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Show re? Sunday, January 16, 2000 Blooms Brighten Let Your Hobby Blossom Winter Gloom — Join a Garden Club BY TASNEEM ANSARTYAH-GRACE You will find one that will be of interest, whether you grow a plot of vegetables or orchids. You will be able to hear out- forcing bulbs. . “There is not a whole lot of work,” knew 2000 was going to be a very standing speakers on your particular interest and partake in flower shows, com- munity beautification and many other a gardening store in Nashville, year. amaryllis bloomed. This, you see, is a matter of great im- activities. Members of the Utah Associated Gar- Tenn., “but there is a lot of patience.” This is what you have to do to ibly the reason they annoy me so amaryllis are among the easiest bulbs to force, says Better Homes and Gar- den Clubs include: @ General Gardening — Alternative GardenClub,Flora Culture Garden Club, Garden Club of Cottonwood, Holladay/ , that’s not totally true. I also dens, because they don’t require the traditional 12-15 weeks of cold storage. hood Garden Club,all of Salt LakeCity; bulbs into behaving as though they have gone through winter. The more tropical the plant, the less winter time. Mclnturff says put about three pa- Dixie GardenClub, St. George; Ogden Garden Chib; Park City Garden Club; South Davis Garden Club; Spade & Hope Garden Club, Brigham City; Valley Garden Club, Beryl. brighten your winter garden: in mylife because:(a) I hate am- @ Theeasy stuff. Paperwhites and and (b) I cannot grow them, which is most popular hobby,join a garden club. spring indoors by learning the art of pefts pronounced us officially Y2K-OK, I The idea is to trick your flower Why they’re so popular around the holidays I'll never understand. And I'd like to know whoissued the edict that perwhite bulbs (about 89 cents per bulb) in a 5-inch-wide claypot full of amaryllis should be planted seven to 10 before Dec. 25 and bloom exactly before the big day? Sounds like a Martha Stewart plot designed to drive everyone insane with worry and anticipation. loose soil andrefrigerate for about two lis is on the puny side (mjne always is) or doesn’t bloom right on time moist. weeks. Leave about one-fourth of the bulb abovethe soil line. Water them ‘Bécause the implication is this: If your about once a week to keep the soil Removethepot andplace in direct sunlight, she says. If your light source (miié never has), it must be you. You area losér'(I am) at forcing bulbs. And obvi- is too distant, the stalks will stretch and be “leggy,” not short and thick the way they should be. The fragrant blooms, which normally last about two weeks,will last twice as long if you put themin a cool, well-lighted place. ously, no one wants to admit they cannot accomplish this most basic gardening task. , MK, I'll admitit. I can’t. The absurdity is the process is ridiculously easy. AnlVone with reasonable,gerbillike intelligence can open the package, dump the owing @ Amaryllis ($10.99 per bulb; $16.99 per mammoth bulb) bear softball-size blooms. Place one bulb in a deep, narrow pot, Mcinturff says. They need no refrigeration. Place the bulb in direct sunlight and water regularly. Within medium in the pot, then plop in thebulb and water. Whyelse would they sell them at supermarkets, convenience stdf¥s, gas stations? So, as luck would haveit, I received an lis in November. I dutifully planted and watered it. ThenI looked atit. ‘fhat’s the key to growing amaryllis: five or six weeks,it will blossom. Tulips and daffodils. These springtime regulars take more trickery to fool. Better Homes and Gardens saysrefrigerate these bulbs in soil for 10-15 weeks and plan accordingly. If You've gotto stare atit. Every single day. You stare for weeks, months. And of course nothing happens. Then one day, you start these bulbs too late, you’ll just4s you're aboutto dial up Martha, you Ricky Rogers/The Tennessean Paperwhite bulbs are easyto force. have them sprouting in your yard at the sametime they bloom indoors. McInturff suggests watering the bulbs and soil once a week until they sprout3- to 4-inch shoots. Place the pot in direct sunlight.-You should have blooms within five weeks. WadeForiest, owner of the Botani- cal Garden Shop, also in Nashville, says there may be floral options in your yard; you can alsoforce forsythia and dogwood flowers. Cut the branches froma tree or bush and place in a vase of water. In about 10 weeks, they'll bloom. @ Amaryllis again. These blooms can rise again. McInturff says after Martha admonishes herfaithful to plan ardliiid the ol’ Connecticut mansion.This whole timing thing: puts me on edge, méafes me nervous,actually. Like I need duce full set ofleaves thatwill last up to five weeks, Let them die as they store energy for the next bloom. more pressure at a time that is supposed to be fun and festive. Not with this amaryllisproblem hanging over my head.I’m always sitting by the pot ... waiting... Godotnever took as long as this hofiest; These exotic amary! don't look like something that should stuff. So, now that I am an amaryllis apologist, I have blinders on ing other rated it for being a loner, one pathetic at- fragile paperwhites. Tulips are banished, and hyacinths are nowhere to be found. complained. That was early December, but by Christmas,there were three blooms. And then,as if on cue for the turn of the cenit became clear there would be four blooms to a stem, and there would be three stems. That’s 12 flowers. We're talking garden-show quality here, folks. Garden-club impressive, the right flower Council, all of Salt Lake City. These clubs andplantsocieties wel- come new members. For more information, contact David Bauch,president, Utah Associated Garden Clubs,(801) 7828731; mail to 744 E. 850 North, Ogden, UT 84404-6202. Or contact the Garden Clubs Center,467-0461. The Utah Associated Garden Clubs will hold its Mid-Winter Anniversary Meeting Saturdayat the Garden Clubs Registration and a Continental will be from to 9:30 a.m., followed by a business meeting. At 10 a.m., Val Pope of _ the Salt Lake City Parks and Recreation Departmentwill speak on the master plan for revitalizing Memory Grove. At 10:45 a.m., Stephanie Duer of Western Gardens will talk on what's new for spring planting. Presentation of UAGC Awards will be given by June Burch, awards chairwoman.A birthday cake .; will be cut by President David Burch and: served atthe close of the meeting. 4 Reservations should be made by Tues-. day with Eva Goodfellow, 266-2472; the Garden Center,467-0461; or Dorothy Thov«/! mas at 972-8092. The Continental Break- ::ii/1 fast is $1. The gardenclubor plantsoci- ‘3 ety that has the most members in ele attendance will receive $50 from the Utalt Associated Garden Clubs. 1 Genevieve H. Folsom has shared her gardening expertise with Salt Lake Tribune readersfor 53years. www.besthomeloansutah.com Utah’s #1 Source For Home Mortgages &@ How ToChoose The Right Lender @ Below Market Interest Rates... How To Find Them &@ How To Buy A Home With Zero Down So it was with great trepidation that I rejoiced at the appearance of my amaryl- tempt perched atop a droopy stalk, I Iris Society, Utah Rose Society, Wasatch Cactus & SucculentSociety. @ Special Interest Clubs — Artistic Designers, Bonsai Club of Utah, Great Salt Lake AudubonSociety, Utah Judges Park, for its 67th Birthday Celebration. » Place in a dark room for three months(like a winter). Clip the leaves once the plant is brought out. Feed with fertilizer and place in the sun.“In about six weeks, you'll have blooms again,” she says. out and aboutin winter. lis’s first bloom this year. As usual,I be- @ PlantSocieties — African Violet Society, Utah Hemerocallis Society, Utah GARDENING Center, 1602 E. 2100 South in Sugar’ your bloom withers,let the plant pro- thik you see a sliver of green poking thegnen the middle ofthe big, brown,ugly ahgaq, staggering the appearance of, say, oe so amaryllis placed strategically GENEVIEVE FOLSOM To enhance your gardening pleasure and to learn more aboutthe nation’s GANNETT NEWS SERVICE While yards take on that wasted winter look, you can have the glow of : BY SHAWN SELL ' USA TODAY Before the ball dropped, before the ex- bulbs. Goneare the formerly beloved-but- &@ How To Save $1,000’s When You’ Buy Your Next Home CAPE COD Ase ae wd argeous windows vt ar room! Great masterwi ‘ta. 1887 ECharleston Lone MIKE LINDSAY Mymillennium homeis filled to overflowing with amaryllis in different stages of growth. I was grocery shopping the other day and picked up 10 additional pink and white ones onsale. That brings mytotal to 25. Martha would be so pleased. A HARPIST’S HOMECOMING The Chicago Symphony’sSarah Bullenreturns to the state where she gotherstart. Read all aboutit on D-2. Discover How to Avoid the 6 Elon 4 FIXED Biggest Mistakes Homebuyers most common and costly mistakes that homebuyers make is critical that you inform yourself about the factors involved. In answer to this issue, industry insiders have hen buying a home. Real Estate and hie Mortgage regulations have prepared a FREE Special Report entitled “6 Things You Must Know Before You Buy.” changes in the way you approach copy of this Special Report by calling, 1-800-611-8459 and entering ID #1004. 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