Indoor garden: Forcing tulip bulbs in water

Kimberly L. Jackson

Last winter I had success with growing three types of bulbs -- grape hyacinths (muscari), amaryllis and tulips -- in plain water.

In each case, the bulbs were supported in vases of various sizes by marbles, smooth stones or faceted acrylic gems.

I got the idea from iBulb, the Dutch flower-bulb-promoting organization, which had a picture of larger hyacinths growing in water on smooth stones in shallow vases. 

I decided to try it with the three types of bulbs mentioned.

What follows is a streamlined guide to my process, which was mostly experimental with some guidance from the Lakewood, New Jersey bulb supplier Longfield Gardens, which provided my bulbs. The 'Suncatcher' tulips are shown.

1. PREPARE THE GROWING MEDIA

Start with clean vases and fillers. If needed, use a weak bleach solution (2 teaspoons of bleach in a gallon of water) to clean vases and to soak all stones, marbles or other fillers for 10 minutes. Rinse well and dry.

2. PREPARE TULIP BULBS

Tulips need a chilling period of at least six weeks to replicate winter. Some people store them in a refrigerator drawer. I didn't have room for that, and I wanted to avoid having the bulbs affected by fruits or vegetables. From November to early February, I keep my tulip bulbs in an unheated basement or garage. They stay in their plastic bag with ventilation holes for up to 12 weeks until  they are "planted" as below.

Photo courtesy iBulb

3. 'PLANT' TULIP BULBS IN WATER

For the photo below, I peeled my tulip bulbs before "planting" because, much like those shown above, the outer skins were broken.  I wanted to keep the vase water free of debris, so I removed the skins and hoped it would not adversely affect the bulbs. I've since learned from several websites that the practice is recommended as a “grower's secret" that makes it easier for the bulb to grow roots.

UPDATE (1/27/2022): For the last two years, I've left the skins on. It seems to make the bulbs less likely to develop mold. My bulbs have grown and flowered despite the mold, but it is unsightly.  

Kimberly L. Jackson Feb. 6, 2015: The date  I put the sprouted bulbs in the square vase shown at left. I used to same method for several bulbs in a large, shallow round vase/bowl. I put a single bulb in a taller cylindrical vase.

(2022 UPDATE #2: More recently, I have successfully "planted" chilled, unsprouted tulip bulbs in mid December along with hyacinths and amaryllis.)

The process is simple: Fill each vase with about two inches of stones. Add water just to the top of the stones or marbles and set bulbs on top with the pointed end up. Add water as needed.

This year, I am planning to begin earlier and stagger the planting with fewer bulbs planted each vase. I will keep the vases in the unheated garage for six to eight weeks. The vases also need to be taller this time to support the tulip stems, which grow constantly.

During the basement period, the bulbs will be able to develop roots in a cold environment, just as they would be doing if they were planted outside in soil.

4. BRING TULIPS UP FOR SUN 

Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of the tall, pale shoots that had grown from the bulbs by the time I brought them up from the basement. I put them outside on a mild, sunny day to green them up a bit. It worked, but growing indoors, the foliage was never as green as that of tulips grown in the ground. The shoots developed leaves quickly, and the flower heads were visible by April 16, as shown below.

5. ENJOY INDOOR TULIPS

Many of the bulbs, as shown in the closeup at far right, were infected with a blue mold while in the garage. It did not affect flower development in an obvious way. Still, I did not want to have any sort of mold spores released in the house. So, I carefully removed each bulb and swabbed it with a very weak bleach solution (1 teaspoon in a gallon of water). This appears to be a common problem with water forcing, and others have reported using alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or a garden fungicide to swab off the blue mold. 

Since the growth was very wild looking in my chosen planters, I also divided the flowering bulbs. I  put fewer of them in more vases, as shown in the top photo. Some of the flowers were broken in the process, so I clipped down the stems and put those in small brown bottles.

The result was an indoor garden I could enjoy. The flowers were gorgeous and safe from the deer who usually chomp down those I plant outdoors before the flower buds have a chance to open. 

For more indoor bulb-growing tips, go to the Gardening section.