Forcing bulbs means getting them to bloom according to your schedule. You provide a controlled winter and a small spring, and they give you flowers in return. - Buy the largest bulbs you can find. They'll send up bigger flowers.
- Line up clay pots. A pot 6" to 8" in diameter holds four to six good-sized bulbs.
- Before you plant, soak the empty pots in a sink or bucket (figure A): dry clay pots can wick water away from the soil.
- Place a bit of plastic window screen over the drainage hole to keep soil from washing out. Paper coffee filters work well too.
- To ensure good drainage and provide some nutrients, place a handful of compost in the bottom of the pots, then combine a good-quality potting mix half-and-half with sand.
- Fill the pots half full of the sand-and-soil mix.
- Place the bulbs, pointed ends up, side by side in the pots so they're almost touching (figure B). Top the pots with soil mix, leaving room to water.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon bulb fertilizer, then water each pot well.
- Place pots in a cool, dark, dry area--an unheated garage or basement that stays around 50 degrees works well.
- After the appropriate period of chilling (for tulips, eight to 10 weeks; daffodils, 12 to 14 weeks; small bulbs such as crocuses, grape hyacinths and freesias, four to six weeks), bring the pots indoors to a cool, sunny room. After the bulbs finish blooming, remove the faded flowers.
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