*I received free product in exchange for my review. All opinions expressed in this post are 100% my own.
how to force bulbs

I like to garden, so winter is a long and cold hiatus for me from one of my favorite hobbies! So when I received a box full of beautiful bulbs from High Country Gardens recently, I was anxious to do some planting! You may wonder how I could plant spring bulbs now — but by “forcing” bulbs indoors now, I can enjoy some beautiful spring flowers in just a few short weeks! Forcing bulbs is a way to trick bulbs to bloom indoors after a few weeks of cold storage.


High Country Gardens was nice enought to ship a whole box of bulbs to my doorstep. When I opened the box, and saw all the bulbs, it was like Christmas in January for me!

A box full of spring bulbs from High Country Gardens

I planted my bulbs three weeks ago. To plant my bulbs, all I did was gently insert them in some potting soil in a clean plastic pot with their noses pointing out. I added some water, and placed my pots in a dark and cold corner of my home’s basement. I planted an assortment of daffodils, muscari and tulips. The below pot shows a collection of tulip and muscari bulbs that I planted.

Tulips and muscari bulbs, when planted in the winter in pots and placed in a cold basement, will grow and bloom in a few weeks

 

My bulbs will need a “chilling” period of about 8 to 14 weeks before they will bloom. I can’t wait until they flower! This is what my planted bulbs look like now, some three weeks later. 




Forced bulbs at three weeks
Most people start forcing their bulbs in October or so, so I am a little late to the process. I hope all will turn out well!