October, 1918 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
BULBS FOR WINTER AND 
SPRING FORCING. 
James Livingstone. 
The time for the planting of 
Dutch bulbs will soon be here 
again, and a few instructions 
about their culture for winter and 
spring forcing would not be out 
of place at this time. 
A great many varieties of tu- 
lips, hyacinths, narcissus, etc., 
are suitable for forcing, but the 
varieties mentioned in this article 
will be found most suitable for the 
ordinary house culture. The bulbs 
are very reasonable in price, and 
with intelligent care in handling 
them will give good results, and 
afford great pleasure for the 
amount of money and labor ex- 
pended on them. 
All varieties of Dutch bulbs 
should be planted as soon as pos- 
sible after their arrival in this 
country, (which is usually in Sep- 
tember or early in October) and 
should not be delayed much after 
the first of November. In bulb 
culture ordinary good, rich gai 1 - 
den soil, with a fair amount of 
sand mixed with it, will give good 
results. In planting bulbs of 
hyacinths, tulips or narcissus in 
pots or pans don’t press the soil 
too firmly under the bulbs as, if 
the soil is too firm, the roots don’t 
get freedom to work, and then 
bulbs are apt to get raised clear 
out of the soil. The roots are then 
exposed and suffer greatly. The 
entire results, are unsatisfactory. 
Some people are very fond of 
hyacinths, while others object 
very much to their strong odor in 
a living room. They should never 
be placed in a bed room, or in a 
room where a sick person is, as 
the odor is very objectionable in a 
close room. The French Homan 
hyacinths are very pretty, and 
are easily forced. They should be 
grown in pots or pans, and can be 
planted quite closely, almost 
touching each other, and are very 
effective when grown in pans with 
five, six or more bulbs. This va- 
riety is not hardy, and should not 
be subjected to frost. After 
planting they should be given a 
good watering, and placed in a 
coo] part of the cellar. Four or 
five inches of sand or coal ashes 
should be put over them. Leave 
them there for six or eight weeks, 
or until they are well rooted, when 
they will be ready to bring into 
heat and light. The large flower- 
ing single and double Dutch hya- 
cinths can be grown in much the 
same way as the Romans, but they 
do not force so readily, and re- 
quire a longer period in the dark 
as, to get good results it is abso- 
lutely necessary that they be 
thoroughly rooted. Much of the 
failure in forcing hyacinths, tu- 
lips and narcissus, is caused by 
bringing them into heat and light 
before they are well rooted. 
In growing the Dutch hyacinths 
use a good, rich loamy soil. The 
large bulbs can be grown singly 
in five inch pots, and will give 
beautiful spikes, or they can be 
grown in pans of various sizes, the 
number of bulbs according to the 
size of the pan. They should be 
given more room than the Rom- 
ans, as they are much stronger 
growers. The bulbs should be 
placed in the pan so that the top 
of the bulb is but barely covered 
with soil, and when covered the 
soil should be about an inch below 
the rim of the pan to give room 
for watering. Give a good water- 
ing, and put away in a cool place 
covering with sand as already ad- 
vised. Don’t be in too big a 
19 
hurry bringing them into the 
light, as the longer you leave them 
in the dark the more satisfaction 
you will have. From 10 to 12 
weeks is not any too long. Dutch 
hyacinths can also be grown in 
hyacinth glasses which are made 
for that purpose. Fill the glasses 
with clear soft water so as to al- 
most touch the base of the bulb, 
put a piece of charcoal in each 
glass to keep the water sweet, and 
put them away in a dark, cool 
place till well rooted. Even when 
they are well rooted it is some- 
times hard to get the flower spike 
to develop properly. To get the 
spike to rise above the foliage it is 
a good plan to start their growth 
in a semi-dark place, and when the 
spike is growing vigorously bring 
them into full light. Another 
good plan is to put a collar of 
pasteboard or stiff paper round 
the pot or glass six or eight inches 
above the top. This will help to 
draw the flower spike up above 
the foliage. The flower spike of 
a well grown Dutch hyacinth is 
very heavy, so they should always 
be tied to a neat stake to keep 
them from growing crooked. 
Tulips should be grown in much 
the same way as advised for hya- 
cinths. The bulbs should be 
planted close together in pots or 
pans, leaving the tip of the bulb 
just above the soil. Eight or ten 
bulbs planted in a six inch pot or 
pan makes a very pretty show in 
bloom. They should be given a 
good watering, and then put away 
in a cool, dark place with the cov- 
ering of sand as already advised. 
If the cellar is furnace heated, it 
will probably be too hot and dry 
for good results. It is better to 
put the hardy varieties of tulips, 
hyacinths and narcissus out doors 
(Continued on page 21) 
