Expert: Long Island Gardener - 12/4/2007

Question
QUESTION: We placed our bulbs in soil in pots,  fertilized and watered them, covered them with plastic,and placed them in our basement refrigerator.  We are worried about the water, should we replant them and not water them?  Linda is wondering how long until we see the sprouts?  We used a mix bag of 40 mixed pink and white Tulipa Triumph (mid spring) tulips and about a dozen Tete A Tete daffodils.

ANSWER: Refrigerator chilling is VERY tricky, friends.  You need lots of air circulation to make up for the fact these things are in a pot.  It is extremely difficult.  Not impossible, which is why you are going to give it a shot.  No gardener likes to hear that they can't do something.  They figure they will be the first.  Maybe the last.  But nothing is impossible.

That cover of plastic -- a problem.  Traps air, moisture.  Anaerobic bacteria are your enemies.

These have to stay in the fridge, in temps around 40 degrees, for at least a month or two.  This is the 'cold treatment' you are giving them.

They should be in total darkness and they should be watered very little to keep the bacteria populations down.

Remember, I said this is extremely difficult.

I do not use those words lightly!

After the chilling, if you succeed there, the hard part begins.  Yes, the hard part.  Because you still have Mt Everest to climb.  Because you have to still keep them cool, in the 40s (F), but they need Full Sun at the same time.  Any ideas on how to pull that off in your refrigerator?

A nearby windowsill (outdoors) would work if it is cold and Sunny.

It's not like growing Avocado Seeds in a glass of water at all with toothpicks.  Not at all.

The bulbs if still viable will gradually break dormancy and start to grow.  If it is not too warm, and everything else works properly, your bulbs will finally bloom.

Now, you used the word 'soil', which makes me nervous.  'Soil' is one of those words that could be anything.  What I wish you had said, instead, was that you planted them in Sand and Gravel.  If it isn't too late, replant in a mixture of 3/4 sand and a few handfuls of bone meal and Topsoil.  The soil must be dry while you're doing this.

It is tricky.  Have I mentioned that yet?

Let me know how it goes.  A cold basement (Unheated) will work better.  More air circulation.  Fewer anaerobes.

Keep me posted and good luck.  You'll need it.  Bless you for trying.  Only a true Gardener would ever try to pull this off.  And succeed.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: O.K. Gave up on tulips had neighbor kid dig a 40X16X7 inch hole for the tulips in a new garden I was going to start next spring-. he needed the money for the holidays anyway . kept the tete/tete in the fridge should I repot them dry ? Linda wants to put them as is in her unheated green house on the back porch( half day sun) JUST HOW DO YOU FORCE BULBS ANYWAY?

Answer
Buy a round trip ticket to the Fiskars website:
http://www.fiskars.com/US/Garden/Dig+In!/Gardening+Topics/Gardening+Topic+Detail

describes Tulip-forcing basics: 'Generally, Tulips need at least 12 to 16 weeks to bloom if started in September or October, but only 8 to 10 weeks if started in December.'  I agree their advice that clay pots work best - the biggest problem with bulb-forcing is bulb rot; anything you can do to keep that from happening is a good idea.

Simulate Winter, they say at Fiskars, "by placing the potted bulbs at 32 degrees to 50 degrees F in a dark area such as an unheated garage or basement. A refrigerator crisper works well.'

The fridge is good only as long as there are no real fruits in the fruits-and-vegetables storage crisper: 'Never put them next to fruits such as apples that emit ethylene, a gas that hinders flowering.'  Ethylene gas is emitted in small but fatal quantities from dieing flowers and other unexpected places.

They also note: 'In warm areas, you can even leave them outdoors as long as the temperature doesn't go below freezing or above 50 degrees F.'

Once the big chill is over, you'll need a sunny and very cool, but unfrozen, spot to grow and bloom your potted Tulips.  We have an unheated basement with no light whatsoever.  Forcing pots of bulbs involves bring the pots outside on unseasonably warm mid-winter mornings and taking advantage of as much sun as possible, then stuffing them back in the unheated basement at dusk to keep them from freezing.

That dance was critical to success.  The bulbs still need to be cold.  If you put them on a windowsill indoors, they'll end up 'blind' or 'blasted', with buds that almost looked as if they were about to bloom, but disintegrated just before opening.  After all that work and all that waiting, you don't want to blow it at the very end.

That said, I can tell you that every tedious minute of care was worth it.  There is absolutely nothing like a collection of clay pots sitting on the front steps with Hyacinths, Daffodils and Tulips you have forced yourself all winter long.  A single pot as a gift is unforgettably beautiful.  A few steps of pots stop traffic.

Thanks for writing.