Wouldn’t it be lovely to force daffodil bulbs in time for Mother’s Day! Let’s force daffodil bulbs inside! Here’s the quick and easy how-to!
One thing that makes me happy year round, are flowers. Having flower arrangements throughout the house always puts a smile on my face. And how couldn’t it, really? Pops of color inside when there’s none outside at the moment. Here in the northeast, outdoor blooms are still a ways off. No fancy flower arrangements required, just whatever is on hand at the grocery store to bring much needed verve to the doldrums of winter.
Heck, I’m so anxious for the end of freezing temps that I’ve seriously entertained tilling soil right here inside and planting my own flower cutting garden. And you know what? I can!
And You Can Too!
Remember back during the holidays when I showed you how to force paper white bulbs? Well, daffodils are in the narcissus family also, so why not grab some of those bulbs and plant them in a pot and force them to bloom.
Here in the northeast, we won’t start to see blooms outside until late April, early May. That’s a long time to wait, so why not force some bulbs inside. Planting daffodil bulbs inside works much the same way as forcing paper whites.
Plant the bulbs in well-drained soil, pointy side up, with the soil coming just to the pointy part of the bulb. Water the soil well and place in a cool dark location for two weeks. Then, bring them into the warmth and light in the house. This is now tricking the bulbs that spring has arrived and therefore, “forcing” them to bloom. It’ll take around three weeks to see a bloom, but tending to the indoor garden pots certainly fills that tending-to-the-garden craving. It’s that easy and the bulbs do most of the work.
Keeping the soil moist, but not soaking wet is the name of the game, along with good filtered sun exposure. Soaking soil will cause the bulbs to rot, and of course we don’t want that.
The actual planting inside can be a little messy, so I spread a newspaper out on the floor and worked over the paper. M & C joined me and helped arrange the bulbs that the three of us decided to bunch together. Daffodils look great in clusters, so we planted around 8 bulbs each in the 8-inch pots.
Tulip bulbs can be forced with this technique, too!
You can use any size pot you’d like, just make sure that there’s room for root growth. Daffodil and tulip root growth requires 3-4 inches of space below the bulbs.
Another fun part is choosing the pot. Although I do recommend using a heavy pot as these flowers are top heavy when in full bloom. I would shy away from using plastic or lightweight pots. Another tip – if you choose a container without a drainage hole, water carefully. Again, soaking wet soil will rot the bulbs, and that of course, defeats the purpose. In the containers I use without drainage holes, I use a squirt bottle to mist over the bulbs and dampen the soil. Check the soil first with your finger, and if it feels moist to the touch, I would wait a day to water, but check on your bulbs daily.
I found the daffodil bulbs that I’m forcing right here.
Although it’s officially spring, we’re still expecting quite a few below freezing nights here in the northeast. If you live in a climate where daffodils won’t bloom for another couple months, forcing them right now would be a perfect gift for Mother’s Day. It’s like a little bitty spring garden inside the warmth of your own home.
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