Growing Prepared Hyacinth Bulbs in Containers for Christmas

You can't use any old Hyacinth bulbs though, garden Hyacinths flower in March and April and you want your Hyacinths to flower in December. You need to purchase specially prepared Hyacinth bulbs. They are available in packs or can be purchased loose. Prepared Hyacinths have been through a sequence of cold treatments so they flower early. Prepared bulbs are more expensive than garden varieties as they have been through this special process. Always wear gloves when handling Hyacinth bulbs as they can be a skin irritant.

As the different varieties of Hyacinths flower at different times when making an arrangement stick to one variety in each container. Otherwise the Hyacinths may flower at different times, one may be looking spectacular while another may have finished flowering. If planting in a container that has no drainage holes use a bulb fibre for best results, alternatively plant in a free draining compost. The Hyacinth bulbs don't need to be fed. Place some damp bulb fibre or compost in the bottom of the container and place the bulbs, point upwards, onto this. Make sure the bulbs aren't touching. Gently cover around the bulbs with more bulb fibre or compost. The top of the bulbs should just be protruding above the surface of the soil.

Once planted they need to be kept cool and placed in the dark to help the roots form (about 9-10 degrees is ideal). You can just cover the bulbs with a black sack and put them in the shed. Only water very sparingly if the compost has dried out. Once the Hyacinths have produced roots and the shoots are about 5 cm  tall (2 inches) they can be brought inside the house. Place the Hyacinths in a cool but bright spot and place the container on a saucer of gravel, that is kept moist, to raise the humidity around the plants. You will need to water your Hyacinths when the compost dries out. Do not place them near a heat source such as a radiator. Once brought inside the Hyacinths will take about 3 weeks to flower.