Forcing muscari bulbs: An At Home journal (Week 9)

Muscari bulbs, all placed in a water-filled vase with marbles on Dec. 18, are at different stages of growth. The tallest has just formed a bud. Even a baby bulb that divided from a larger bulb during the previous growing season (foreground) is sprouting a thin stem. Can muscari bulbs be forced indoors in water? Happily, the answer appears to be yes.

Jan 28:

More excitement: A hydroponic arrangement of water-grown muscari bulbs that has not been shown previously has a flower bud, known properly as a florette. And, in the south-facing window of a warm room, it appeared in just six weeks.

I admit I went a little crazy with the muscari bulbs, but I have been growing them in varied hydroponic conditions because I wanted this to seem as much like a real experiment as possible.

Here's the back story: On Dec. 18 when I first noticed stems growing from the bulbs sprouting in the blue vase, I plucked out all that had not grown stems. I did not want to throw them away, so I put the four of them in a smaller, squarish glass vase (shown right) and tucked them in the window of a room I use frequently. Despite being placed on the same day and subjected to the same conditions, the four bulbs in the vase are all at different stages of growth, but all have grown roots. The bulb that has the florette sprouted within a week or two of being placed in the new vase, but unlike the bulbs in the larger blue vase, it remained relatively compact, with the tallest of its six stems measuring only 4 inches tall compared to the 11- to 12-inch stems on the bulbs in the blue vase.

It was a delight to discover the flower bud on this small plant after having wondered if the indoor grape hyacinths would flower at all in the water "planting."

A bonus: The glass vase arrangement, using flattish green marbles, has an interesting look with the visible beige roots swirling around in contrast to the stacked marbles.