78 
House & Garden 
FORCING BULBS FOR WINTER FLOWERING 
By Using the Proper Methods at the Right Time Success is Assured for the 
Indoor Cultivation of Hyacinths, Tulips and Narcissi 
E. BADE 
Plant the 
R o m a n hy¬ 
acinth s in 
October or 
N o v e mber 
keep outside 
until frost 
T HE forcing of various 
suitable plants depends 
upon a number of fac¬ 
tors, the most important of 
which is that the plant must 
have had normal growth the 
preceding year and have 
formed well developed roots, 
bulbs or tubers. Only under 
such conditions will flowers 
be formed. When it is de¬ 
sired to have flowering mig¬ 
nonette or chrysanthemum in 
the winter, it is advisable to 
plant them early. It is use¬ 
less to force them. Hardy 
plants like iris and dielytra 
must not only have completed 
their vegetative period, but 
they also must have passed 
through a period of rest. Un¬ 
der no other condition can 
they be forced. The same is 
true for gladiolus. Bulbs of 
these species can be taken up 
as soon as the leaves have 
died back to the ground. 
Then they are stored in a cool 
cellar, and, after remaining 
quiescent for a time, they are 
replanted. If they are hardy 
it is best to let the plants re¬ 
main in the soil until the 
frost has nipped them, as they 
are then in a state of rest. 
As soon as the bulbs, tu¬ 
bers, or root stocks have been 
potted, they are stored in any 
convenient spot where the 
frost can not reach them. 
When it is evident that they 
have begun to grow, they are 
to be brought into the full 
light of the sun. 
The cultivation of bulbous 
or tuberous plants in the 
window garden is simple if 
two important rules are kept 
in mind. First: the develop¬ 
ing and growing plants must 
be placed as near the window 
as convenient. It is absolute¬ 
ly imperative that they re¬ 
ceive as much sunlight as 
possible. Second: when the plants have 
completed their growth, and the leaves be¬ 
gin to turn, the water given them should 
gradually be decreased so that the resting 
stage is automatically forced upon them. 
All these plants must go through a dor¬ 
mant period, and this begins when the 
leaves become yellow and die. At this time 
the water is decreased until, finally, none 
Mould the 
earth gently 
around the 
rim of the 
pot into a 
depression for 
watering 
When the first 
growth appears 
the plant should 
be brought into 
the sunlight 
Water should be 
poured carefully in¬ 
to the little channel 
about the pot’s rim 
If the plant is kept 
in a cool sunlit room 
the first bloom will 
appear very soon 
The nearer 
the plants are 
kept to a 
sunny w in - 
dow the more 
they will grow 
At the right 
the Roman 
hyacinths are 
shown at the 
height of 
their bloom 
is to be given. When the plant has died 
back to the soil, the bulb or tuber remains 
dry until the beginning of a renewed vigor 
shows itself. It is to be remembered that 
the resting stage cannot be forced upon the 
plant. The leaves are to be kept green as 
long as possible for it is these which now 
aid in the formation of next year’s flower. 
It is generally such hardy bulbs as hy¬ 
acinth, tulips, narcissus, etc., 
which are used for potted 
forcing. These are planted 
during the months of Octo¬ 
ber and November and are 
left in the open until the 
frost. Then they are stored 
in a cool, frost-free room 
where they can receive the 
rays of the sun. Moisture is 
provided regularly, the water 
being increased as the plants 
develop. But care must be 
taken that too much is not 
given. 
When correctly cultivated, 
the plants invariably flower, 
and the time of flowering can 
be hastened or retarded as 
desired. If the pots contain¬ 
ing the bulbs with their well 
developed root system are 
placed in a warm situation, 
the flowers quickly unfold, 
but when the pot is kept cool, 
the formation of the flowers 
is greatly retarded. 
Only the best developed 
bulbs are successfully forced, 
the germ of the coming flower 
being then implanted. Small 
hyacinth bulbs produce one 
stalk with but six or seven 
flowers. A tiny lily-of-the- 
valley root stock forms a stalk 
with a still smaller number 
of flowers. Preparatory cul¬ 
tivation in the open will in¬ 
crease the yield, but this can¬ 
not be accomplished in the 
window garden. Results are 
never satisfactory 
(a) when the bulbs have 
been cultivated in a poor soil, 
(b) when they are too 
young, 
(c) when they have been 
forced to grow under adverse 
conditions, 
(d) when they have been 
weakened through warmth, 
(e) when they have been 
injured during the process of 
transplanting, 
(f) when indications of rot are present, 
((g) when they have dried up, or 
(h) when they have been kept too long in 
the soil. 
From four to six years are absolutely 
necessary for the production of a well 
formed hyacinth bulb, and the circumfer¬ 
ence of such a bulb, which of course differs 
(Continued on page 116) 
