It's all about timing

Who says amaryllis are just for Christmas?

This one came out of the winter closet a couple of weeks ago. Its needs for dormancy met (at least eight to 10 weeks), it began sprouting new leaves and now has two fat flower buds. (Photo shows one bud, but there is another one.) 

I'd say the five-buck investment was worth it -- this is the second round of blooms.

The National Arboretum has information on growing your own.

Bonfire ignites

In the next few months, those little pale pink nodules will grow into a lush plant 

with graceful orange-red bell-shaped blooms.

In bloom, Begonia 'Bonfire' is a hot little plant. Hot enough, in fact, to make room in the downstairs closet to overwinter it. A weekend check of the overwintering chambers revealed tiny nubbins of new growth on 'Bonfire.' Time to move it to brighter quarters!

I've been really happy with 'Bonfire.' The burn begins slowly, but will escalate into a full-fledged explosion of color in the next few months. It's easy care during the growing season -- I treat it as I treat most of my container plantings. That means a weekly shot of liquid fertilizer and nearly daily watering in hot weather. The last two summers it's had a place near the front door where it gets morning sunshine and afternoon shade. It may get moved to the backyard this year, near the pond but out of intense afternoon sun and where it may better fit in with the prevailing color palette.

Overwintering the plant couldn't be easier. In fall, right about the time of the first frost, I whack off the stems and leaves. It's brutal but necessary because I want the plant to go dormant. Make sure the pot is moist and move it into a dark, cool place. I use the big downstairs closet where we also overwinter the potted water lilies and store the potatoes and onions. I check on it occasionally during the winter and if it seems exceptionally dry I give it a sprinkle of water. (But not too much -- I don't want rot to set in.) Then, in spring, it tells me when it's ready to come back into the light, and I, gradually, over the course of a couple of days, acclimate it to brighter conditions. Once it gets a little more growth under its belt, it will start getting lightly fertilized, and, possibly, a new pot and fresh soil. Then, sometime around the end of May it will find its way outside.

Dealing with the cold

 A pina colada is garnished with fresh pineapple and maraschino cherries. If that doesn't jingle your bells, what will?

It's times like this -- when we're knee-deep in a cold spell -- that friends in warmer climes ask, "How do you stand it?" Here's one approach that seems to help:

First, get out the blender and make a batch of pina coladas. The flavors of pineapple and coconut immediately transport one to a place where it's summer all day every day. We follow the method outlined in "The Craft of the Cocktail" by Dale Degroff. Degroff says the trick to making a great pina colada is to use both light rum and dark rum, a dash of bitters and heavy cream. We agree.

With summer on my mind, it's a good time to check on some favorite tender plants wintering in the cool, dark closets under the stairs. My record on overwintering tuberous plants such as dahlias, begonias and chocolate cosmos is mixed, but I've done pretty well with waterlilies and brugmansias.

This is my first stab at saving Begonia boliviensis 'Bonfire'. The plant was too lovely to pass up last spring. I'm following Margaret Roach's advice at A Way to Garden -- I cut it back to nothing, left it in its pot and am leaving it dry until it start to shows some bit of growth (hopefully!) in the spring.

It's also my first try with these 'Black Beauty' dahlias. We grew them from seed last year and I'm experimenting with saving the tubers to see if I get flowers earlier.

Chocolate cosmos (Cosmos astrosanguineus) is a favorite and somewhat pricey plant. In the fall, I pulled the plants, cut off the foliage, shook off excess soil and am storing the tubers in a paper bag. So far, so good. I didn't notice any rotting flesh when I checked the bags.

Two closets and two brugmansias. I let the pots dry out and the foliage drop before cutting the plants back by a third to a half and plopping the pots into the dark. I hope they stay dormant until March/April before moving them back into the sun. I do check the soil occasionally throughout the winter and if it seems too dry, throw down a little water. But no soaking -- I don't want the roots to rot.

Waterlilies have become routine. They're hardy waterlilies, but I grow them in containers so they come in for the winter. I cut back all the foliage, double-bag the pots in plastic garbage bags and put them in the cool, dark closet. I give them a little water once or twice a winter. Peeking into the bags the other day, I could see they were already sprouting new growth, but that's OK. They'll be fine until spring.