Yes, I know they’re foolproof to force. So this year I decided to pass on the no-brainer bulbs to instead see just how hard it would be to force (or should I say strongly encourage?)
Photographs by Michelle Slatalla.
The trick to getting muscari bulbs to bloom is to persuade them that spring has arrived after they’ve endured a long, cold winter.
I decided to force the bulbs in my favorite April Vase; €161.67 from Tsé & Tsé. Muscari flowers get leggy; a tall, narrow vase that holds each bulb snugly in the bottom will prevent leaves from flopping before flowers bloom.
In addition to a vase, you’ll need a few other materials.
Bulbs do not like to sit in standing water; they rot if that happens. Step 1: Using a spoon or terrarium tools, add a 1- or 2-inch layer of pebbles to the bottom of the vase.
Step 4: Place each bulb with roots down (and crown up) on top of the moss cushion.
Step 6: After eight weeks, you should see tiny green shoots starting to grow from the top of the bulbs’ crowns. Step 7: Give each bulb a teaspoon or two of water every two or three days–just enough to moisten the moss and the soil.
Within a week of coming out of the refrigerator, my bulbs had 6-inch leaves.
I started to see stalks with small purple clusters of flowers growing up through the center of the leaves.
My muscari flowers were still going strong three weeks after coming out of the refrigerator.
What’s next for these little guys?