Enjoy beautiful blooms indoors this winter by "forcing" bulbs.

Imagine beautiful flowering bulbs brightening your home in the dead of winter. Sure, you can find them in garden centers in January or February, but you can also grow your own at a fraction of the cost. Just pick up your choice of bulbs now at your Fred Meyer Garden Center.

The bulb forcing process is really pretty simple…

• Plant the bulbs about 13 weeks before you want flowers. Using a packaged soil mix, fill a well-draining pot to within 2" of the rim. Set bulbs in the soil, pointed ends up, no more than 1" apart. The tops of the bulbs should be just slightly above the soil level. Water well.
• Store the bulb planters in a cool, dark place for about 10 weeks. The ideal temperature is about 40 degrees or less, but not freezing. A spare refrigerator or unheated basement works well.
• After 10 weeks or so, start forcing the flowering process. Bring some of your pots into a bright but cool room (about 60 degrees). As foliage develops, water and move into a sunny, warmer room. You should be rewarded with beautiful blooms and fragrance within about 3 weeks.

For a succession of flowers, stagger when you introduce pots to the cool room... bring in a few a week for several weeks.

Bulbs that "force" best include Paperwhite Narcissus, Daffodils and Hyacinth (large bulbs). Amaryllis bulbs are "pre-cooled" so they don't have to go through the 10 week cooling process before you start forcing the flowering process. For other varieties, check the labels on the bulk bins or bulb packages and look for wording that indicates a variety is "suitable for forcing."

So get planting. All it takes is a stop at your Fred Meyer Garden Center!

While much of the information in these tips is applicable in several gardening zones/climates, some of the plants and timing suggested are best suited to the Northwest, generally in the mild/wet growing regions found along the I-5 corridor. You should make appropriate adjustments or consult local gardening experts in regions whose climates differ from this area of the Northwest.