This "Jaguar" amaryllis is a single-flowering Dutch hybrid that flowers 12 weeks after planting and grows 22 inches tall.
Gardens
Winter Gems
Add color and life to winter interiors with forced bulbs. Local expert Nikki DePew of The Tended Thicket shows you how.
BY
Jennifer Jewell
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography Courtesy of Clarkson Potter/Publishers

If gardening at its core is an activity of optimism, then planting bulbs is one of its most profound gestures of hope and faith. Forcing bulbs indoors—simply for the joy of a growing, blooming element in the dark winter days—is part and parcel of this faith.

The history of forcing plants to grow out of their normal seasons dates to the Roman Empire when cucumbers were cultivated in a winter greenhouse for the emperor. The forcing of bulbs out of season is recorded as early as the 1700s, according to Scott Kunst, founder and owner of Old House Gardens, oldhousegardens.com, a mail-order company in Michigan specializing in heirloom bulbs.

Nikki Depew, owner of Denver’s The Tended Thicket floral shop, (303) 722-6815, is an avid gardener and bulb lover. “They are some of my favorite plants,” she says. “Like perennials, forced bulbs allow you to see the whole life cycle of a growing plant; from a shriveled brown orb to the miracle of a flower on your kitchen windowsill in February.” Here are some of her favorites:

Amaryllis:

Easy to force and very dramatic.  Enjoy favor in the world of growers and customers, which has resulted in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors available.
Good garden catalogues, such as Old House Gardens or White Flower Farm, whiteflowerfarm.com, as well as local garden centers and florists, such as The Tended Thicket, carry an array of bulbs each fall.

amarylis
The layers of this “Dancing Queen” amaryllis bloom are delicate and graceful. This double-flowering Dutch hybrid grows 24 inches tall.
Hyacinth and “paperwhite” narcissus:
Easy to force indoors sitting over water, in pebbles with water, or potted in soil.
While Depew loves amaryllis, she advocates trying these trickier forced bulbs. “A blooming bunch of snowdrops in the middle of February is fun,” she says.

Iris, snowdrops, tulips and narcissus other than “paperwhites”:
A cooling period is necessary in order to get the bulb to bloom. The general rule is to cool your potted bulbs 10 to 18 weeks at 50 degrees F or less. 

Other notable bulbs:

Crocus: 15-week cold treatment; cover completely in potting soil.

Daffodil: 16-to-17-week cold period; plant bulbs with top 1/3 out of the soil.

Tulip: 15-to-16-week cold period; plant bulbs with top 1/3 out of the soil.

Grape Hyacinth (Muscari): 15-week cold period; cover with potting soil.

Fritillaria: 13-to-15-week cold period; plant bulbs with top 1/3 out of the soil.

Iris: 15-week cold period; plant bulbs with top 1/3 out of the soil.

Snowdrop: 15-week cold treatment; cover completely in potting soil.

cover of the book AmaryllisPhotography from the book AMARYLLIS by Starr Ockenga.
Copyright © 2002 by Starr Ockenga. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.