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Make Spring Happen: Force a Bulb

In the dead of winter do you get a little anxious for spring? Try forcing bulbs to bloom.

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In the dead of winter do you get a little anxious for spring? Try forcing bulbs to bloom. It’s easy, but you need to start now. One bulb that’s great for forcing is Daffodil ‘Quail’ but others work too:

Choose containers with drainage holes; add 2-inches of potting soil; arrange bulbs close together. Next cover bulbs loosely with soil, allowing space below the container rim for watering. Water bulbs well immediately after planting.

Be sure to label the containers: bulb names, date planted, and the approximate date to come out of cold storage.

Bulbs need a period of dark and cold to simulate being in the ground. Unheated garages or refrigerators work fine. Cover the pots with foil so they are not exposed to light. Maintain temperatures about 40 to 45 degrees; don’t allow bulbs to freeze.

Check regularly and water when dry. Keep in the cold from 10 to 16 weeks. The best way to determine if bulbs are ready is when top growth is visible. If you’re unsure, leave them in the cold a few days longer, rather than bring them out too early.

Early growth is very pale but it turns green after being exposed to light.

For the first week or two, bulbs should be kept at about 60 degrees in bright, indirect light. Keep soil moist. Once the growth is about four inches high, the pots can be moved to a sunnier and warmer location. Most bulbs will start to bloom two to three weeks after they come out of cold storage.

When the blooms fade, cut off the flower stalks but not the leaves. Apply a little fertilizer and continue watering until the foliage completely dies down. Remove the bulbs from their pots and store them in a mesh bag in a cool dry place until planting time next fall.

Forcing bulbs is an inexpensive way to have indoor blooms for a month or two. On cold, blustery days in February you’ll be glad for the color.