Grow indoor hyacinths

Where to buy

Garden centres or specialist suppliers will stock a massive range of specially treated bulbs in many colours that will flower ten weeks after being planted. Time your planting and you could make some lovely presents for Christmas or Mother's Day.

Flowering out of season

To get bulbs to flower, you need to use a technique called forcing. To do this, heat-treated hyacinth bulbs, which are more expensive than normal bulbs, need to be placed in a dark place for several weeks to allow flower buds to develop. To make a flowering bowl, start by planting three bulbs of the same colour in individual pots.

What to do

How to plant

• Almost fill an 8cm (3in) pot with moist bulb fibre, and then push a bulb in gently to half its depth. If you have sensitive skin, wear washing up gloves when handling the bulbs as they release tiny, needle-shape crystals, which can irritate the skin.
• Put pots in a cool, dark place, such as a garage or shed for about ten weeks to allow the roots to grow. If you are growing more than one variety, label with its name or colour to prevent mixing different shades together.
• Check bulbs regularly and water if the compost feels dry.
• When shoots appear, wait until they are about 5cm (2in) high and arrange the three pots in an 18cm (7in) bowl.
• Fill the gaps with more bulb fibre and place in a light spot to flower.
• Grow Narcissus 'Paperwhite' the same way, but bring out of the dark and put on a sunny windowsill as soon as the buds appear or the stems will become long and lanky.

Aftercare

• Keep compost moist.
• After flowering, bulbs will be exhausted and are best thrown away - you could add them to your compost heap, but make sure you chop them up finely.

Five to try

• H. 'Amethyst' - violet
• H. 'Delft Blue' - soft blue
• H. 'Ostara' - violet blue
• H. 'Pink Pearl' - deep pink
• H. 'White Pearl' - pure white