When I posted the above image on Facebook yesterday, the reaction (such as it was) pretty much amounted to huh? If bulb sales are in trouble, the art of bulb forcing seems barely to exist outside of commercial flower growers and maybe people in other countriesthough Im not sure of that.
It doesnt help that bulb forcing instructions are prone to wide variation and are apt to make vapid (and unrealistic) guarantees like imagine your windowsills filled with an array of dazzling flowers! You can chill the bulbs alone, chill them in their planting media, chill them for 2 weeks in the fridge or for 8 weeks in the fridge, move them right into the sun or move them gradually into the sun. Im not that surprised that few gardeners bother with it; it does take planning and temperature conditions that arent always possible in contemporary homes with attached garages.
I dont force dozens of hyacinths and tulips (plus a few muscari this year) because its easy or because I expect my windowsills to be filled with dazzling flowers. I like the ritual just as muchor morethan the results. Its not particularly easy. And it might be cheaper to buy commercially forced flowers in the spring, given what I spend on bulbs, pots, and soil.
But I happen to have a root cellar, plus a cold attic I could likely use in a pinch. It gives me something to work on during the final months of fall, when theres not too much happening in the garden. And I love the history of it, particularly all the vintage forcing vessels you can use (and here). It harks back to a time when fresh flowers werent that easy to come by if you didnt have a greenhouse, and longform ways of doing things were the norm.
Its not real simple, its just real. BTW, I think Old House Gardens can be trusted for some good instructions.
Via: Call me archaic
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