Bulbs, bulbs, bulbs

They got away from me a little and I didn't change the water to alcohol+water until they got about 3 1/2 inches high. I poured out the water from both containers and replaced the one with my alcohol solution. The other I just added new water.

Now we'll see whether the method works to keep the paperwhites short (or shorter).

In general bulbs need several months of cold temperatures to trigger flowering. When they are in the ground, winter soil temperatures provide this cold trigger. In warmer climates of the south and southwest, bulbs planted out in the garden do not come up year after year, because they never get that cold period.

Paperwhite bulbs (in the daffodil family) are the bulbs most likely to be "pre-cooled" and ready to be "forced." Most other bulbs could be forced into holiday bloom by giving them their cold treatment in the refrigerator. The challenge is getting bulbs early enough in fall.

For example, tulips need 4 to 5 months of cold, then another 2 to 3 weeks to bloom. For a late December display, you would have to get these bulbs in July to meet that schedule! Garden centers do not usually stock the bulbs until September.

For tulips, hyacinths, and most others, forcing will give an early spring thrill of new flowers, but not the holiday display that the trusty paperwhites provide.