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this subject may have been discussed before, if it has, i missed it.
Has anyone ever forced bulbs? I have an article on it and it says to start them in the dark. Can I put them in a closet? The article says to start them in an attic or a mudroom.
An attic gets very little light, but I've had a mudroom and it has windows and light. I want to try this, I've never done it before, but this article has me confused.

TIA

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Barb in Mississippi,

Forcing bulbs is easy, as long as you follow the steps. The chill time is the most important. There are large numbers of articles on the web about forcing bulbs, some good, some not very good. Perhaps this one, from the University of Minnesota might be of some help.


http://www.extension.umn.edu/d...iculture/dg1116.html

thanks Barb and KimmSr... i wanted to know about this too. hope its not too late in january to start the hyacinth pot method. i'm going to put the bulbs i bought yesterday in the frig right now. then i'll figure out where to go from here.

thanks, KimmSr and bana, but i really wanted to hear from someone who has had personal experience forcing bulbs. talking to someone who has done this is alot better than reading an article with directions on what to do.

i agree there are lots of sites to google up. anyone here have personal experience doing this? inquiring minds want to know.

I used to force Daffodils, Narcissus, Tulips, and Amarylis every year, until they started to adversly affect my Asthma (although it took a few years to understand why I was having problems). We have no attic that we can access easily, no mudroom, only a 12 x 12 cellar where the furnace, water heater, and water pump are, so most of the time the pots were placed in the garage for a few weeks (unattached and unheated) before being brought in the house. Follow the directions from a good web site and you should have no problems.
Forcing bulbs is simple since those bulbs want to grow and blossom. I have even seen them try to grow and blossom with no soil around them.

Barb, I really wish some of us could help you. I've never forced any bulbs except those you buy in the containers, like amaryllis & paperwhites. There really shouldn't be that much difference between using your own bulbs and doing that.

Good luck with your experiment. I'd say take Kimms advice, follow directions from a good website and go for it.

ve

Thanks every one. I am going to follow the directions of the website that KimmSr. provided.
I went to Lowe's and HD today and they don't have any bulbs until next month, so i did find just an amaryllis bulb.
The only problem with forcing an amaryllis, I really don't feel like I'm forcing it and they grow sooooo tall.

KimmSr. do I keep it in a dark closet or out in the light?
this is what it looks like now.

I have forced bulbs in the past. The chill time is important. I tried to layer them in a very large container--daffodils, hyacinths, muscari, etc. The container was brought into the garage and the soil froze. The bulbs froze and rotted. Maybe I gave them too much water to start, but the pot had adequate drainage. I don't know. I am in zone 5 and would not recommend that to anyone in my area. In the past, I have also potted up bulbs and put them down in the basement (actually my mother's basement) until I saw growth and then brought them up into the light and warmth. The basement was not that cold but that method worked well for my mother year after year. If you have a greenhouse or nursery in your area, why not ask them what they would do since so many of them force daffodils, hyacinths, etc for Easter each year.

Have you seen or heard about this use of alcohol in the water, to help dwarf the stem?

http://slapphappe.wordpress.co...n-alcohol-revisited/

I recall reading here on this site, about using vodka to keep paper whites from getting too tall. No personal experience, but just passing it on.

Thanks, conrad! I'm going to take out some of the marbles and use a 3% solution of alcohol. I've never heard of it, either, but I will definitely try it.

Barb, I think the chilling time is more important than darkness. The garage had only one small window (about 2 x 2), but the door was opened at least twice a day when the car was moved in or out (or is that out or in) or when we needed to get something from the garage such as the snow blower, so the potted up bulbs were exposed to some light frequently. That never seemed to have an adverse affect on them.

i'm wondering if it is too late to be doing this now. i do have my bulbs in the frig. but for how long is the question since i don't know if they were previously chilled. i seriously doubt that they were so will assume they weren't. i'll leave them there at least till the end of january now that i've read what you, KimmSr, say about chilling. barb.. are you going to chill yours?

I've never chilled an amaryllis bulb before and I really don't think I need to now. I guess if it were a different kind of bulb, I would. Everytime, I've ever planted an amaryllis, I always made sure it was in the sun and had plenty of sun. Could the lack of soil make it need chilling? If you guys think I should, I'll put the whole think in the fridge.

barb, this says you don't need to pre-chill your amaryllis bulb.
http://www.dutchgardens.com/forcing_bulbs.asp

I had my amaryllis outside last summer. In the fall, I took the entire pot and put it in the basement and forgot about it. The leaves died and the plant rested. About a week ago I noticed that it was sending up a leaf, so I brought it upstairs and it is now growing at about the rate of an inch a day. Hyacinths, daffodils, muscari, etc need to be chilled. I'd still ask a local nursery about what to do. Easter is early this year, so I would guess that they are already in the process of chilling their bulbs.

thanks, bana. I didn't think that I had to chill this one.

I agree with 16paws about the hyacinths and daffs needing to be chilled. To force an amaryllis, it needed to be in the dark and no water for a time in the fall, then bring in light and water for it to bloom around Chris--tmas. At this time of year it will bloom on its own around early March. It needs no chilling time.

thanks, amaryllis6. i kinda figured that i didn't have to chill the bulb. if it had been a hyacinth bulb or a daff, i would have chilled it.
how long does the amaryllis bulb need to be kept in the dark?

My amaryllis that are planted in the ground have about 1" of new growth. They usually bloom in March.
And all of them are thanks to Sorie/Silly Bird!

Karen I hope they bloom again this yr!!!
Wondered if you still have them

Looked up some info and read this. Stop feeding in Aug. Let rest in dark place Sept. and Oct. If you want a bloom around Dec. 25th, count back 10 to 12 weeks and start watering. That would be about the middle of Oct. I tried a few years ago and was not successful. I just let mine bloom when they want to. Most are in the ground and bloom Mar. to Apr.

quote:

Originally posted by silly bird:
Karen I hope they bloom again this yr!!!
Wondered if you still have them

So far, so good. There are a couple of the small bulbs that haven't shown up yet, but they might just be starting later.