The Inside Story….Forcing Spring Bulbs
From HGTV- Great Indoors: Episode GIN-301
Bulbs such as tulips, daffodils and crocus are the harbingers of brighter things to come. Create color all winter long by forcing these spring beauties. There are hundreds of bulb varieties to choose from, and you can reap a wintertime harvest with fragrant blooms as early as Christmas. The Great Indoors host Jan Goldsmith and indoor gardening expert Mike Hibbard explain the simple process of forcing.
Some of the most popular hardy spring bulbs to force are tulips and daffodils. Most need a period of cooling off in order to bloom. The bulbs come in a dormant stage and should be bought in late fall. Plant the bulbs in soil (or potting soil) and put in a cool place to force the development of a healthy root system.
Any tulip bulb can be forced to bloom early, but the shorter varieties are best to use in the house, because they're quite attractive and don't flop over. Traditional yellow daffodils work well for forcing but you can also use miniatures, bi-colored white and yellow forms as well as doubles and other varieties. Other great bulbs to force: crocus, puschkinia, scilla and hyacinths. Fall is the only time of the year that you can buy spring bulbs, so plan ahead.
When shopping for bulbs, look for healthy specimens. Make sure that bulbs are not shriveled and dry. Avoid soft spots or mold. Depending on what you are growing, the bulbs can look very different. A daffodil bulb has a papery covering, but others don't.
PLANTING BULBS IN AN INDOOR GARDEN
1. The first step is selecting the pots. The size doesn't make any difference. Goldsmith and Hibbard choose the short, squatted-type pots. Bulb pans can also be used
2. Fill the pot approximately three-quarters full with soil.
3. Tulip bulbs are sharp on the top and flat on the bottom. Plant the flat side down in the soil and the pointed side up.
4. Tulips also have a rounded side and a flat side. Put the flat side toward the outside of the pot, and your first leaf will come over and fall over the pot
5. Use the same technique for planting daffodils, crocus or hyacinths. Many bulbs planted in the same pot will give a flashier show.
6. Cover the bulbs with soil.
7. Water well. The soil needs to be kept moist or saturated during the forcing period. The saturation point comes when water comes out of the drainage holes.
8. Place the pots in a refrigerator-crisper drawer. Label each pot with the date you put them in the refrigerator and the variety of bulb it contains.
9. Some bulbs need only a short time to root. Crocus takes only four weeks to root. Daffodils and other varieties can take as much as 12 weeks.
10. Fruits emit ethylene gas that may affect your bulbs so don't put the bulbs around fruit.
11. In four to eight weeks your bulbs will begin to develop a root system. Don't worry if the tops have sprouted. When roots begin to grow out of the bottom of the pot, remove from the refrigerator. If the minimum time for root development has passed and the pots still show no roots, simply leave the pots in the refrigerator.
12. You can stagger your bulbs so that you will have blooms all winter long. Each plant bloom anywhere from one to three weeks after being taken out of the refrigerator. Leave some of the pots in the refrigerator so they will bloom at a later time.
13. Place bulbs where they will receive plenty of light but cool temperatures, preferably 55 to 60 degrees. The bulbs will get leggy and flop over if you put them in a room where the temperature is too warm.
14. Once your bulbs have started to bloom, water every day. The plants will be better off too wet than too dry.
15. Bulbs love sunshine and tend to turn toward the sun. If you want to keep them straight, just quarter-turn the pot every day.
16. Pinch off spent blooms. After flowering has finished, you might want to discard the plant to the compost pile or set it outside when weather permits to start the whole process over again. Always start with fresh bulbs when you are forcing blooms. If you are going to enjoy the blooms and then simply compost the bulbs afterward, there is no need to fertilize.
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