How to Care for Mini Jonquils in Pots

Begin in September or October. Select only the largest, most unblemished bulbs, since the bulb contains the baby flower and the food to sustain it, which are necessary for successful forcing. Look for miniature varieties such as the Tete a Tete, Little Gem and February Gold. For true jonquils, N. jonquilla is naturally a small species that usually grows only 6 inches tall.

Add 3 inches of potting soil to any 4-inch metal, plastic or ceramic pot. The pot must be at least twice as deep as the bulbs. Place three evenly spaced bulbs in the pot, so that the bulbs’ tops reach to within one-half inch of the top of the pot. Add soil if necessary. Fill the pot with soil, but allow one-quarter to one-half inch of the bulb to reach above the potting soil.

Water the soil until damp but not muddy. Never allow your jonquils to stand in water. Standing water leads to root rot.

Keep your pots either outdoors in winter or in the back of a refrigerator at about 35 degrees Fahrenheit for eight to 12 weeks. This cold period is a necessary part of the jonquil's growth cycle, and the bulb will not grow and bloom without it. Shoots germinate while in cold storage. If you're storing potted bulbs in a refrigerator that contains ripening fruit, place the whole pot in an airtight plastic bag. Ripening fruit produces an ethylene gas that impedes healthy plant growth.

Remove your plants from cold storage when the shoots are about 2 inches tall. For a season-long succession of blooms, remove plants from storage at two-week intervals throughout the winter.

Place your plants in a cool, dark room and move them slowly toward a sunny window during the course of about two weeks. Protecting plants from high temperatures and gradually increasing temperatures prolong the bloom’s life. Placing your plants in a cool room at night prolongs the blooms even more.

Keep your plants in cool conditions after the blooms are spent until the leaves begin turning yellow. Replant the bulbs outdoors and do not attempt to rebloom plants that have been forced once. Do not clip the remaining leaves. They are storing energy and food for the next season's growth and fall off when the plant is prepared.