Most of us will never have a March forced bulb display the way Smith and Mount Holyoke colleges do, but visits to these heartening spring flower shows do make the point that we can create an early spring in our own houses.
October is the month to prepare to force our favorite bulbs: daffodils, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, scillas and amaryllis. The theory behind bulb forcing is that we have to fool the bulbs into thinking that winter has come, and then let them think that spring has begun.
Most bulbs need 12 weeks of cold temperatures, defined as between 40 to 50 degrees. These temperatures might be found in basements or the refrigerator.
Potting up bulbs for forcing begins with clean pots of an appropriate size — and good potting soil.
Tulips can be planted three to a pot with a 5-inch diameter. Hyacinths and daffodils can be planted three to a pot with a 7-inch diameter. The bulbs should be planted so that the tip is exposed.
Little bulbs, like crocus, grape hyacinths and scillas, can be planted several to a single pot, depending on pot size, and should be covered with an inch of potting soil. Make sure you have allowed room in the pot for watering. Newly planted bulbs should be well watered after planting, but no more watering is needed while the bulbs enjoy their dormancy in a cool dark place.
Because each type of bulb has a different bloom period, each pot should only contain one type of bulb. And, because of the varying needs of bulbs, those in charge of the college greenhouses have a strict schedule for managing temperatures, so bulbs come into bloom on the appointed dates of the shows.
If you attend these shows, you will also notice that the greenhouses are kept very cool throughout the run of the show to encourage as long a period of good bloom as possible.
When the long initial period of cooling is finished and green shoots begin to appear, the pots of bulbs are brought into warmer, brighter rooms.
If possible, put bulbs in a fairly cool room, and never put them in direct sunlight.
First, the foliage will develop and then the buds appear and soon the flowers. Many of us keep our house cooler at night to save on heating bills; cool nights are very good for growing bulbs. Cooler rooms also provide a happy location for the bulbs at night. Cool temperatures help prolong bloom period.
Hyacinths and paper white narcissus can be forced in water, as well as soil. Hyacinths need a cooling period of only about eight weeks, but paper whites do not need any.
My refrigerator doesn’t have room for pots of bulbs, but I could put a some bulbs in a paper bag with a few ventilation holes and store them there. The caveat is that apples in the refrigerator will ripen the bulbs prematurely, so a choice has to be made between bulbs and apples.
Hyacinths look so pretty standing alone that hyacinth glasses have been invented. The glasses hold the bulb so that the bottom of it can touch water and induce the growth of roots, and then the foliage and flower. Many garden centers sell the special glasses, and even pre-cooled bulbs, so you can start forcing immediately.
Several paper white narcissus can be set on a bed of two or three inches of pebbles in a shallow pot. Cover the bulbs with just enough of the pebbles to hold them firmly in place. Then add only enough water to touch the bottom of the bulbs. You will have to keep watering as the bulbs grow. The rate and strength of growth will depend on temperature, which ideally should not be more than 70 degrees.
One year, I grew paper whites in a 4-inch square glass vase. The vase allowed me to see the level of water, and it also provided support for the flower stems, which can get floppy.
Currently, garden centers are filled with boxes of potted amaryllis. These glamorous flowers come on the market intended to bloom during the December holiday season and do not need to be cooled in basements or refrigerators.
Amaryllis is usually sold with its own pot and instructions to leave half of the bulb exposed. The pot only allows for about a half inch of space all around the bulb.
In the past, I have treated amaryllis as an annual and never tried to bring it into a second season of bloom. However, last year, when I was in a constant state of disorganization while selling one house and moving into another, the three pots of amaryllis got caught up in the waves of moving our stuff to Greenfield.
This spring, the pots with dry amaryllis bulbs surfaced. I watered them but had no expectations. Amazingly, two of the three bulbs sent up shoots. I set them outside and continued to give them very little attention. One of them even sent up a flower stem, which broke off when a squirrel was frolicking in the area and knocked the plant over.
Now, I will experiment by cutting back the foliage and putting the potted bulbs in the basement for a nap.
Will they wake up and begin a new life in 2017?
We’ll see!
Pat Leuchtman has been writing and gardening since 1980. She now lives in Greenfield. Readers can leave comments at her Web site: www.commonweeder.com