FORCING SPRING- FLOWERING BULBS By Duane Reid In the last weeks of Winter, flowers blooming indoors help Upstate citizens maintain positive attitudes (or, at least, sanity). You can coax bulbs to an early inside performance by planning and planting in Autumn, weeks ahead of the bloom date.
Forced hyacinths & crocus

Choose planting time based on desired bloom time. Daffodils and hyacinths need 12 weeks of cooling plus 2 weeks of growth before bloom. Tulips need an added 3 weeks (=15) cooling. Crocus need only 10 weeks cooling. If you want daffodils blooming March 1st, pot them 14 weeks prior on November 22. Two methods of forcing are: potted in soil, or forced in water. Bulbs may be purchased uncooled or 'prepared'.

Your forcing plan should consider: Time -when must you start cooling bulbs to have blooms on your desired date? Type -what types and quantities of bulbs you will force? Temperature -where will you cool the bulbs at a controlled temperature (40F)?

Available bulbs: Those requiring cooling include most sold for outdoor planting. You must provide them with necessary weeks of cooling. Bulbs 'prepared' or temperature-conditioned by the supplier will save you many weeks of cooling on your part, and are ready to use. Bulbs which never need cooling such as amaryllis and some narcissus (daffodils); are ready to use upon purchase.

	4 inch pots hold two tulips or one large daffodil bulb.
	<-- Choose containers to meet decorative ideas.

FORCING IN SOIL Pots used in forcing must have a drainage hole, and need not be deep. The width will determine how many bulbs are used in each. Soil mix and pot should be sterile, so that mold, seeds or insects will not develop in the soil. With 1-2" of soil inside the pot, place bulbs flat bottom down, pointed end up. Only 1/2" space between bulbs is needed. Turn tulip bulbs so the flattened side (not the flat bottom) faces the outside of the pot. The tulip leaf produced will drape over the side. Add soil over bulbs and firm it gently, just covering bulb tips. Water each pot throughly ONCE, setting it aside for 1 day to drain. Label the pot with its contents and planting date, or necessary removal date from cooling.

Tulip bulbs placed on soil in pots. Soil will be added to cover bulbs.

	COOLING PERIOD Where you store pots during cooling, and amount of room there, limits how many pots you plant. Temperature must be in the 38 to 45 degree (F) range. Using lower temperatures does not hasten the cooling period. Do not freeze the bulbs; they will be killed. Placing plants in a garage or porch may freeze them. Pots could be buried outside under the frost line and retrieved in late Winter. If you have purchased a pre-cooled hyacinth, subtract 6 weeks from the cooling period. It needs only a few weeks for root growth. Placing the pots on a lower shelf of a refrigerator is good, but ripe fruit in the area gives off gas which impairs bulb development. Inside a refrigerator, the pots may also get dehydrated, so check every 2-3 weeks to ensure soil is moist. You could place a baggie or plastic wrap loosely over the pot to retain moisture. Bulbs will sprout above the soil toward the end of cooling, allow spacing for that if pots stack on top of one another.
Cooling many pots

BLOOM

When the flower petals fall, remove the flower from the stem, and maintain the remaining foliage as an indoor plant until the leaves wither. The bulb can be planted outside in early summer. Forced bulbs use much energy and may not rebloom outside next year - plant outdoors in a vacant corner and try your luck ! These forced varieties should not be forced indoors again.

FORCING IN WATER

Use a container which has no drainage. For hyacinth, one may use a hyacinth glass sold with the bulb, or a wide cup. Paperwhites can be forced in wide, shallow basins or clay dishes, with 1/2 inch of gravel or marble chips in their base. Set the flat end of the paperwhite bulbs in the gravel and secure them by surrounding them with more stone.

The hyacinth can be placed on stone, or may be held off the container bottom by the container's neck. Add water to the forcing container so that the water just covers the bulb's bottom surface, but does not extend more than halfway up the bulb. This will encourage root growth without rotting the bulb. It is essential to check the water level every 1-2 days, and keep the bottom of the bulbs in water. This forcing is done at room temperature. For the first few weeks, the bulbs will have mostly root growth. This will be visible for the hyacinth in a forcing glass. Direct sunlight is not advised during this time. Once the bulbs have sent roots into the water, stem growth begins. When flower buds appear on the stems, the bulbs may need support to keep from turning or stems bending. It is typical for most of the growth to be complete 5 weeks after bulbs were started. When bulbs forced in water are done blooming, remove the bulbs and discard them. Bulbs forced in water have expended all energy and would not rebloom indoors or out.

Narcissus 'Hawera' forced in water.