pot of bulbs. Many different bulbs can be forced, including tulips, hardy narcissus, hyacinths, squill, and crocuses. These are all hardy bulbs that need a 15-week prerooting period before they can be brought into active growth. That period of enforced cold convinces them that winter is at hand; when they’re brought to a warm spot, they assume that spring has arrived and they bloom.


To begin the process usually several bulbs are potted together in a 6-inch bulb pan. Hyacinths, which are large-flowered, look handsome planted as singles in regular 4-inch flowerpots. Add a dusting of garden fertilizer to the soil so the bulbs will have additional nutrients. When they’re planted in the pots, the tips of the bulbs should peek just above the soil line, which should itself be about ½ inch below the rim of the pot. Then moisten the soil and the bulbs are ready for winter.

There are several different ways to store winter bulbs; the purpose is simply to keep the bulbs at 40 degrees or so. Also they can’t be allowed to dry out or freeze. A bulkhead, cool cellar, or refrigerator is fine. Also a cold frame or a bulb trench dug outdoors can be used. After 15 weeks, the first of the bulbs can be brought indoors. Plan on bringing in just a pot or two at a time to give you a sequence of flowering plants through most of the late winter and early spring. Put the pots on a bright but cool windowsill until the shoots are about 4” tall. Then move them into bright sunlight until the flower buds start to show color, at which point move them back into bright indirect light. While bulb plants are growing and in flower, they do best with night temperatures in the low 40s at night and the 60s in the day. Keep the soil moist but don’t feed them. Then enjoy an early taste of spring.

When the bulb plant’s leaves begin to turn yellow, reduce the amount of water and give them only enough to keep the leaves from wilting. By the time the leaves have withered entirely, the soil should be dry. The bulbs can be stored in their pots until the fall, or they can be taken from their pots and stored in a cool dry place. Most bulb plants can’t be forced a second time. But if you have an outdoor garden, you can save the bulbs and plant them outside in the fall. They may not blossom extensively the next spring, but they will regain their strength and eventually produce fine outdoor spring flowers. "

*Amaryllis plants that have been growing outside all summer should be allowed to dry out (this is their dormancy period) then placed in dark space until their growth starts.

*For early Spring blooms, plant some Eranthis (winter aconite). The yellow buttercup type flowers are gorgeous and will often blossom 2 weeks before crocus!

*I keep my lawn high during the growing season. Now is the time to mow the lawn short and keep it short until it stops growing. Two inches of grass going into the winter is plenty (more than that can facilitate snow mold)

(Thanks to Organic Gardening Tips for the tips about amaryllis, eranthis, and mowing the lawn short).



Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
October 9, 2012

Forcing Bulbs for Winter Color

Forcing bulbs: There is no quicker way to bring spring indoors during the winter than with a pot of bulbs. Many different bulbs can be forced, including tulips, hardy narcissus, hyacinths, squill, and crocuses. These are all hardy bulbs that need a 15-week prerooting period before they can be brought into active growth. That period of enforced cold convinces them that winter is at hand; when they’re brought to a warm spot, they assume that spring has arrived and they bloom.

To begin the process usually several bulbs are potted together in a 6-inch bulb pan. Hyacinths, which are large-flowered, look handsome planted as singles in regular 4-inch flowerpots. Add a dusting of a good natural fertilizer like Bulb Tone by Espoma to the soil so the bulbs will have additional nutrients. When they’re planted in the pots, the tips of the bulbs should peek just above the soil line, which should itself be about ½ inch below the rim of the pot. Then moisten the soil and the bulbs are ready for winter.

There are several different ways to store winter bulbs; the purpose is simply to keep the bulbs at 40 degrees or so. Also they can’t be allowed to dry out or freeze. A bulkhead, cool cellar, or refrigerator is fine. Also a cold frame or a bulb trench dug outdoors can be used. After 15 weeks, the first of the bulbs can be brought indoors. Plan on bringing in just a pot or two at a time to give you a sequence of flowering plants through most of the late winter and early spring. Put the pots on a bright but cool windowsill until the shoots are about 4” tall. Then move them into bright sunlight until the flower buds start to show color, at which point move them back into bright indirect light. While bulb plants are growing and in flower, they do best with night temperatures in the low 40s at night and the 60s in the day. Keep the soil moist but don’t feed them. Then enjoy an early taste of spring.

When the bulb plant’s leaves begin to turn yellow, reduce the amount of water and give them only enough to keep the leaves from wilting. By the time the leaves have withered entirely, the soil should be dry. The bulbs can be stored in their pots until the fall, or they can be taken from their pots and stored in a cool dry place. Most bulb plants can’t be forced a second time. But if you have an outdoor garden, you can save the bulbs and plant them outside in the fall. They may not blossom extensively the next spring, but they will regain their strength and eventually produce fine outdoor spring flowers.

One final note about hyacinth: We sell “pre-cooled” hyacinth and that enables you to skip that 15 week cooling process. Put your hyacinth in pots or even easier pick up a few hyacinth vases and just place your hyacinth in water and let nature go!

Blooming bulbs don't have to be a spring thing!

Hello again,

Following is a great article written by Susan Reimer in the Baltimore Sun dated December 3, 2009. I think the timing of the article is great and we have these forcing bulbs in plentiful supply here at Skillin's!

"I am not sure whether it's gardeners anxious to extend the growing season - or those who market to gardeners - but paperwhite and amaryllis bulb kits are stacked for sale like fruitcakes at this time of year.

These are the bulbs that can be "forced" to bloom out of season without the months-long hibernation required by tulips, hyacinths and their kin, and they provide a welcome alternative to the ubiquitous poinsettia. According to the National Garden Association, 4.9 million households purchased bulbs for forcing last year - up from 4.1 million in 2007.

The kits sell for a few dollars and come with bulbs, a pot, soil of some kind and instructions a child could follow. As a matter of fact, the speed with which these bulbs grow and bloom make them a good project for children, especially when grown in glass, where the roots can be seen.

I received my first amaryllis from a neighbor last year for Christmas, and I was so encouraged by the easy results that I am forcing paperwhites this year, staggering their start so I will have new blooms every couple of weeks. It is cheaper than a bouquet of fresh flowers and lasts longer.

According to Scott Kunst, owner of Old House Gardens in Michigan, which specializes in heirloom bulbs and their history, paperwhites are descendants of the Chinese Sacred Lily, which was not actually a lily and blooms as part of the Asian New Year celebration.

Brought to this country by Chinese immigrants in the late 1800s, they soon found their way into the parlors of Americans, who were fascinated at the time with anything Chinese.

Kunst says hyacinths were among the first bulbs to be forced because they responded well to the process. Forcing was easy in the 1800s, too, because houses were so cold that the hibernation period was easy to reproduce.

"You read in diaries from that time that the glass vases broke because it was so cold in the bedroom. Or all the bulbs froze because they left them on the windowsill overnight," said Kunst.

It takes a little more resourcefulness to force bulbs today - or a spare refrigerator where temperatures can be kept under 48 degrees but above freezing for eight to 12 weeks. There are varieties of tulip, daffodils, crocus and hyacinth that are particularly good for forcing - Kunst recommends Lady Derby and Linnocence hyacinths - but if you are trying it for the first time, you can use any of the bargain-basement bulbs available at this time of year.

Here are some things to remember:

•Plant bulbs close together but not touching, and with the tips pointing up and exposed. Plant in regular potting soil with plenty of drainage pebbles. Water thoroughly and then again perhaps once a month. Mark the pot with the date and the contents and place it in a cool place between 35 and 50 degrees. (A kitchen refrigerator is not a good choice. Fresh fruits and vegetables emit a gas that inhibits blooming.)

•Hyacinths can be planted in the traditional hyacinth vase, with the bulb cradle, narrow neck, and water or water and pebbles below. Water should just touch the base of the bulb.

•Depending on the recommended hibernation time (10 to 16 weeks), remove the pot and place it in a cool spot in the house, allowing it to warm slowly. Blooms should appear in two to eight weeks. Keep it out of direct sunlight so blooms will last longer. Do not overwater!

•Though most bulbs can not be forced a second year because forcing requires so much energy, you can transplant the bulbs in the garden in March, with some fertilizer, and they should bloom the next year. "

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
December 3, 2009

Garden Talks and Garden Thoughts

Hello again,

We have reached the end of October but you will see below that we have many garden topics to discuss. Email us any comments @ skillins@maine.rr.com OR feel free to join in on the gardening conversation by clicking on "comments"at the end of this post.


The leaves are really starting to fall now! Once your leaves have been raked (and it will still be more than a few days before they are all down!), consider mowing your lawn nice and short for the last time. A nice short lawn not only looks good but it will result in much less matted grass in the late winter and early Spring. Matted grass is hard to mow and serves as a good harbor for snow mold—a disease that can kill parts of your lawn in the early Spring!



As you drive around in November, quite often you will see some beautiful red berries growing in clusters in relatively open areas. We also sell these berries in bunches known as “Winter Berry” bunches. Well, these bushes are easy to grow and we have them here at Skillin’s! The botanical name is Ilex verticillata and the shrubs are easy to grow here in Maine. The typical height is 6 to 10 feet although it will take a few years to reach that height.
I just checked with our good gardening friend Barbara Gardener to see what she has been up to the last several days and here is part of our email conversation:
Barbara: I dug up all of the grape hyacinths yesterday and have been replanting them today. Wow! First time I have bothered. Does it do any good to plant any of the tiny, (very tiny) bulbs that have developed. If so, how many years does it take for them to develop enough to bloom. If I have to separate them every year I guess I'd rather "buy them at Skillins". I'm not sure who might not make it. Those tiny bulbs or this old lady!

Mike: Barbara, I believe the young grape hyacinths would bloom a year from this spring (that would be 2009) for the most part. But it would do well to replant them as they are pretty hardy and should reproduce for you over time. Grape hyacinth can be such a wonderful plant. There is a house on Middle Road in Falmouth where they have a bed of them on the side of the house and for a good ten days to two weeks in the spring, it is worth driving by the house just to see the magnificent blue bed of grape hyacinths.

That being said, I have a bed right in front of my house that has grape hyacinth in it. Poor placement if you ask me. The grape hyacinth are pretty while they flower but their foliage to me is not attractive and it seems to take forever for the foliage to die back. I replant the bed with annuals and I do have some cone flower and other perennials that flower later in the season BUT those darned spiky grape hyacinth leaves just linger and linger. Makes kind of a mess as summer progresses.

SO, my next goal late this fall is to dig out all the grape hyacinth bulbs I can find and toss them into a wild grassy area I have just a little way from my house. Where I toss them is where I plant them. This “tossing and planting” is called “naturalizing” as the bulbs will grow in the early Spring in this haphazard “natural” pattern that my tossing created. They will grow in this area that is sunny BEFORE the leaves from overhanging trees above and the wild grass below pop out in the Spring.

“Naturalizing” is a great technique for many types of bulbs: daffodils, crocus, snowdrops and grape hyacinth just to name a few!


Barbara: Very few spots in any of my gardens that have good, if any, drainage. I love iris but more of them rot than bloom. Do you think it would do any good to add a little sand to the soil where I am placing the rhizome? Naturally, I read that on the internet.

Mike: Barbara, I think that sand will help for a short time but sand will get leached out of wet areas to the extent that water might drain during heavy periods of precipitation. You may want to get your excavator out and dig some drainage swales! I might recommend Siberian iris for that spot; Siberians can take some wet.
I would try some sand but also mix that sand with a good light compost like Quoddy Blend by Coast of Maine to make the soil a little better draining.
Actually, as I think more about the wet area you mention I would check out a great product called Soil Perfector by Espoma (http://www.espoma.com/) that we sell here at Skillin's. Soil Perfector is made from a naturally derived, ceramic mineral that is kiln-fired at temperatures in excess of 2000º F. This process creates a durable, lightweight granule containing thousands of tiny storage spaces that hold the perfect balance of water, air and nutrients for an improved soil structure. Soil Perfector helps your soil get structure in the "middle"; it provides aeration to heavy, wet soils and it also helps hold soil together in lighter soils. Check out Soil Perfector on your next visit to Skillin's.
If anyone of our readers (that means YOU!) would like to give any input on the gardening conversation between Barbara Gardener and myself just join in by clicking on Comment at the end of this posting; this gives all of our readers a chance to comment on gardening issues or you can email me at info@skillins.com!


Forcing bulbs: There is no quicker way to bring spring indoors during the winter than with a pot of bulbs. Many different bulbs can be forced, including tulips, hardy narcissus, hyacinths, squill, and crocuses. These are all hardy bulbs that need a 15-week prerooting period before they can be brought into active growth. That period of enforced cold convinces them that winter is at hand; when they’re brought to a warm spot, they assume that spring has arrived and they bloom.

To begin the process usually several bulbs are potted together in a 6-inch bulb pan. Hyacinths, which are large-flowered, look handsome planted as singles in regular 4-inch flowerpots. Add a dusting of garden fertilizer to the soil so the bulbs will have additional nutrients. When they’re planted in the pots, the tips of the bulbs should peek just above the soil line, which should itself be about ½ inch below the rim of the pot. Then moisten the soil and the bulbs are ready for winter.

There are several different ways to store winter bulbs; the purpose is simply to keep the bulbs at 40 degrees or so. Also they can’t be allowed to dry out or freeze. A bulkhead, cool cellar, or refrigerator is fine. Also a cold frame or a bulb trench dug outdoors can be used. This period of cold should last for about 8 weeks (this is the time that you are approximating early winter!).



The bulbs then can be brought into a cool, dark location for about 6 weeks or so. This is the time you are approximating the conditions of late winter or early Spring.

After that, plan on bringing in just a pot or two at a time to give you a sequence of flowering plants through most of the actual late winter and early spring.

Put the pots on a bright but cool windowsill until the shoots are about 4” tall. Then move them into bright sunlight until the flower buds start to show color, at which point move them back into bright indirect light. While bulb plants are growing and in flower, they do best with night temperatures in the low 40s at night and the 60s in the day. Keep the soil moist but don’t feed them. Then enjoy an early taste of spring.

When the bulb plant’s leaves begin to turn yellow, reduce the amount of water and give them only enough to keep the leaves from wilting. By the time the leaves have withered entirely, the soil should be dry. The bulbs can be stored in their pots until the fall, or they can be taken from their pots and stored in a cool dry place. Most bulb plants can’t be forced a second time. But if you have an outdoor garden, you can save the bulbs and plant them outside in the fall. They may not blossom extensively the next spring, but they will regain their strength and eventually produce fine outdoor spring flowers.



The folks at People, Places and Plants magazine (produced right here in Maine) check in this issue with some great gardening tips that deserve special mention. Their web site can be found at http://www.ppplants.com/:


“Begin cooling bulbs for forcing indoor flowering. Start paper white narcissus for holiday blooming.” Just talked about this one! And I am often asked, when should I start my paperwhite narcissus for Christmas blooming. The answer is NOW.


“Cover crops on the inside of cold frames with salt hay or leaves. Bank the outside of the cold frame with bales of hay. Be certain to ventilate on bright, sunny days.” Cold frames can be a great place to store a variety of crops that you would like to winter over but cold frames can heat up quickly. Use straw or our Mainely Mulch product instead of salt hay for an excellent mulch.

Mark Your Calendar

Every Tuesday is Mature Gardeners Day at Skillin’s! Those customers who qualify will receive 10% off all regularly priced items. (Sale items and volume restrictions do not usually apply and some other restrictions may apply).

Every Friday brings Flower Power Happy Hour where we offer fresh cut flower stems and bunches at 30% off their regular prices. The Happy Hour lasts from 4 PM until we close at 7 PM!! Every Friday!

Thanks for reading the Skillin's Garden Blog; email us any comments @ skillins@maine.rr.com or feel free to join in on the garden conversation by clicking on "comments" at the end of this post,

Mike Skillin