Tulips and Hyacinths

While picking up a bale of straw to use as a winter mulch for some of the perennials in my Happy Valley garden, I started thinking about those dreary, overcast, rainy, snowy, cold, blustery, icy days we always seem to have in January and February.

With a goal of brightening those days for myself, and for some of my friends, I selected lots of pretty tulip and hyacinth bulbs to force into winter blooms. Back in my garden, I filled pots full of bulbs promising fringed red and white tulip blossoms.

Then I filled even more pots with colorful hyacinth bulbs.

After giving them a good watering, I placed the pots in between some of the perennials that needed mulching for the winter.

Next step was simply to cover that area with layers of straw.

Now, all I have to do is wait. The potted bulbs need to be exposed to temperatures of 40 to 45 degrees Fahreinheit for twelve to sixteen weeks so they can grow roots and start their flower development. I'll begin checking them after twelve weeks. Once signs of root growth and small, pale shoots are visible, I'll move some of the pots to a location where they will receive low to medium light and is at least 50 to 60 degrees Fahreinheit. After four or five days, their shoots will turn green and I can bring the pots on inside. With bright light, within three to four weeks they'll be blooming. By removing only a couple of pots every couple of weeks from the cold-storage, mulched area of my garden, we can enjoy a succession of blooms throughout the coldest part of winter.

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More pics of forcing bulbs and today's garden.

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Iowa State University published a wonderful horticulture guide on forcing bulbs - Publication-Forcing Bulbs-PM1319.pdf. Their guide provides easy how-to instruction on forcing several different varieties of bulbs, and includes a list of bulbs recommended for forcing.

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Suddenly, winter doesn't sound so bad.