bulbs

[faith177]

Anybody know how to force bulbs, my son brought one home and wants to try, but we dont know what it is, its fairly big, it actually has two stuck together, so do I break them apart,

 

[BeanMak]

don't break them apart- do you know what kind of bulb is it?
Actually, now is the right time of year to plant them in the ground and they will come up next year.
here is a link for "how-to"
[URL=http://hurricane.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/garden_howto.asp?partner=accuweather&type=forcing_bulbs]How to force bulbs[/URL]

 

[faith177]

I was hoping to do it in the house, my dog eats all my outside plants

 

[Crazy Liz]

How big? Some of the biggest common bulbs for forcing are in the amarylis family - although not all amarylis are suitable for forcing.

Many bulbs need to be refrigerated for about 60 days before forcing. Do you know if this one has been?

If you don't know what it is, I would refrigerate it for 60 days, then plant it in a pot with rich soil and keep it in a cool place - around 60º F, until it sprouts, then bring it out into full sun or very bright light.

Let us know what it turns out to look like!

 

[Nicaea 325]

Some people put them in the fridge to give them a false winter and then plant them in a pot outside or in the house.

 

[faith177]

hmmm the article looked like it was saying to plant it first and water it then put it in the fridge. So should I plant it first or fridge it first?

 

[Crazy Liz]

I've done it both wys. Of course if you're going to plant it in th egarden, you can't plant it first. If you're going to pot it and have room in your frige for the whole pot for a couple of months, that probably is ideal. Just keep the right amount of moisture i the soil. You don't want it to be soggy or to dry out. Water it well and drain it overnight, then put the whole pot in a plastic bag, and you should be OK.

 

[harrietvane]

I used to work at a garden center. I'd take home loads of leftover bulbs each fall and refrigerate them in brown paper bags for 8 to 10 weeks before either planting them or forcing them in rocks and water. Alot of the bulbs for planting in the fall can be forced that way: tulips, hyacinth, daffodils, amaryllis... If you force the bulbs by planting them in soil, you can later plant them outdoors and they will flower again in a year or two. If you place the forced bulb in a container filled with rocks (on top of the rocks with water up to the bottom of the bulb) and force them to bloom that way it stresses the bulb out alot more. I've found that its hardly worth keeping the bulbs after forcing them that way. Have fun!

 

[bouboul]

thanks for some advice here....
because i myself had some and i was cluelesss...
at least now i know what to do with them...
i let you know how they turn out!!!!!