There are very few more rewarding tasks in the
cultivation of a home garden than forcing bulbs into riotous bloom in
the middle of winter. With a little practice and a little foresight you
can assure yourself of some wonderful spots of color throughout your
house that will continue all winter long.
It is an inexpensive way to
beautify your home, and nowhere near as difficult as most people seem
to think. Before we get into any real discussion of bulb forcing, there
is one point that must be made. Never substitute quantity for quality.
If you are offered bulbs at a special price the chances are that they
are inferior in quality. The difference in price between a good bulb
and a poor one is little, but the difference in performance is great.
The one requirement for successful bulb-raising other than common sense
and foresight is a cool place in which they can be started. Most bulbs,
with only a few exceptions, need the equivalent of a cold frame or a
bulb cellar.
This requirement can be met by your cellar if the furnace
doesn't keep it too hot, by an unheated sun porch, or even at times by
a cool closet where the temperature can be kept at about 50 to 55 degrees.
If, during their rooting periods, the bulbs get much warmer than this,
they will dry out and fail to bloom.
The methods of forcing and the time it takes from when the bulbs are
first set in the rooting medium until the blossoms open vary from plant
to plant, and so we have discussed the procedures with each flower
described. We have chosen to outline three of those which require the
least special equipment and which give best results.
Amaryllis is a flower which can be forced extremely easily. It produces
several large lily-like flowers in a great variety of colors, white,
red, crimson, red and white striped, etc. Plant the Amaryllis bulb,
preferably one to a pot, about two-thirds of its height in a rich, well
drained potting soil.
Unlike most bulbs it does not need to be kept
particularly cool, but can be kept in a shady spot at regular room
temperature. It should be well watered at planting and not allowed to
dry out. It will take two or three months before it reaches the
flowering state and so if you want plants in flower during the winter
you should pot them up before December.
Since this is one of the plants
which will bloom a second year, don't throw it out when it has lost its
flowers. Keep it growing for the foliage, giving it plenty of water and
plant food until the possibility of frost is past. Then move it out
into the garden for the summer.
In the fall, bring it back into the
house and give it a rest period by cutting down its water supply and
nutrients. Then repot in October or November and start the cycle over
again.
Calla Lily is another bulb plant which doesn't require an especially
cool starting environment. It does require a good rich potting soil to
which a generous dose of plant food has been added and plenty of water.
Except that it should be watered more often, it can be treated much
like the Amaryllis, being allowed to grow after its blooming period. It
should be gradually dried out, starting in July, bulbs and allowed to
rest for a period of six to eight weeks.
It is generally recommended
that after the water supply has been cut back the pots be laid on their
sides to keep the roots absolutely dry. Then in the fall repot, feed
and start again. During its flowering period, which lasts several
weeks, the Calla Lily and its numerous varieties produce some
startlingly handsome flowers in many different colors.
Gloxinia is one of the most beautiful of all the bulbous types,
producing great masses of multicolored flowers with each blooming. They
are cared for in much the same way as Calla Lily except for the soil.
They need a loose porous soil to which peat humus has been added. It is
also a good idea to see that the soil is well drained and that charcoal
is added to purify it.
