Why wait for spring when bleak winter clays can be bright with early flowering bulbs?
Designed for busy people and limited window space, these cool-flowering bulbs, often called “the minor bulbs” are easy to grow indoors.
Small bulbs are inexpensive too, but for best results avoid bargain leftovers from outdoor planting. Only plump healthy bulbs are worth your efforts.
Establishing Root System
Establishing a sound root system is the basic requirement for all flowering bulbs. To stimulate proper root development, pots should be stored in a cool place, preferably dark, to discourage premature top growth.
I root bulbs in an old aquarium or window box in a cool basement corner. Pots of moist earth in an aquarium need not be watered for several weeks, provided the aquarium is covered with a strip of glass or plastic.
However, it is necessary that a slight opening be left at both ends to admit air and prevent excessive moisture from collecting.
Earth-filled window boxes, vacated by their summer occupants, are fine for rooting small pots of bulbs and may be left by Robert C. Baur outdoors until needed.
Rooting generally takes from two to six weeks depending upon the kind of bulb. When roots protrude from drainage holes or sprouts wear that impatient spring look, bulb pots are ready for promotion to a cool window sill.
Cool may be defined as any window, not over a heating outlet that receives some sunshine, but not intensely hot afternoon sun.
Don’t subject bulbs that normally flower outdoors in freezing temperatures to indoor summertime heat.
Sunny basement or attic windows are too cool for other plants and are often suitable for early bulbs. Blossoms need not “blush unseen,” as they may be moved into the center of attraction when buds begin to open.
There is less danger of small pots drying out too quickly if several, or a half dozen are grouped in a shallow baking tin, the bottom of which has been spread with wet moss or pebbles.
Pleasure of Flowers
The pleasure of the flowers is increased by the less work that goes into their production, so use whatever method is easiest for you. Bulb plantings at two-week intervals will provide continuous color.
Sawdust-filled kitchen canisters kept in a cool, dry place are ideal for storing small bulbs. Bulbs that sprout rapidly and those you wish to keep for longer periods may be safely stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator.
Good Investment Bulbs
Small bulbs are a good investment as they may be planted outdoors again. Post-flowering care calls for watering until the foliage has ripened. I retire bulbs to a basement window, withholding water when foliage yellows.
Grouped in a pan of wet moss, they may be neglected for long periods. The same bulbs should not be forced indoors the following year.
The following bulbs have bloomed upon my window sill, and perhaps they will do as well on yours.
Both autumn and spring species of crocus are adaptable to indoor culture. Our gardening forebears were enthusiastic about potted crocuses, possibly because they bloomed readily in chilly, poorly-heated rooms.
Pots of Staffordshire, Chelsea, and Worcester for the forcing of crocus date from 1750.
Crocus pots in the form of hedgehogs, beehives, flower baskets, shot-towers, and pyramids, advertised by New York seedsman Grant Thorburn, in 1832, lead us to assume that crocuses were as popular indoors as the contemporary African violet.
Autumn Crocuses
Autumn crocuses flower so easily that many bulb growers won’t stock them as they sprout before customer orders can be filled. Allowing two weeks to root, flowers may be expected in five weeks.
C. zonatus, rose-lilac and yellow-throated, is best for indoor culture. Also, C. speciosus, with large, beautifully veined violet-blue flowers, accented by orange anthers, is good indoors.
Although autumn crocuses will grow in pebbles and water, ordinary garden loam that has been lightened by sand is better. Lightly cover the sprouted corms in little individual pots, or plant half a dozen in a pottery bowl.
To prevent small pots from drying too quickly, submerge a number of them into the rims in a window box or large flower pot.
After flowering, transfer bulbs to a sunny garden spot, planting three inches deep and two inches apart. Foliage will appear in the spring.
Crocus Sieberi
Among the early-flowering spring species, Crocus sieberi is delightful indoors. A crop of mauve blossoms may be expected ten weeks after bulbs are planted. I plant this crocus in aquarium gravel, including a few bits of charcoal to keep the water sweet-smelling.
Care should be taken so that the water touches only the base of the bulb. Keep in a cool, dim place until roots have firmly anchored the bulbs. Exposure to any sunny temperature above freezing will bring Crocus sieberi into the flower.
Crocuses were grown in pebbles and water affording the opportunity of watching the development of the new corm.
After flowering, maintain the water level until the new corms appear, piggyback fashion, on top of the old bulb. Planted outdoors these will flower the following spring.
As blossoms fade, grass or clover seed sprinkled over the moist gravel will sprout into bright spots of greenery.
Memo To Iris Reticulata Fans
This sweet-scented bulbous iris need not be confined to a few spring days, for with a little coaxing, its season may be extended throughout the winter on a cool window sill.
Under favorable conditions, bulbs planted in October should flower for Christmas. By mid-winter, flowering time is shortened to four or five weeks.
I found two dozen bulbs that supply me with iris bloom and allow a few pots for Christmas giving. Resembling hickory nuts, “reticulata,” meaning “netted,” refers to the bulb’s netlike covering.
While a half dozen bulbs may be planted together, I prefer two bulbs in a small African violet pot which displays the individual beauty of the blossoms.
The dark purple petals with yellow markings, faintly violet-scented, may be fashioned into delightful corsages.
Iris Reticulata
Iris reticulata prefers well-drained soil. I spread a one-half inch of gravel over the bottom of the pot, lightly burying two bulbs in equal parts of sand, soil, and milled sphagnum moss. After a six-week rooting period, the waxy sprouts should be several inches high.
The pots may be placed in a cool east window that receives morning sunlight. Particularly to the lingering snows of March, Iris reticulata will do its best on the coldest window sill in the house.
Jack-In-The-Pulpit Corms
Flowering in moist woodlands from Nova Scotia to the Gulf Coast and westward to Minnesota, the beloved jack-in-the-pulpit needs no introduction.
However, it is little known as a houseplant, although it grows as easily as paperwhite narcissus.
If you can’t dig a few corms in your backyard, you will find them listed as Arisaema triphyllum in the catalogs of the wildflower nurseries.
Although corms of the jack-in-the-pulpit are easily located in early autumn by the crimson club-shaped berry clusters, bulbs intended for forcing should be marked before the foliage dies down.
Corms may be grown in wet moss or pebbles, but I prefer planting them in clay pots of rich woodland humus.
The soil in which wild plants are potted should be similar to their natural habitat. Lacking this, equal parts of milled sphagnum moss and ordinary garden soil will serve the purpose.
The corm is pressed below the soil surface, with the sprout tip barely protruding. I minimize the rooting period (10 to 14 days), for jack-in-the-pulpit will bloom in a sunny window within five weeks.
As its outdoor flowering time is later than Crocus sieberi and Iris reticulata, the jack-in-the-pulpit is more tolerant of heat.
Moist spring-like conditions conducive to rapid growth may be induced by inverting a water tumbler over the sprout.
Remove the glass when the sprout nears the top and “Jack” is on his own, asking for nothing other than a generous water supply.
Claytonia Virginica
Another native bulbous plant adapted to terrarium or pot culture is Claytonia virginica. It blooms with violets in woodlands from Eastern Canada to Texas, with related species occurring in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest. Claytonia bulbs are offered by most wildflower growers.
Claytonia may be enjoyed in terrariums, clay pots, and plastic planters. Wherever it is grown, it prefers rich woodland soil (or a mixture of potting soil and sphagnum moss.) Unless sprouted, corms should be planted two inches deep.
The appearance of the leaves is an indication that corms have rooted, for claytonia blossoms within 30 days.
As an accurate weather barometer, open blossoms on a dark, damp morning may be interpreted as a preview of sunshine. The five-petaled, starry, scented blossoms, pearly white and pink-veined, open only in sunlight.
Muscari “Grape Hyacinth”
Muscari (grape hyacinth) is an easy bulb to force. M. armeniacum (‘Early Giant’) with deep cobalt flowers, and M. azureum, a bright blue, are both excellent indoors. Planted in October, bulbs should produce buds within ten weeks.
Lightly cover the bulbs in any well-drained soil about one-half inch apart. Although foliage will appear soon after planting, about five weeks is essential for proper root development.
Common Onion, Allium Cepa
On the practical side, don’t overlook the common onion, Allium cepa. The graceful olive sprouts are lovely enough for a centerpiece. What is more, the fresh tangy sprouts harvested from your window do wonders for winter salads!
Take a dozen small onions from the bottom of the vegetable bin and place the root ends in a saucer of damp earth or moss. Plant the bulbs in your favorite ceramic bowl if you prefer.
Water generously, and you will be astonished by their rapid growth. Roots sprout within 24 hours. Within ten days, you can start snipping the sprouts.
44659 by Robert Baur