A Nest for All Seasons

21 December 2010

How to Force Bulbs in Water

Forcing bulbs is fairly easy. If you missed THIS POST, it will show you a very basic technique for forcing bulbs in soil. To force bulbs in water, it is a little bit more tricky. The key is getting water to the roots while not allowing the bulb itself to sit in water. This takes a bit of attention and if you are afraid you might not check the water often enough, go ahead and through those bulb babies in some soil!

These are paperwhites (narcissus tazetta) nestled and snuggling in a glass vase specifically designed for forcing bulbs. (My husband bought me tulips last spring...isn't he nice?? don't get me started or I might go on and on about the laundry chute he just made me!! :)

Anyway, the vase is pretty straightforward except for a little ridge near the bottom and a plastic "rack" for the bulbs to sit on. If you don't have a vase that will work, just throw some stones in the bottom of a vase and you have the same basic idea. (Perhaps you shouldn't hasten to throw the rocks into a glass vase...but you get my drift).

You can just barely see the plastic rack directly under the bulb. Notice a few things in this photo above:
1. There is a green tip on the bulb - that's good!
2. The POINT is going UP and the ROOTS are going DOWN - THAT IS ESSENTIAL!
3. The bulb is peeling a bit - that is OK! It is still very well skinned :)

This is the tricky part. See those white roots? They don't start out like that. They start out crumbly and dry like an onion. (Check out a close up of daffodil bulb roots HERE). When I first start bulbs in water, I allow them to sit in water JUST long enough for the roots to "wake up" and start getting white. The roots will reach for the water and become plump. At this point, do NOT let the bottom of the bulb sit in water. You have to make sure the roots can reach water, but the bottom of the bulb doesn't rot. It takes attention, but not skill. Just keep an eye on things.