THE BEAUTY OF BULBS
(Page 5 of 5)
September/October 1981
By the Mother Earth News editors
P. DeJager & Sons, Inc., Dept. TMEN, 188 Asbury Street, South Hamilton, Massachusetts 01982 (catalog 504, free to customers)
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SPRING' IN WINTER
When you plant your outdoor bulbs, be sure to reserve a few ...which you can then use to provide indoor winter cheer by employing a technique called "forcing". (Narcissus, crocus, hyacinth, freesia, tulip, snowdrop, lily of the valley, begonia, and oxalis are all good for this purpose.) The housebound blooms can be grown in water, fiber, or soil, but —because water, or such mediums as sphagnum moss and coconut fiber, lack the nutrients that will enable the bulb to bloom the following seasonit's probably best to put them in real earth.
For this purpose, choose a clay pot with a drainage hole, and soak it in water. Then fill the container with potting soil to within half an inch of the top, and—unless you're growing large varieties—plant a few bulbs close together, but not quite touching. (Large bulbs should be set atone in the pot and level with—or even slightly above—the soil's surface, while smaller ones can be planted a little deeper.) Label the container and water the soil thoroughly.
Now, put the pot in a cool, dark place that's not subject to freezing temperatures, and keep the growing medium slightly moist. Eight to twelve weeks later, gently tap out dirt and bulbs to check for root development, which should be visible at the bottom or edge of the soil mass. (Some colorless top shoots may also be showing at this time.) When the roots appear to be strong, gradually expose the tender plants to full sunlight ...but proceed slowly at this point! If they're brought directly into a bright, heated environment, their leaves may grow so rapidly that no blooms occur ...a condition which is called "coming blind".
Keep the soil evenly moist, and feed your winter beauties with periodic doses of plant food. As the leaves fade, reduce the amount of water provided, and withhold any fertilizer. Once the foliage has completely yellowed, the bulbs may be turned out of the pots to be dried, stored away, and planted outdoors the following fall.
If you start the forcing process in late September or October and pot additional bulbs every two weeks or so, you can have fragrant, long-lasting blooms in. doors all winter long.
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