Van Dycks

If you look at most articles on bulb forcing they tell you to put a single layer of bulbs in a pot - all one kind. This is all very well if you have tons of pots and can bank them up to simulate a garden. But if you have several kinds of bulbs and want to make a spring garden in a dish there must be an easier way - right? Of course right! I am going to show you not one but two ways to make a miniature garden of mixed spring bulbs.

Chilling Times

Your first job, of course, is to order the bulbs and make sure that they are chilled so that they are all ready to emerge from cold storage together. To get a grand display you will want to time things exactly, so that all the bulbs get a long enough chilling period, and that all the bulbs that you use take approximately the same length of time to flower once they are moved into light and warmth.

For instance, crocus, iris reticulata and scilla siberica all need 15 weeks of chilling time, and then take 2-3 weeks to bloom - so if you pot them in the same container you can be assured that most of them will bloom at the same time. daffodils, on the other hand, take from 15-17 weeks of chilling, and tulips from 14-20 weeks - so whether you can get them to bloom with the crocus will depend on the tulip in question. There is a bulb forcing time table at Bulb.com that will give you some guidance on this.

Choosing a Container and Planting it

Your second job is to choose a suitable container. You will be layering your bulbs, largest on the bottom, smallest on top, so you want a container wide enough to hold a nice variety of bulbs, and deep enough that they will not be poking their little noses above the rim. You also need to make sure that the pot has good drainage. I look for plastic pots for the actual planting, and find either cache pots or other suitable containers that will hold and disguise the plastic pot when it comes into public view.

When you are forcing bulbs you don't have to worry too much about planting distances. You don't want the bulbs to touch, but they can snuggle together fairly closely.

Put two inches of good soil, mixed with compost and some sand, perlite or vermiculite to help drainage, in the bottom of the pot. Now add a layer of large bulbs - normally your daffodils and tulips are bottom layer plants. Some of the smaller narcissus and species tulips have small bulbs, though - if you have a deep enough bowl you may want to save these for your second layer. As I said, these bulbs can be planted quite closely as long as they don't touch.

Now, sift dirt over this layer until it is almost covered. Then take your medium sized bulbs and lay then in the spaces formed between the tips of the bottom bulb layer. You may want to space these a bit father apart, just to give the bottom stems more pace to emerge. Sift more dirt over these. If there is still room in your container, add a third layer of the smallest bulbs like crocus or grape hyacinth.

Cover this final layer with dirt - they can be almost at the surface but really shouldn't show through the final layer of soil. Make sure that you still have at least an inch of space at the top of the container to allow for easy watering without spillage.

Water the entire container well, in order to help the soil settle around the bulbs. You want the soil to be moist, but not soggy.

Methods for Chilling

At this point, you are ready to put your garden-to-be into cold storage. If you live in a cold climate, an unheated room might do, or a cold frame. An unheated garage is also suitable if it doesn't get too cold inside. While bulbs planted in the ground can take very low temperatures, they are much more vulnerable to freezing in pots. A temperature of between 41 and 48 degrees F. is ideal.

If you don't have a naturally suitable place, try an old refrigerator. The really old round-topped ones are ideal, because, not being frost free, they generate humidity and keep the bulbs from drying out. Modern ones will do, in a pinch (and most of us are probably in that pinch) but watch your bulbs carefully to make sure that they do not dry out. Moist but not soggy is the key here.

One warning. If you are using a refrigerator, don't let the bulbs get near ripening fruit, which gives off an ethylene gas that can harm the bulbs. Keep either the bulbs or the fruit in a crisper drawer, to keep things safely separated.

All you have to do now is wait until the chill period is up - although you will want to check from time to time to make sure the soil is moist. You'll be able to tell when things are getting ready to happen because you should see nice strong roots emerging from the pot's drainage hole.

The Great Unveiling

At that point, it's time for the great unveiling. All you will see at first is dirt, and, if you're lucky, little green nubs. But have faith.

Don't shock the little nubs by rushing them straight to the sunny warm windowsill. They've just spent 15 weeks or so in the cold and dark and need to be awakened gradually. Let them spend a few days in a cool. Dim room. Then bring them into the sunlight and introduce them to the world.

Things should start happening fast now. Green sprouts should begin shooting up, leaves should start unfurling, and, at long last, buds will appear. And before you know it, long before the snows have melted and winter has faded from the outside world, it will be spring on that sunny windowsill.

And now it's time for a secret

There is a way to get all your flowers blooming together even if you aren't sure about the length of time the tulips, daffodils and other plants may require to bloom. It will take extra bulbs and extra space for chilling, but you will also be able to get a longer indoor bloom season this way.

Instead of planting everything in a single container, plant your bulbs in peat pots. Put some of the tulips into the cold area each week, and watch for that bit of telltale green before removing them. Do the same with other plants with variable chilling requirements.

If you are planting tulips, which need anywhere from 14 to 20 weeks of chill time, put some in three weeks before those plants with definitely known chilling requirements, some two weeks before, some one week before, one week after, etc.

When the root systems develop and the first hints of green emerge, treat these individual pots just as you did your layered container - but leave them in their peat pots (on a tray to absorb moisture) until you can begin to gauge their readiness to flower.

Then take the ones that look like they will bloom together and arrange them in a wide container. You can (and should) add dirt to cover the rim of the peat pots) and add sphagnum moss to make the whole arrangement more attractive.

You will have spare bulbs in peat pots of course - perhaps enough to make a few smaller arrangements, and most certainly enough to be able to tuck a stray bloom or two into a cache pot to brighten a wintry corner of the house. You may not fool Mother Nature with this method - but you may fool a lot of your friends into thinking that you are a real whiz at bulb timing and forcing.