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| Forcing Bulbs into Early Bloom Now is the time to design your bulb flower beds, incorporating favorites like tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths. These spring-blooming bulbs need to experience a chilling period to bloom so they must be planted in mid to late fall to ensure a spectacular spring show. Don't want to wait until spring? You can also force bulbs indoors, and they can be ready for the holiday season. Forcing is the process of exposing bulbs to necessary cold temperatures (usually accomplished by placing them in a refrigerator) and then planting them in an environment that makes them think it is time to grow. Here are directions on forcing bulbs from GrowLab: A Complete Guide to Gardening in the Classroom: Activity 1. Purchase hardy bulbs for forcing in the fall. You can order them from the Gardening with Kids Store or purchase at your local garden centers. If you won't be planting them right away, store bulbs in a cool (40 to 50 degrees F), dry, dark spot. Because bulbs are living things, you shouldn't leave them unplanted for long. 2. Plant bulbs in 6-inch pots filled with moist soilless mix (up to three bulbs per pot). Bury the bulbs to their tips, with pointed ends facing up. No fertilizer is needed since they have their own food stored within. 3. Place bulbs in a cold place (garage, cold frame, or refrigerator) for a minimum of eight weeks (read the planting instructions to double-check on the cold treatment needed since this can vary by species and variety). This cold treatment simulates the necessary winter conditions. If you have a number of bulbs, you can experiment with the timing of the cold treatment. For instance, try to grow some without a cold period, some with only two to four weeks and others with six to eight weeks. Ask students to track growth rate and then discuss their observations. 4. Next, move the containers inside and put them under normal classroom light for two weeks. Then put them under your indoor garden lights or onto a windowsill. They should bloom in two to four weeks. Once they have begun blooming, remove them from the bright lights of the indoor garden to encourage a longer bloom period. 5. If you want to try saving your bulbs for another year, you must leave the foliage on after the blossoms have faded and fertilize the plants regularly. It's during this time that a bulb produces and stores food for next year's flower. Rather than attempting to force bulbs the following year, you can plant them outside. It may be two to three years before they'll produce another good bloom. For more information on bulbs, check out the September issue of Kids Garden News. |
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