Spring flowers can brighten your home and mood during the long, cold winter. With a little effort, tulips, narcissus (daffodils), hyacinths, crocus, scillas and other bulbs can be forced into midwinter bloom.

Forcing begins in the fall with the purchase of quality bulbs. Select cultivars recommended for forcing.

Bulbs should be planted from early October through mid-November, then given a cold treatment and brought into a warmer area to be forced into bloom. After purchasing bulbs and up until the time they are planted, handle them carefully. Keep them out of temperatures above 65 degrees.

Use a clay or plastic pot for forcing. Look for a shallow container or bulb pan that will hold several bulbs. Bulb pans are about half as high as they are wide and won't tip over as easily as a tall pot. Tipping can be a problem if the flowers get tall when blooming.

Be sure the pots are sterile to avoid any disease problems. Wash them in soapy water and then rinse with a 10 percent bleach solution. When using clay pots, soak them overnight before use to prevent the pot from absorbing moisture from the growing medium and depriving the bulbs.

Bulbs will grow in most soil mixes as long as there is good drainage. Some organic matter in the mix will help conserve moisture. It is not necessary to fertilize the bulbs because they have enough reserves stored for flowering one time.

Bulbs should not be buried deeply, but planted so that the noses are slightly exposed. Put in just enough soil to hold the bulb at the proper level. Place the bulbs close together in the pot and fill in with more soil around the bulbs. Allow 1/2 inch to 1 inch of space at the top of the pot for easy watering.

Water bulbs thoroughly immediately after planting by placing the pot in a shallow pan of water and allowing the pot to soak until the surface of the soil is moist. The pot should not require frequent watering, but must never be allowed to dry out.

Give the bulbs the cold treatment after planting, keeping them as close to 40 degrees as possible for about 10-15 weeks. Timing will depend on the type of bulb and the cultivar.

If you have room, your refrigerator makes a good storage place, because it should be about 40 degrees. Some gardeners dig a 1-foot-deep trench in the yard and place them there. Another possibility is a cold frame. You can also place the pots in the corner of an unheated garage or basement.

Mark a calendar to know when the bulbs should be removed from the cold.

As this time approaches, check the pots for root development. If roots are growing out of the drainage hole, you can be fairly certain that there is enough development for forcing.

There is usually no need to bring all of the pots in for forcing at the same time. By staggering the time they are brought in, you can extend the season of blooming over most of the winter.

Bring the pots into a cool (50-60 degrees) location, with bright but not direct sun, to help shoot elongation.

As the shoots develop, the pots can be moved to a warmer location. When the buds are showing color, once again move the pots to a cooler location, especially at night, to help the flowers last longer.

Keep the pots watered throughout the blooming season.

On average, bulbs will flower three to four weeks after forcing. By bringing bulbs in every two weeks, the succession of blooms can be continuous.

Sid Mullis is the director of the University of Georgia Extension Service Office for Richmond County. Contact him at (706) 821-2349 or smullis@uga.edu.