Re: CULT: I. reticulata forcing
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: CULT: I. reticulata forcing
- From: "* M* <i*@email.msn.com>
- Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 08:56:14 -0700 (MST)
Greg Asked:
>Much to my chagrin, I found about a half dozen reticulata bulbs that I
>must have forgotten to get into the soil in the fall. Is there any
>possibility I could force them indoors?
Yes, Greg, you can force reticulatas. If they haven't had any cooling, you
can either try putting them in your refrigerator for about 6 weeks, or
better yet, pot them in a bulb pan (about 4 inches deep and 6 to 12 inches
wide) as deep as possible in potting soil, water it, and keep it someplace
cold and dark for 6 or so weeks. Once I made the mistake of putting several
pots out in the unheated rabbit barn, which would have been fine, except the
mice noticed the sprouts coming up before I did, and thought I had very
nicely provided them with salad in the dead of winter. I still got some
bloom, though.
When you see the leaves start to poke through the soil, bring the pots into
your warm house, in a bright spot. You should get some flowers soon after
that.
Good luck! And happy New Year.
Barb, in Santa Fe, where I only have paperwhites getting ready to bloom.
Oh, and amaryllis and orchids, but those are houseplants, anyway.
