can you plant tulips in an indoor pot?

Question

i'm trying to think of inexpensive holiday gifts (low on funds this year) and i had an idea to give my family potted tulip bulbs for christmas. i thought it would be neat for them to keep and wait for the bulb to grow. but can you do this indoors? i've only heard of planting tulips in the garden. will they grow if the soil isn't frozen?

forgive my lack of knowledge on this... i am not a gardener!

Answer 1

It is a little late to force them into bloom in time for Christmas, as they need 6-8 weeks of cold temps before they start to grow. You can get bulbs, and put them in pretty pots, in soil, and put them in your own fridge until Christmas, and give them with instructions to chill them for another month, then take them out and start them as a pretty surprise for spring. The only thing about chilling them in the fridge, is not to put any fruit in there with them, as ripening fruit puts off an ethane gas that will kill flower buds in your bulbs.

Or you can go to a garden center and get pots of amaryllis and narcissus, already planted and ready to grow with a little water. Sometimes they also have hyacinths and tulips ready to go. It isn't any more expensive to get them ready-potted than it is to do it yourself and buy the components seperately.

Answer 2

Everyone starts somewhere!

Actually, there are very few plants that can't be grown in pots, if the pot is large enough. A pot of tulips sounds like a wonderful idea!

I'm not sure the tulips will have time to actually do much growing between now and Christmas. But you should be able to find instructions for taking care of the bulbs, either with the bulbs or via a Google search.

Answer 3

Time is going to be a problem here. Most bulbs require several weeks of cold before they will bloom. And the other poster is correct as there are a few that require less then others. But yes, you have an excellent gift idea there.

Purdue University published a guide for doing exactly what you are talking about. Check out the link below.

Answer 4

You can give them pots of tulips, but you want to be sure they are pre-chilled. If they aren't, they will not bloom. The chilling period that tulips get outside induces bud developement inside the bulb. If the bulbs are not pre-chilled, then they have to be put in the refrigerator in their pots to chill for 12 weeks. Then take them out and put in a warm sunny spot and watch them grow.

Answer 5

Paper white daffodils or amaryllis are best and you can buy little kits at a home store. They come in a little box and you can wrap it too.
It's easy to force bulbs like tulips and hyacinths (smell good). Just put them in the fridge for at least a month and plant. They take about a month to grow though. You could try without refrigerating them. It's always a little trial and error.

Answer 6

Tulips need 6 or more weeks of cold to bloom. You can put them in the fridge for this. Better for Christmas would be narcissus or amaryllis which are available at this time of year just for this purpose. They are ready to plant and will bloom in a short amount of time. Some come already in soil and a pot. I have seen them at Target and Lowes.

Answer 7

*****Excellent idea!****
I'd buy a bag of potting soil for the project though.
They make some excellent mixes that have fertilizer in them already and it's not too expensive.

********Yes you can, *******
it's called forcing. The one thing that must be done before is
to put them in the refrigerator first. That makes them think they have gone thru a dormant spell.
Infact there are many types of bulbs you can do that with. Paper White Narcissus is a beautiful one.
Photo
http://bayimages.net/images/3k/bay002964.jpg

Link below will tell you how to.
http://nga-gardenshop.stores.yahoo.net/forcingtulipsindoors.html