As the daylength decreases, the leaves should start to turn yellow and look a bit ratty...at which time you can dry them out. If the foliage keeps looking healthy and green, this withdrawal of water always seems a little brutal but remember, at this stage it is about root growth - the leaves will detract from that and may want to go into dormancy after Xmas...which leaves you with too little time to get the plants up and putting out enough vegetative growth to support blooming. Manipulating growth cycles in bulbs and tubers is more forgiving than it seems - a little like the amaryllids and hippeastrums which are popular at this time of year for Xmas forcing. My DiL grows these and has been surprised to find bloom cycles at different times of year - certainly not following textbooks, with no apparent damage to the plants...but nonetheless, the decision to cut off water while in full flush of leaf is always a bit counter-intuitive. I think the plant only needs a month of dormancy so you can water till mid November, drying out the soil until mid January. Forcing the plant back into growth might require more warmth than is available outdoors or under glass so maybe a handy windowsill...and once the leaves re-appear, move them into the cooler flowering positions. The exact same conditions are required for the ranunculus relatives, anemone coronaria and a.pavonia. Some years (in the UK), they will bloom effortlessly while others result in puny late growth and a corolla which is feeble and hopeless. By way of consolation, the tubers are cheap and readily available...unlike some rare tecophilea or fritillaria...so we can generally afford to shrug off fails or cave in and actually (shudder) buy one.

If your container soil is good quality fast draining soil less mix, I would keep the containers in a shady or partial shady area to keep the soil temperature down in the summer. Occasional water or rain water will be OK and they will remain dormant through the heat of summer. Well drained soil is the key to keeping bulbs in the containers year around with no rotting. Al

Actually, prechilling daffodils does work. I've had success with Jenny, White Lion, and King Alfred. They need about 12 weeks of chilling at 35-45F (some varieties may need more -- do a search on the web for "daffodil forcing" to see if you can find the chilling times). After they're chilled, you can plant them in the containers and put them somewhere cool to root; 60F should be fine. Bring them into a cool sunny place when the shoots are about 1" long. This will work for tulips as well, but most varieties require more like 14-16 weeks of chilling. For absolutely best results with tulips, you should follow the temperatures and times listed in the "Holland Bulb Forcer's Guide", which is to store the bulbs at around 80-90% RH at 63F in August and Sept, 55F in September, and then 12-13 weeks at 41F, and at 55F during rooting in the container. I've found that 5 degree variances don't really affect the final results much, especially if you use 12+ bulbs instead of 10/11 or 11/12. Also, the book suggests that you remove the tunic (skin) from the bulb before planting to allow for "rapid root emergence after planting."

Julie I believe that giant anemones do want cool temps. Have you thought about crocus? You can often get about 100 nice bulbs at Sam's for about $15. They would look great set in pebbles or pea gravel etc in a bowl. You could chill them a while, I usually do because I just toss all the bulbs I buy in the fridge. The return for me in my garden, so they can't be too fussy. I tried calcohortus and was not successful, but that was in the garden. How did your snowdrops (?) or something like that turn out. Oh, I just remembered. My absolutely favorite new-to-my-garden bulb last year was the tiny iris reticulata. More exotic than crocus or might make a pretty little companion. I got mine at the Van Engelen end of year sale and they made me smiles plenty for their small size. I believe the ones I had are Harmony, but here is a pic of the mix. Here is a link that might be useful: iris reticulata mix