Darkness

Tessa shares this great idea:

"I wondered if you were aware of something that I was only told about a few years ago and, to my surprise, have found to be true....

If you put a cap over the growing tip of the bulb, IT THINKS IT IS IN THE DARK.

I use the little black pots that GU chocolate mousse comes in (I used to use little black film canisters). The bulbs put out roots exactly as if they were in the dark and flower as normal. This means that, in my London flat where the only cool place is just inside my draughty glazed balcony door, I can display the beautiful glasses while the bulbs are germinating and just remove the caps when they are ready. In fact, the GU pots are exactly the right height, so when the shoot lifts the cap off the bulb, it it ready.

You probably know this already but I thought it was such an interesting piece of information, and I always had trouble keeping my bulbs both cool AND in the dark, not having a cellar."