Forcing Bulbs Indoors

While much of the country now displays the brown hues of a late-fall landscape, you can create a vision of spring indoors by forcing bulbs. It’s a great activity for kids and a wonderful teachable moment. While kids usually know about bears and other wild creatures that hibernate in winter, they often don’t realize that many plants hibernate, too. Planting bulbs is a great way to teach them about plant dormancy, while simultaneously creating a beautiful indoor flower show this winter. Plus, forced bulbs are also a great gift idea.

Create Your Early Spring Flower Show
Scour nurseries and garden centers for any remaining daffodil, tulip, hyacinth, crocus, and grape hyacinth bulbs they may still have. Often you’ll find bulbs on sale at this time of year. Squeeze the bulbs before buying them to be sure they are still plump and firm and not dried and shriveled. Fill 12-inch diameter clay or plastic pots with moistened potting mix. Place a selection of bulbs in the pots, planting large bulbs, such as daffodils and hyacinths, about 6 inches deep and smaller bulbs, such as tulips and crocus, just 3 to 4 inches deep. Position the bulbs so that they almost touch each other. You can grow just one kind of bulb per pot, or mix up varieties and types. Have your kids experiment to see which bulbs emerge and bloom first. Or decorate the pots before planting the bulbs, for gifts or just to personalize their indoor blooms.

Place the planted pots in a cool (32°F to 50°F), dark area for 12 to 16 weeks. A basement, unheated shed, or garage works best. This “resting” time in a cool, dark place convinces the bulbs they have experienced winter and they should be ready to start growing once they’re exposed to “sun” and “warmth.”

Time to Flower
Check the bulbs in storage after about 3 months or when you notice shoots emerging and roots peeking through the drainage holes. Then bring the pots into a sunny, warm room. For the first week place them in a 55°F room to start growing. Keep them well watered. When bulb shoots are 2 inches tall, place them in a 68°F room. The bulbs should flower within one week. If you start winterizing your bulbs in November, most will be flowering in February. 

If you don’t have room for storing potted bulbs in the house, place the loose bulbs in paper bags in the refrigerator crisper for 6 weeks. Then pot them up and store them in a 55°F room for one month before bringing them into a warmer, sunny room to bloom.

The warmer the room, the faster the bulbs will come into flower. Cooler rooms (55°F to 60°F) tend to slow down flowering. You can experiment with getting your flowers to bloom on a certain day by adjusting the room temperature just like professional growers do!

After the Show
After flowering, compost the bulbs and soil. Forced bulbs usually don’t flower again even if you plant them outdoors. If you can’t stand the thought of throwing them out, cut back the flower stalk and let the leaves yellow naturally. Plant the bulbs outdoors in spring when your in-ground bulbs are blooming. You never know what might happen next year!