Bulbs: Forcing Hyacynths, 0 by fancyvan

fancyvan wrote:
Occasionally I try to force a few bulbs for some flowers in the winter but I dont have a really good place to keep them during the rooting period (fridge is too small!) Last year I sank some pots in the veggie garden (double potted so I could get them out of the frozen ground in January! ) They didnt do very well - possible the really cold spell we had over Xmas was just too much. So this year I potted some up in October and sank them in the sand in an old cheap foam cooler ( occasionally used to store potatoes and onions over the winter)Then I filled in around the pots with dried leaves, put the lid on and put it out in the garden shed. And forgot about them! Yesterday I remembered they were there and went and dug them out. Lots of roots showing and green tips coming on most of the bulbs. Read that I am supposed to leave them until the shoots are an inch high but I ignored that and brought them into the house to thaw out and start growing! And here they are. That funny looking stuff on the top is just sand.