Effortless Indoor Hyacinths
Hyacinths are the fragrant symbols of spring that uplift our hearts and senses especially in the middle of a cold and gray winter. Anyone who loves flowers can grow them indoors. They require minimal effort and time on your part.
All you need is a forcing vase, water, and a hyacinth bulb.
Look for prepared hyacinth bulbs at your local garden centre. These are bulbs which have received some cooling already. They still require additional cooling and darkness, about 8 weeks or so, but the bulbs start pushing themselves to flower much sooner. You can find prepared varieties like Delft Blue, L’Innocence, and Jan Bos. Hyacinth Anne Marie is soft pale pink and one of the earliest varieties to bloom, whether grown indoors or outside.
You can use regular hyacinth bulbs too; however, they will require a longer cooling period of up to 13 weeks. A little more time is involved, but you’ll have a wider selection of varieties and colours to choose from. One of my favorite varieties to force is Hyacinth Rembrandt with its gorgeous dark blue florets and clear white edging.
Select the biggest bulbs you can find that are firm and blemish free.
Hyacinths are the fragrant symbols of spring that uplift our hearts and senses especially in the middle of a cold and gray winter. Anyone who loves flowers can grow them indoors. They require minimal effort and time on your part. All you need is a forcing vase, water, and a hyacinth bulb.
Look for prepared hyacinth bulbs at your local garden centre. These are bulbs which have received some cooling already. They still require additional cooling and darkness, about 8 weeks or so, but the bulbs start pushing themselves to flower much sooner. You can find prepared varieties like Delft Blue, L’Innocence, and Jan Bos. Hyacinth Anne Marie is soft pale pink and one of the earliest varieties to bloom, whether grown indoors or outside.
You can use regular hyacinth bulbs too; however, they will require a longer cooling period of up to 13 weeks. A little more time is involved, but you’ll have a wider selection of varieties and colours to choose from. One of my favorite varieties to force is Hyacinth Rembrandt with its gorgeous dark blue florets and clear white edging.
Select the biggest bulbs you can find that are firm and blemish free.
Once you’ve purchased your hyacinths, put them in a brown paper bag and store them in your refrigerator crisper for 8-13 weeks. Don’t place your bulbs next to apples, or other ripening fruit and produce, as they can emit ethylene gas. It’s harmless to us, but it sterilizes the bulbs, and stops the flowering. Also avoid exposing your bulbs to freezing temperatures below 4°C (39° F).
After the chilling period has passed by, place a bulb on a glass forcing vase. These vases look like hour glasses with a narrow waist. The top portion of the glass is cut in half so that bulb sits nicely above the waist while water fills the chamber below.
Fill a vase with water and set the bulb with the growth tip up and rooting side down just above the water level without touching it. Only a few millimeters away, the water below the bulb is enough to encourage root growth.
Set your vase near or in a window which receives bright, indirect light. A north facing window is ideal. I put mine on the kitchen window sill and turn it slightly every day to keep the stem from leaning towards the sun. Watching and waiting for the flower buds to appear is the best part, and after about 2-3 weeks, a beautiful stem of florets is ready to fill the house with sweet spring fragrance.
Check the water level periodically to ensure it is where it should be and that roots are developing. When necessary, you can add a little more water to the vase. Refresh murky water by tipping out the liquid, and then refill it with water at room temperature.
Prolong your hyacinths blooms by moving the vase to a cooler spot in the house. Put them in the family room or a place where everyone gathers, or take them to a secluded spot where you can sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy the heavenly scent of these graceful, but sturdy blooms.
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