Adding Some Color for These Dreary Winter Days - Forcing Bulbs...

The winters are long and often dreary here in Northern Saskatchewan.
With spring a ways off here, I decided to force some bulbs to bloom indoors.

The Amaryllis, potted up before Christmas, I've been able to enjoy along with the Poinsettia for some time now.

The tulip and daffodil bulbs I got at 50% off at the end of the fall planting season. I don't mind that I missed getting them in the ground in the fall, for with a little chilling in my root cellar I can enjoy them indoors.

These tulips and daffodils will take 12 to 16 weeks of chilling around 40 degrees F. (4 C.) before I can bring them out to grow in a cool room.
They have had a month of chilling already in the fridge and now I will pot them up and put them in the root cellar to bring out in March.

Simple Method to Force Bulbs Indoors

1. Using a mixture of potting soil, sand, and peat moss to plant the bulbs in. Plant them close together, without having them touch. Have the soil just up to the necks of the bulbs.
2. Water them in so they are damp but not soggy.
3. Set in a cold dark place with temperatures around 40° to 48° F. Avoid freezing temperatures. Let them chill for 8 -16 weeks (depending on the type of bulb you are forcing).
4. Monitor them, keeping them slightly moist, and when the roots start to show out the bottom of a pot and sprouts are starting to show at the top, bring them into a cool room, around 50° to 60°F, out of direct sunlight, for another couple of weeks.
5. Finally you can bring them out and place them in the window or some bright spot (still out of direct sunlight) to let the buds finish developing and for them to bloom. The cooler you can keep them the better your results will be.

Enjoy!

Display of Beautiful Spring Bulbs that had been forced for Gardenscape

All pictures taken with my Canon Powershot A495

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