my husband brought me an Easter Lilly today which gave me the idea to start a topic on bulbs. i'm no expert but i've heard that the forced bulbs can be planted to bloom again. well, you can do the same thing with the easter lillies. in fact, the source i found said to plant it out now, let it finish blooming and then if it tries to bloom again, chop them off to save energy for the bulb to get through winter. don't let it create a seed pod either (saps energy from the bulb). but, just like irises, daffodils, tulips, etc., leave the green leaves until they die out by themselves. i've got some narcissus and an amaryllis that i'm gonna plant outside. don't have room to keep them inside. i've seen lots of amaryllis in bloom around here. wonder why they started forcing for christmas.

Narcissus bulb carving is very popular amongst the skilled older Oriental gnetlemen in Hawaii. I imagine it is in the Orient, as well. I shall hunt up some pictures of the finished work so you know what I mean by "carving."

Narcissus in Zhangzhou It takes patience and skill to artfully model a bulb to grow like a bird or a teapot. By Huang Zhenxiang and Li Rongli WHILE northern China is wrapped in snow and afflicted with biting winds, the city of Zhangzhou in southeastern China's Fujian Province enjoys a spring-like climate, decorated by narcissus that have been modeled into various shapes. The narcissus, the symbol of Zhangzhou, is as pure as jade. It is loved for its beautiful shape and fragrant white and yellow flowers. For local people, however, the charm of the narcissus goes beyond its elegance and beauty. Many people buy narcissus bulbs, carve them so that young shoots will come out where and how they have been intended, and enjoy flower sculptures of their own making. According to master narcissus modeler Lin Wangshui and his wife, Liu Lixue (who also is a master modeler), Zhangzhou has available a good variety of narcissus bulbs. Modeling is the art of shaping and growing the narcissus flower. The big, fleshy bulbs can be modeled into a variety of shapes, then controlled to blossom at a certain time, much like bonsai plants. Zhangzhou has many narcissus modelers. In 1991 during the ``Zhangzhou Chinese Narcissus Festival,'' the ``China Narcissus Modeling Art Competition'' was held. Ten of the 11 people who were named narcissus modeling masters by the Chinese Florists Association were natives of Zhangzhou. How can an ordinary narcissus bulb be grown in such a variety of shapes? Husband and wife modelers Lin and Liu say a potted narcissus flower is a three-dimensional picture with a spirit. The whole procedure involves choosing the right bulb, idealizing the composition, carving the bulb and soaking it in water, then putting the bulb to grow in the right pot. The choice of bulb is the basis of the art, and only special bulbs can be modeled to resemble a flying bird, flower basket, peach, plum, crab, chicken, phoenix, crane or elephant. Even highly skilled modelers do not always succeed. Lin and Liu explained the process for controlling the shape of the flower and when it blossoms. They cut the bulb according to how the flower stalks grow. The last strike, which pierces to the bottom of the central stalk, must be done carefully, otherwise there will be no blossom. Of the various shapes that narcissus flowers can be made to resemble, those grown in the shape of a tea pot are the most difficult because they require the modeler to have vast experience and skill. It is also very important to soak the carved bulbs in water. Only then can they be placed in an inclined position or hung upside down to shape them into the desired pattern. After many years of study and practice, Lin and Liu have mastered a variety of special modeling techniques. Their modeled narcissus have been entered in many flower exhibitions at home and abroad, and dozens of their works have been awarded prizes. In November 1996, both Lin and Liu were accepted as members of the China Association of Potted Landscape Artists. HUANG ZHENXIANG and LI RONGLI are from the international communication office of the Zhangzhou Municipal Party Committee. http://www.china.org.cn/ChinaToday/ct98/98-2-19.html

Good luck blossoms with narcissus flowers For 20 years, politics conspired against the narcissus plant. The United States and China weren't getting along, there was a trade embargo, you couldn't buy a narcissus bulb to save your life. "The whole generation of narcissus carvers was almost lost," said Gilman Hu, Honolulu's acknowledged Narcissus King. Those times are gone and the narcissus is a popular accessory of Chinese New Year celebrations. Plants can be purchased growing "upright" (naturally) or in the curlicue crab-claw style, where the bulb has been carved to dictate the way leaves and flowers emerge. Hu has been growing narcissus since 1981, bringing bulbs back from Hong Kong. He figures he's taught about 700 others bulb-carving through Honolulu Academy of Arts classes. Hu said the narcissus has become a new year's staple for the simple reason that it can be forced to bloom in the middle of winter. "I think the tradition is perpetuated by old wives" tales saying that if you can bring a flower in bloom you'll get good luck." Narcissus plants are on sale in Chinatown for as little as $6, Hu said, but better plants are in the $10 to $15 range. They'll also be sold at the Chinatown new year's celebration Jan. 23 and 24. Hu's crab-claw plants are for sale at Sweetheart's Lei Shop, 69 N. Beretania. Hu and his students will display their narcissus creations at the Honolulu Academy of Arts Feb. 14 and 15. When buying narcissus, choose plants with short, straight leaves; they shouldn't be bending over. Flowers should be in their pouches or just breaking out. The idea is that they will be in bloom for the new year, Jan. 28. The bulb should be white and "huge," Hu said. "When you grow it right the bulb swells and is almost ivory white." Roots should be clean and white. If they look dry, the plant has not been adequately watered. To care for the plant, change the water daily. The blooms should last five to 10 days. "After the flowers die, throw it away," Hu said. The bulb cannot be salvaged.

Pictures and the rest of the story below are found at http://starbulletin.com/2000/02/04/features/garden.html The cultivation involves precise and laborious cutting of the narcissus bulb. About half of the bulb is cut off to expose young shoots and flower stalks. Then a thin strip is cut off along the edge of each shoot to cause it to curl as it grows out of the bulb. The result is a plant with dwarfed curlicue leaves (looking like crab claws) and short flower stalks, which also may be sliced in infancy to produce the same curled formations. Zane learned the crab-claw style cultivation without formal lessons. He began picking up bits of information from two fellow workers at the state health department about 1969. He was lucky. One of the workers was related to a master carver who shared his narcissus practices only with family members. "If you wanted to learn, you had to learn things on your own. You just had to do it. But as you go along, you learn, a little at a time. You kind of have hits and misses," Zane said. At first, he carved 15 to 20 bulbs, and the successes were only a handful. Nevertheless, he was "tickled to death" by the five or six bulbs that matured into plants with fragrant blossoms. Since his retirement as chief of the health department's sanitation branch in 1972, his success rates have improved significantly. Now he carves about 100 bulbs every season. He begins about late November, when the bulbs first appear in Chinatown markets, and finishes around March. He does not sell his plants but gives them away to family and friends. "I enjoy the carving. If you enjoy what you do, then you take your time. Having time to do it is important. You have to have the time and the patience and the interest to do it." His patience is not only in making precision cuts and changing the water daily for the plants but also in carefully timing the plants to bloom at the right time. He divides up his carving chores throughout the narcissus season to make sure he has flowering plants to coincide with Chinese New Year celebrations, other holidays and the annual exhibit at the Academy of Arts. "This is the only thing I spend my money on. I don't smoke. I don't drink. I don't go to Las Vegas. I don't burn firecrackers. I only burn my money on these," Zane said, referring to the bowls of narcissus plants lined up neatly in his small green house.