Have you got tulip, daffodil or other bulbs left over from your fall buying spree? Bulbs that you still haven’t planted? Now is an excellent time to pop them in a pot for some late-winter indoor blooms.
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The simplest idea is to put all of the same type of bulb in a shared pot, but if you want to get creative you can put many different bulbs in one pot. Daffodils, tulips and hyacinth, for example.
You can use about anything as a growing medium – potting mix, pebbles or colored glass. Barely cover the bulbs, which should be closely packed but not touching.
Water them well and stow them someplace where the temperatures will be below 45 degrees but not below freezing – like a garage, an unheated attic or a cellar bulkhead. You could even put them in a trench outside, covered with leaves. If you don’t have a garage or cellar, put your well-watered pot into a tightly closed plastic bag in your refrigerator. Leave them in the cool area for at least eight weeks.
After the eight weeks, bring the bulbs inside – where it’s at least 60 degrees – and the bulbs will bloom in a few weeks. The gardening term for this is “forcing bulbs.”
Once they’ve gone by, you can replant the bulbs outside. They won’t bloom the first year, but should after that.
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