ng bulbs rings FORCING BULBS has become a popular pastime for people who are anxious to see spring color months before Canada’s long winters are over. Forcing means encouraging bulbs that normally bloom out- doors in the spring to bloom in- doors during the. winter. In a sense, we trick the bulb into blooming outside of its regular season. The technique itself is a simple one and almost any bulb — nar- cissus, tulip, crocus, etc. can be forced. Since fittle horticultural skill is required, it is an excellent project for beginning gardeners and now is the perfect time to Start. Bulbs to be forced should be planted in a plastic or clay pot with at least one drainage hole and a rickr yet light soil should be used. A mixture composed of one part pas- teurized garden loam, one part vermiculite and one part peat moss will give excellent results. For the best possible flowering, use as many bulbs as will, fit into the pot without touching each other. Bulbs should be planted so that they are just under the surface of the soil. They should then be watered well, leaving the pot to soak over- night, and put into cold dark storage — in a basement, refrigerator, a garage or even plac- ed outside in a trench deeply covered with shredded styrofoam and feaves. During this period of cold treatment, the only further care needed is an occasional check to ‘make sure the soil remains moist. Considering that bulbs already contain an-almost fully developed flower bud, it should be a simple task to get them to bloom when required. However, there is one step in forcing with which many people have trouble: they simply don’t know when to remove the bulbs from cold storage and to br- ing them into the light. First of all, it must be understood that there is no clear- cut period of time during which bulbs should be kept at cool temperatures. Everything depends on the exact conditions given, and also on the type of bulb. , In most cases, temperatures of about 5° to 9°C will produce the fastest growth, while temperatures much higher or lower will slow things down. In general, a 12 to 14 week period of cold is safe for any bulb. Some bulbs such as paperwhite narcissus can in fact, be forced at room temperature. There are a few simple tests you can make to see if your bulbs are ready or not. 1, Check the root system. Bulbs with only a few roots are not yet ready to be forced. They should have an abundant supply of them before they can support flowering. One possible sign that the bulbs are ready is when roots emerge from the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot. However, an even more thorough check is highly recom- mended. Turn the pot upside down and, supporting the soil with one hand, gently remove it from the rootball. If the bulbs are ready to be forced, the entire inner surface a) meter of the pot should be nearly covered in white roots and the soil should hold firmly together. Anything less means that the bulbs need more time at cool temperatures. 2. Study top growth. Another sign that bulbs are ready to be forced is that sprouts have ap- peared from the top of the bulb and seem firm and well-developed. When you can feel the flower- bud in the sprout above the bulb and the average cold requirement of 12 to 14 weeks of 9°C has been reached, it is time to place the bulbs in the livingroom. If the bulbs were stored out- doors and temperatures were very cold, the sprouts may be frozen when brought in. Although this in itself does no harm, care should be taken not to touch the sprouts un- til they have thawed out. At first, place bulbs in the coolest spot possible — perhaps near a north-facing window or in a cool basement -— then gradually move them to a spot where night months temperatures of about 15°C can be maintained. Although partial sun is sufficient, full sun will produce more attractive plants. Once temperatures have been increased, your bulbs will flower within a very short time — be- tween a few days and two weeks, depending on the type of bulb, Watering should be maintained throughout all stages of forcing. One final note: if you have planted several pots of bulbs for forcing, make the pleasure last for as long as possible by removing the pots from cold storage one at a time. That way, as few as five or six pots can give you color throughout much of the winter. 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