Bulbs - Pans and 2 Layer Bulb Trick

While mild weather may run on to mid-November (or occasionally even later) here, the indoor gardener must each day think: “What will I do if frost comes tonight?” Hurriedly carrying plants from the outdoors to basement, garage, workroom or cold-frame; covering with burlap, paper, quilts or polyethylene - all these expedients can be used but it is good sense to avoid the emergency.

Some near-hardy woody treasures among the azaleas and camellias can flirt with frost if well hardened but a sudden hard freeze may burst the bark and leave the gardener in mourning, so remember and play safe.

After this month (October) the short day length will not contribute much to plant growth. Even the quickest annuals must be sown earlier for pre-January bloom or wait for the longer days of the new year to make flowering growth. Some time can be saved if garden annuals are moved indoors or if cuttings are rooted.

Not retarded by short day length are the bulbs, many of which contain the embryonic flower within the bulb at planting time. They should be planted outdoors this month, though they are quite tolerant of delay. They will develop root systems in the cold wet ground in six weeks or so, and are then ready to flower when brought indoors.

We pot up the bulbs in convenient containers, generally large shallow “bulb pans.” Then we have the alternative of burying the pots in the ground outdoors to imitate the normal environment they have when grown for spring bloom outdoors, or we can reproduce this condition artificially indoors by supplying plenty of moisture and a temperature no higher than 50 degrees. This period of low temperature is necessary for proper root development.

Although sinking the pots in the soil or merely mounding the earth up over them is adequate, most growers prefer to place the pot in a coldframe (either sunk in the soil or on top). Hay or burlap is then placed over the pots to prevent the soil from freezing and thus facilitate later removal.

There is little uncertainty with bulbs. The vigorous white roots soon fill the pot and push out through the drainage hole. The pots may be inspected occasionally (after about six weeks) to check root development. The simplest means of doing this is to use the grower’s trick of inverting pot and contents on the palm of the hand and lifting off the pot. Avoid bringing the bulbs in for forcing before the roots well fill the pot.

Some top growth may develop while the bulbs are in storage and as this has usually been deprived of light it should not be subjected to full sunlight immediately. A few days under the bench near the aisle serves well, followed by a move to a partly shaded area in the greenhouse and next to full sunlight. Watering should be watched carefully as growth is rapid.

All spring-flowering bulbs may be treated in this manner with some slight differences. Snowdrops, crocuses and the beautiful Iris reticulata root well at around freezing temperature, and at the slightest warmth will flower, sometimes not waiting to be taken out of the cold-frame. Anything more than a really cold house (45 degrees) will blast them, while daffodils, tulips and hyacinths do best with night temperatures of 50 degrees. All require full sunshine and ventilation by day.

Nothing is more foolproof than the daffodil. A method I particularly like is to use one large double-nose bulb set high upon the soil in a 4-inch pot - similar to the way an amaryllis is planted. When in flower these individual bulbs make excellent gifts at a minimum expense, and they require little space.

For a spectacular display use an old gardener’s trick of staggering the bulbs in two layers in a huge 12-inch pot. Fill the pot with some soil, then bulbs and more soil, and more bulbs (set between the spaces of the others) on top of this, leaving this upper layer of bulbs half exposed. In this way more bulbs may be accommodated in a given pot size and the lower bulbs will grow between the upper ones.

Numerous varieties of tulips - from interesting species to lush doubles - are nearly as tolerant and easy to force as daffodils, and varieties especially adaptable to forcing are generally noted in the bulb catalogs and websites.

by V Greiff

Related Articles

• Tulip Growing in Southern Areas - The secret of success with Tulip Growing in Southern Areas is Deep planting Tulip growing in the upper South although universally practiced, is not an unmixed blessing. From Oklahoma to a short distance below Dallas, tulips flower well the first season after planting but if they bloom at all the next season they give second rate
• Veltheimia - Cape Hyacinth - Veltheimia: Many years ago a great gardener from England used to write admiringly of Veltheimia, a South African bulb, listed as cape hyacinth. Here is a bulb, just distinguishable from a hyacinth bulb to the experienced eye by its slightly more pointed shape and a tinge of brownish-purple. It enjoys dryness all summer and stays perfectly