You have probably seen in many of catalogs that you are getting in the mail that you can force bulbs to produce cheery plants in the middle of winter. Amaryllis, daffodils and tulips are the favorites. However, with us all on tight budget maybe learning how to force bulbs instead of rely on someone else to charge so much may be the way to go.

Most spring bulbs can be forced to bloom indoors in the winter. These are few my choices: hyacinths, tulips, narcissus, grape hyacinths and crocuses. Narcissus is commonly interchanged with Jonquils and Daffodils.

Get two or three different bulbs that you feel might be good. Be sure to use bulbs that work well in your region.I am going to use Narcissus “Golden Dawn”, “Narcissus bulbcodium Conspicuus” and Narcissus “Precocious”. I chose these because they are suppose to grow well in the South and are known as heirloom bulbs.  Then you need a decorative pot, soil and moss to cover the bulbs and soil. The best soil mix for forcing bulbs contains equal parts of soil, spaghnum moss, and perlite or vermiculite.

Fill three-quarters of the container with potting mix. Plant bulbs closely together. (Remember the planting instructions do not apply to forcing in a pot.) The tops of tulip and narcissus bulbs do not need to be covered. The bulbs should then be watered in, meaning water well and keep watered. Then keep them watered in sunlight and wait four to six weeks to see your bulbs come up!

I have heard that forcing bulbs is hard on them and the best thing to do with them after they have bloomed is to just throw it in your compost pile when you are finished; but this frugal garden just pinches off the head and puts them in the garden. They seem to always make it!