By Mary Jo Baur
If you choose the right varieties of tulips, daffodils and crocus, it is fairly easy to plant those bulbs in pots and get them to bloom in the winter or very early spring inside your home. You should select short, early blooming kinds such as 'Monte Carlo' or 'Purple Prince' tulips, or 'Katie Heath' or 'Jack Snipe' daffs. A good yellow crocus would be 'Golden Yellow," and a white would be "Jeanne d'Arc." Try "Flower Record" for a purple crocus. Not only can you grow these kinds in a pot by themselves, it is also possible to combine the three types of bulbs in one container if you do so correctly.
Choose a large, deep pot if you are going to layer all three types in one pot. Start with 2 inches of potting soil, then put in your tulip bulbs, which can be placed closer than you would normally in the ground. Add an inch of soil, then add the small variety of daffs, another inch of soil, then the crocus bulbs. Top with a final inch of soil and water well. Let the water drain out the holes in the bottom of the pot. Then the bulbs need a period of coolness to mimic winter growing conditions. You can provide this by placing the pot in an unheated garage, basement or shed. This can take between 3 and 4 months, and you should keep the soil moist, but not too damp. After that time, take the pot indoors to a cool, sunny room to bloom. Depending on the varieties you have used, it may take several weeks before you see them bloom. If you can provide your bulbs with what they need, you will be rewarded with a lovely container of flowering plants in the winter that will remind you that spring is coming soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment