How To Cultivate Bulbs Of Flowers Inside?

Growing bulbs indoors, known as forcing, is an easy process that allows you to enjoy spring flowers months ahead of time. Cold-hardy spring bulbs like tulips, daffodils, crocus, and hyacinth can be planted in pots to bloom indoors in late winter. To force bulbs into bloom, follow these steps:

1. Plant bulbs close together in the pot, handling them carefully to avoid damaging them.
2. Carefully add quality potting soil around the bulbs.
3. Plant your forced indoor bulbs in heavy-based, decorative pots using a peat-free bulb compost and a thick potting mix with plenty of grit.
4. Place 2-3 cm grit into your container and wedge your bulbs on top.
5. Start begonias indoors about 10 weeks before your typical last frost date. Start waking up your bulbs by giving them a few weeks of warmer (but not too warm) temps and some indirect sunlight.
6. Choose between ceramic or terracotta pots or a glass jar or vase for planting.
7. Most bulbs need to grow in well-drained but moist soil for roots to establish, and some require a period of complete darkness. By following these steps, you can enjoy the colors and fragrance of spring months ahead.

Can I plant tulips that have already bloomed?

To encourage re-flowering of tulips, remove the seed heads after the blooms fade, allow the foliage to die back naturally, and dig up the bulbs about 6 weeks after blooming. Discard any damaged or diseased bulbs and let them dry. Store them in trays or nets in a dark, dry place over the summer and replant them in the fall. If planted in containers, they rarely bloom again due to their stressed environment.

Discard these bulbs and choose fresh bulbs each fall. Enjoy the dazzling hues of tulips for a second season by choosing from a variety of tulip varieties, including complementary colors, for a dazzling display next spring.

Will bulbs with mold still grow?

Buying moldy bulbs is generally not recommended, but they may still grow if they are firm and haven’t started to rot. If you choose to plant them, use an informal planting scheme to minimize disappointment. Plant bulbs in naturalistic, seemingly random patterns to avoid unsightly gaps if some fail. Toss a few handfuls onto a lawn or planting bed, dig holes where they fall, and plant them in rich, well-drained soil enriched with compost and a fertilizer made specifically for bulbs. This will help prevent unsightly gaps and ensure a healthy growth of your bulbs.

What to do with bulbs after they bloom indoors?

To preserve forced bulbs, it is necessary to remove spent flowers, place the plants in a sunny window, provide regular irrigation until the foliage begins to yellow, then gradually reduce the frequency of watering until the foliage withers and dies. The bulbs should then be carefully removed from the potting soil, allowed to dry for a period of 1-2 weeks, and stored in a cool, dry location. For further detailed information on the forcing of spring bulbs indoors, bulbs should be planted in the autumn.

Can bulbs be grown indoors?

A bulb garden can be created using cold-hardy spring bulbs like tulips, daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths. These bulbs can be forced into bloom through cold treatment and placed in a cool, sunny window. The bulbs should be firm, free of mildew and mold, and should be six to eight inches deep, have good drainage, and fit into a refrigerator. Choose pots that fit into your refrigerator and use new commercial potting soil. This bulb garden is perfect for winter indoor beauty, as it allows bulbs to spend the winter underground and bloom in spring.

Can I leave bulbs in pots after flowering?

Once the flowering period has concluded, the container should be relocated to a less prominent position until the arrival of spring. Alternatively, bulbs can be replanted into the borders. For further information on the planting and naturalization of bulbs, please refer to our advice pages.

What bulbs are best to force inside?

Paper white narcissus and amaryllis are easy to force without chilling and bloom quickly indoors. They are perfect for succession planting, providing indoor blooms throughout the fall and winter months. To prolong blooms, keep plants out of direct sunlight and away from drafts and heating vents. For potted bulbs, maintain a moist but not soggy soil environment. For water-grown bulbs, replace water to just below the bottom of the bulb every three days. This will ensure that these plants bloom for various occasions, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Valentine’s Day.

How to force daffodils to bloom indoors?

To force daffodil bulbs to bloom indoors, remove them from cold storage once the cold requirement is met. Place the bulbs in a cool location with low to medium light for 4 or 5 days until the shoots turn green. Move them to a brightly lit location with 60 to 70°F light. Keep the plants well watered and rotate the containers regularly. Flowering should occur 3 to 4 weeks after removal from cold storage. For a succession of blooms indoors, remove pots every 2 weeks.

Are bulbs easy to grow?

Flower bulbs are easy to plant, as they are packaged and can grow in various locations such as pots, containers, flower gardens, and even lawns. They don’t require any special knowledge or experience, just dig a hole and drop in the bulb. Spring-blooming bulbs bring vivid colors to chilly days, while summer-blooming bulbs produce spectacular flowers. Oriental-Trumpet lilies can reach 7 feet tall and produce 20 or more fragrant blossoms per stem, while dahlia plants can generate a dozen or more flowers every week from summer through fall. Amaryllis bulbs produce huge, brilliantly-colored blossoms indoors in winter.

Bulbs are dependent on their blooming time, with spring-blooming tulips, daffodils, or alliums needing to be planted in the fall for flowers the next spring. Summer-blooming bulbs like dahlias, calla lilies, and gladiolas should be planted in spring for summer and fall flowers, while amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs should be planted in early winter for indoor flowers in midwinter. Flowering bulbs provide color, fragrance, and beauty almost every month of the year.

How do you keep indoor daffodils alive?

To ensure the longevity of your newly planted daffodils, avoid placing them near heat-generating sources like radiators or fireplaces. Keep them near a window for natural light. If the leaves appear faster than the buds, move them to a cooler location until flower heads appear. Water regularly when the soil feels dry. After blooming, find a dry, frost-free place to allow the bulb to die down. Replant in a sunny, sheltered spot to see the next flower.

Do bulbs like full sun or shade?

Bulbous plants, such as camassia, prefer partial shade and require protection from the hot afternoon sun for optimal blooming. These plants, also known as wild hyacinth, produce large panicles of flowers in shades of blue, purple, pink, and white. Camassia are late-spring bloomers that thrive in moist conditions with good drainage. They are a great addition to cut flower gardens and can produce offsets that return for years with proper care. They are suitable in full sun or partial shade, but will fade faster in full sun as summer heats up.

What is the easiest flower to grow indoors from bulbs?

Daffodils are easy to grow indoors, ranging from 6 inches to over a foot tall. Tete-a-Tete (Narcissus ‘Tete-a-Tete’) daffodils are preferred for their fragrance and blooms for ten days or more. Hyacinths, with their outstanding fragrance, are grown indoors in January and typically bloom from Valentine’s Day to late February. Each bulb produces thick succulent leaves and a central spike of tight flower clusters. To avoid waterlogging, water around the inside edge of the pot.

Muscari, a unique variety with white, blue, and soft shell pink colors, is good for dish gardens and has a long-lasting foliage. The flowers sometimes have a faint fragrance of bubblegum. Some growers offer combination pots of daffodils or tulips with grape hyacinths.