Hi, this is my first year forcing bulbs. I pre-chilled several varieties (Darwin hybrids, Queen of the Night, Blue Amiable, and Renown Unique), planted them after about twelve weeks (limited room) and kept those pots in our cool (45-55*F) garage for about two weeks before bringing them indoors where it's warm, and they've now started to bloom. The first blooms were *awesome*, big and exactly what I expected. The second flush coming in now (which I assume are the later-blooming hybrids, I was admittedly too lazy to stagger chilling interval by bloom category) are . . . not.

The Queen of the Night (pictured) is purple with white tips and centers, and quite small. (I didn't actually expect *black*, but I didn't expect white striping either.) Everything else looks to be coming in straight white, and also small (no pictures because they're not open yet, I was peeking.) The perspective on this photo makes the bloom look larger than it is, I was trying to get a good shot of the whole plant, as there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary going on with the foliage.

It will be interesting to see if the Renown Unique still blooms in its peony form; if it comes in single, I'll know for sure that the bulb supplier screwed it up, and not me.

I've done a lot of research on this and haven't found anything but a few vague references to how doing some things wrong when chilling can cause the blooms to be "colorless," and everything else is about bloom blindless and pathogens.

Chilling conditions were straightforward, they were held at a steady 35*F in a mini-fridge that has only ever held bulbs, seeds being stratified, and far too much Red Bull.

They've got lovely roots shoving through the drainage holes and no sign of rot or mold. (I treated them before planting with a Dithane M-45 dip, and then drenched all my soil in *everything* I had planted with diluted hydrogen peroxide after I pulled a ranunculus corm I was pre-sprouting and it had molded. I haven't found anything to indicate that either of these could be responsible for the blanched blooms.)

If anyone knows about conditions that can make a tulip lose color while growing, I would love to learn from you.

Otherwise, I will be emailing the bulb vendor with A Few Questions ;)