Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Coercing Paper Whites

 There are just some phrases in the English language that rub me wrong. The phrase 'forcing bulbs' is one I just don't care for (maybe my inner pacifist?). I know I'm strange, so I have decided to call it 'bulb coercing'...which to me is much friendlier.
 I don't have much luck with indoor plants so hopefully, this project will turn out. I know I'm late doing this, it should have been done a couple of weeks ago, but inspiration just hit me, so while recovering from chemo, I decided this was a project I could complete without too much effort.
I found the bulbs at Home Depot, along with the marble chips from the lawn and garden area.The bulbs had already started growing a little, so I wanted to get this project going right away and hopefully they will bloom by Christmas. I prepared the bulbs by removing the 'onion skins', just to keep things tidy. The research I did revealed it was just fine to do this, it doesn't hurt the growing process at all.
 Select containers. I selected some milk glass containers out of my collection, but gosh, you can do this in any container you wish, whatever style...
 Place the marble chips in the bowl/container. I suppose you can use any sort of pebbles, rocks, marbles, or even gems for this...but I like the look of the marble and the hint of grey. Also, it was very inexpensive for a large bag (I rinsed the chips first too).
 Place the bulb, roots down, in the marble chips...it's easy to tell which end is up in this case because they've already started growing...so I didn't mess that up....I won't say who, but somebody has planted bulbs upside down before...she may or may not be writing this post. I put a few more rocks around the bulbs for stability.



 Next, fill the container with water just up to the bottom of the bulbs.

 Now you could leave it like this, it certainly looks pretty....but I wanted to add a little color and texture while the bulbs are growing....so I used some of my green moss. I just loosely filled in around the bulbs. I love the bright green.

 Right now, the bowls are sitting on my counter, and I've got one in the window sill. However, it will probably change...I haven't even began to decorate for Christmas yet, so I foresee these in a different location soon.
 Hopefully, they will  start growing even more very soon.
 I will keep you updated on their growth.


Have you ever coerced bulbs before? How did it turn out?
Joining  Kim
2011-12-013

11 comments:

  1. You can almost WATCH them grow; and they smell wonderful! They may flop over, so just tie them up. Your setting is beautiful!
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  2. i have 50 bulbs growing on my kitchen table right now, it's so fun to watch their progress

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are just to funny! I have done bulbs before, you are going to need something to keep them from falling over. It was nice to hear from you today. Sending hugs and prayers your way.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful display! You are such a lovely lady-hope you are doing well!

    ReplyDelete
  5. How nice! I love this arrangement -- even looks pretty before they grow and bloom! It's always so nice to see a post from you show up in my reader. I really love your style and look forward to seeing what projects you've got going on.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've never had good luck with winter flowrs, I think it's just to hot hee in TX. I'm jealous that yours are growing so well LOL

    ReplyDelete
  7. Now I've tried to coerce a child to take just one more bite chew chew here comes the train type of thing but have never begged, coerced nor forced bulbs to bloom in a bowl! I may have to try this as I think I never felt confident even reading other written instructions. Crowd. But not too much. Water but not too much. So I shied away from trying. Maybe just trying something new is worth it! A friend gave me the tiniest clay pot with a huge daffodil bulb poking out and I'm not sure what I did if anything other than put it outside and even top heavy as it was, fallen over, it bloomed! So these Narcissus bulbs will bloom and bloom again next year too. A gift that gives again and again. Like our Savior's Gift! ~Gwen

    ReplyDelete
  8. How beautiful..in the milk glass bowls. I have never tried it but you made it look so easy so I will have to do it now. Wish me luck...my plants are plastic inside and cactus outside.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm coercing my paperwhites in milk glass too! Hopefully they'll be in full bloom by Christmas!
    Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  10. They look so lovely, beautifully composed. One tip: the one on the windowsill may get too warm because bulbs love the cool earth. I've been coercing them for years, in Southern CA and now in Phoenix, and I keep them in cooler places until the flowers appear. We have an informal competition every year to see who first detects the delicious scent of the very first little petals...the scent is powerful, just wait! You will love this new tradition, and they also make great gifts. By the way, your thoughts on slowing down come at a perfect time for me. Thank you, blessings and enjoy the season! Dana

    ReplyDelete

Thank You for taking the time to comment! Because of the insane amount of spam comments, I had to stop anonymous comments-sorry for the inconvenience.
Michelle