Wisconsin has been blessed with temperatures of 70 degree this week. Although I had not even intended to start my garden until late May, I could not resist the early opportunity to plant. I've been busy this winter and attended my first garden show. It was pure heaven for the avid gardener and I picked up a couple of great experiments for this year's garden. I tend to stay away from bulbs and perennials because my containers do not lend themselves to winter maintenance. However, I decided to venture into unchartered territory and picked up two bulbs. I had intended to plant them in April, but I was too eager to make use of the early sunshine that I planted them this weekend.
One of my favorite flowers is the Amaryllis. It is typically an early spring indoor bloomer, which is why I've stayed away from it. However, a fellow gardener told me that you can plant amaryllis anytime of year and that her mother enjoyed the blooms and foliage in her garden into late summer. So, I figured I would give it a shot. The second bulb variety was a ballerina begonia in apricot. These should be beautiful trailers in early summer.
Having never planted bulbs before, I did a little research ahead of time to settle on a game plan. I decided to plant the begonia in one pot and the amaryllis separately.
Begonias
I planted the begonia first and encountered the first problem - I wasn't sure which side was up and which side was down. The instructions stated the "pointy end" should face up, but my bulbs were more of a lima bean shape.
After a close inspection, I decided the side with little tubers coming up was "up" and it seemed like the other side had enough roots to justify making it "down".
The instructions suggested the roots needed room to grow. So, I filled about two thirds of my pot with soil and nestled the bulbs on top. I covered the bulbs and filled the rest of the pot. I finished with a good soaking.
Amaryllis
The amaryllis did not come with instructions, so I had to rely on Google. The good news was that it was clear which side was up and which was down.
However, Google suggested I needed to soak the bulbs for two hours first. Frankly, I was too eager to wait and I decided to skip the step - hopefully, I don't pay for it later. Since these bulbs were a bit further along, I nestled them a bit deeper in the soil than the begonias. I used the same organic potting mix and filled the pots to the top, following with a good soak.
Regardless of whether these bulbs succeed or fail, it was wonderful to be gardening in early March in Wisconsin. I'm sure we'll be back to blizzards in a week, but this early release from cabin fever will certainly get me through it.
