Forcing Daffodils In October

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

If you didn't manage to plant the daffodil bulbs in September, don't be discouraged. In October, you can put them for distillation, and at the same time you will receive flowering plants much earlier than they would appear in the flowerbed - in the middle of a frosty winter. But, of course, they will not grow in open ground, but in room conditions at a comfortable temperature

Soil and distillation pots

For forcing, daffodil bulbs are planted in the first decade of October. Some amateur flower growers manage to get flowers earlier than usual, putting them on forcing in November, but then it will hardly be possible to catch up before the New Year or International Women's Day.

For distilling daffodils, a nutrient substrate is prepared from the following components:

• humus earth - 2 parts;

• deciduous land - 1 part.

Instead of humus soil, you can use sandy loam sod. The soil mixture should be moderately loose and sufficiently water-absorbing. In dry soil, the bulbs will not wake up to bloom.

A pot for distillation is taken with a diameter of 11 cm or a little more. At the bottom, shards must be laid for drainage. If broken ceramics are not found on the farm, a 3-centimeter layer of coarse sand is laid instead. Only then are the pots filled with a substrate for distillation. You can use a large container, in which the bulbs are planted with a bridge.

Planting and keeping bulbs

One small pot can hold three onions. They are planted close to each other. The earth around the planting material is also compacted. If this is not done, the roots, during growth, instead of penetrating deep into the ground, will begin to push the bulb outward. Planting is carried out so that the tops of the bulb peep out a little from the ground, being at the level of the sides of the pot.

After planting in pots, the containers are placed in a wide box and additionally sprinkled with about a 10-centimeter layer of earth. Then the planting needs to be watered. After that, the entire structure is removed to a cold place for the rooting period. It can be a balcony of a high-rise building or a veranda of a private house. As long as there is no frost, you can leave the box of bulbs outside, protected from the wind.

The importance of temperature control

It is necessary to ensure that the bulbs are kept at temperatures between + 5 … + 8 ° C. The cooling period will take approximately 6-8 weeks. During this time, the substrate is moistened 2-3 more times. In December, the sprouts reach an average of 10 cm. At this stage of development, the pots are provided with a shelf in a well-lit place. In the light, they are kept at a temperature of + 10 … + 12 ° C for 5-6 days. Then it is moved to heat, where the thermometer shows + 18 … + 20 ° С.

Both the beginning of flowering and the duration largely depend on the temperature regime. So, in order to extend the flowering period, pots with daffodils in the daytime are kept at a temperature of + 14 … + 16 ° C, and in the dark, they can be removed to a cooler place.

To get a blooming daffodil for a certain solemn moment or some kind of festive event in your family, you need to take into account the following varietal characteristics of plants:

• early daffodils at a distillation temperature of + 14 … + 16 ° С will begin to bloom at the 6th week;

• late daffodils under the same conditions - at 9-10 weeks.

To speed up this process, the temperature is raised to + 20 ° C. In such conditions, you can count on the following result:

• early daffodils will bloom around the 4th week;

• late daffodils under the same conditions - at the 6th week.

After distillation, the bulb should not be repeated through this procedure. When the aerial part of the plant dies off, the planting material is moved to open ground in order to give it a rest next year.