One of the best ways to overcome winter blues is to bring a little spring season into the interior decor of your home by forcing bulbs to bloom early. The term forcing refers to stimulating a plant to bring forth its shoot, leaf, and blossom ahead of its natural schedule and outside of its natural environment. To force hardy bulbs will require you to imitate and shorten the process the plant would undergo outdoors in the garden. You can force bulbs in either water or in soil.
Force Your Bulbs In Water
Use a shallow bowl or tray with no drainage. Place gravel in the bowl or tray. Place in the gravel with the neck of the bulb sticking up and the roots down. Add just enough water to the tray so that the bottom of the bulb has just enough for the roots to absorb. Sit at a sunny window in a cool room. If the room is too warm, the flower buds can shrivel and will never bloom. Depending on the flower, you can see roots in a week and blooms in a month.
Force Your Bulbs In Soil
Trim roots to about 2 inches in length. Place in the center of the soil making sure that you spread the roots out. Do not let the bulb touch the sides of flower pot. If planting more than one, do not let the bulbs touch. Add more soil until the bulbs are covered up to the shoulder of the bulb. Water until soil is completely saturated. Do not water again until you see growth. You should see growth in approximately two weeks. Four to six weeks later, you’ll have beautiful blooms to enjoy.
After you have flowers in bloom, you can move them to an area that’s slightly warmer — mid to high 60°F — and very bright to finish the plant’s growing cycle. A sunny, south-facing windowsill is fine. Turn the pots a quarter turn each day; otherwise, the stems will lean toward the light. You will have flowers as lovely as the ones we are featuring below.
Pretty Paperwhites
Paperwhites have fragrant blooms. An easy way to provide these flowers with support is to force the bulbs in a tall glass vase.
Delightful Daffodils
The daffodil is also known as Jonquil, Narcissus, and Paperwhite. A gift of daffodils is said to ensure happiness.
Fragrant Hyacinth
Hyacinth are one of the most popular bulbs for indoor flowers. These blooms provide a burst of color that lasts for about two weeks and have a delightful scent.
Cheery Tulips
After the rose and chrysanthemum, the tulip is the world’s third most popular flower. They are most appreciated for their seemingly endless variety of color.
Growing bulbs indoors allows you to enjoy the colors spring even though it is still several months away. The process of forcing bulbs is uncomplicated and provides the color and liveliness of spring into your home. The key to success with indoor bulbs is to plan ahead.
For all of your interior design needs in metro Atlanta, GA, feel free to contact MJN & Associates Interiors. With our numerous years of experience as interior designers, we help homeowners throughout the metro Atlanta area with the design process, including fixture, finish, and color selection.
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