This ia the third year for my A bulbs. Bought them at HD and they bloomed the first year just fine. In the spring I put them in the garden, in their original pot and they grew just fine with fertilizer ever so often. I left them out in the garden until the nights pulled down into the forties then brought them in side, did not water, the leaves died down and I trimmed them off about 2 inches from the but, put the bulbs in a cool place for I din't know how long. Looked at them one day and saw a little green so I cleaned up the bulbs, brought them into the light and warmth, watered them and they bloomed just fine. I think the big secret is giving the bulbs enough sunshine exposure in the summer plus the summer fertilizer .Sunshine is energy and that is what makes the blooms.

I think getting the old bulbs to bloom at Christmas is a real challenge and science. If you really want blooms, buy another bulb as it is already chilled and then you need to count the days from when you plant as it will take around 60 days for blooms depending on temperature and light.

Good luck!

You are right about the importance of rebuilding the bulb in the summer with plenty of sun, fertilizer and water. Next year's buds are formed the summer before in the basal plate. The fatter and happier the bulb, the greater the likelihood of getting blooms the next year.

I agree they do well, but I've also found watering them becomes a little trickier during the summer. Mine aren't in very much soil and they dry out so quickly. And I've had bulbs rot when there was too much rain.

So do you replace the soil at all with your plants? I've been thinking mine would be grateful to have something else to work with, because I don't fertilize very much.

Here's one that took a 3 year break, but it bloomed last year and now it has a baby bulb growing on the side. When it gets big enough I'll split it off and replace the soil for both of them.

Dora

Dora: that's a lovely Picotee. 3 years is not out of line for reblooming after the 1st winter's bloom. Since you live in zone 3a I assume that your bulbs are in pots year round. Your bulbs would certainly benefit from getting fresh soil in the spring to jump start spring growth. Old bulbs also tend to heave out of the pot, so repotting them gets them back to the proper depth. Don't be a rush to split off the baby, wait till it has a couple of roots.

Thanks. It's nice to know the name. For the most part I've been very careful to keep a record of the names, but once in a while I slip up. This is one of them.

This particular bulb has heaved up quite a bit and there isn't very much soil left thanks to a couple of mishaps with the cats, so I might look for soil before spring, but maybe not split off the baby right away if it hasn't started to form roots.