Bulbs in Bloom

Spring has started early here in Minnesota, I have already been able to cut tulips out of my cut-flower bed!  Spring flowers are some of my favorite of the entire growing season.  They are a sure sign of warm days ahead, their colors are bright and they are amazingly fragrant!  Recently, while shopping at the local market I noticed some forced spring bulbs for sale.  I couldn't resist buying a few pots of my favorite spring flower:  Hyacinth.  Their fragrance is very powerful and I would describe it as a mix between antique rose and lilac.  The scent of the Hyacinth blooms quickly filled an entire floor of our house and I have added one more garden chore to my fall list:  forcing bulbs.  It turns out that if you mimic winter, the bulbs will bloom indoors!  Here's how:

Tools:

Flower bulbs: Hyacinth, Tulip and Daffodil work best

A pot that is at least 6in tall

Potting soil

Bulb fertilizer (optional)

A cool, dark place

12 weeks

Start by filling the pot ¾ of the way full with potting soil.  Press your chosen bulbs into the soil as close to one another as you can get without allowing them to touch (make sure they are right-side-up) then lightly cover with another layer of soil.  Water thoroughly.  If watering causes the soil to settle and expose the bulbs just add more soil.  Find a cool dark place.  The best spots would be in a crawl space, a cool basement or your refrigerator.  You don’t want to put them anywhere that is less than 35 degrees F or above 45 degrees F and make sure it is dark! If you need to, you can place a paper bag over the pots. 

Once you have found the perfect spot leave them undisturbed for about 12 weeks.   For timing purposes, it is best to “plant” your bulbs in winter for spring enjoyment but you can really do it anytime.  If you want to transplant your bulbs into the garden, you must wait until the fall.   Once you have reached the 12 week mark it is important to acclimate the bulbs to warmer temperatures slowly otherwise they will burst into blooms but die off before they have a chance to open. 

The best way to acclimate them, for example, is if you have them in the basement move them to the base of the stairs for a day, then to the top of the stairs for a day, etc.  Move them one day at a time until you get them to the desired spot. As a note, however, do not expose your plant to full sun until the foliage has turned green.  Once you have acclimated your bulbs to a sunny spot continue to lightly water and give your pot a quarter turn every other day or so otherwise your bulbs will flop over because they will naturally reach for the sun.  Once the bulbs bloom you will be able to enjoy them for several weeks. 

If you plan to transplant your bulbs into the garden trim off then spent blooms but leave the foliage!  This is important because the leaves are where the bulb gets its energy to bloom.  Keep your trimmed bulbs indoors and continue watering them until you can transplant them outside in the fall. I hope you give it a try because after a long winter, especially like the ones we can have here in Minnesota, beautiful flowers can help those "teaser" weeks between when the snow melts and the flowers bloom a little more tolerable!  


Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Amy L.