Hyacinth
Hyacinthus is a small genus of bulbous flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Plants are commonly called hyacinths. Wikipedia
| Scientific name: HyacinthusRank: GenusHigher classification: LiliaceaeLower classifications: Hyacinthus orientalis |
Forcing Hyacinth Bulbs
by Mary Ellen Babich
What can you do with several dozen hyacinth bulbs that are still sitting in a bucket in your unheated garage in late November? That was my question last November.
Way back in October of 2011, I planted 5 dozen premium pink and purple hyacinth bulbs in soil in 4 large containers, watered them thoroughly, stored them (covered loosely with burlap) in my unheated garage until growth of about 3-4 inches appeared in early spring, then set them out in a shaded area on my patio to watch the pink and purple display and enjoy the heady fragrance. I was thrilled with the results, so I decided to try to save the bulbs. After the blooms faded, I placed the containers in a holding area, removed the spent flowers, kept the containers watered, and waited for the foliage to die back naturally. In late summer I lifted the bulbs from the containers, gently removed the dead foliage and the soil clinging to the bulbs, and put them all in a large bucket in my garage to dry. The plan was to plant the bulbs directly into my gardens in the fall of 2012. That didn’t happen.
Switch to Plan B: force the bulbs to bloom indoors. Thanksgiving weekend I saw that the bulbs were still firm and surprisingly all had about an inch of very green growth at the tip. The first weekend in December I placed the bulbs in clear glass containers on top of glass beads and slowly added water. Single bulbs were put in stem-less wineglasses and groupings were put in large bubble bowls, placing the bulbs so they would not touch the sides of the container or each other. To be sure they didn’t rot, I kept the water level was just below the base of each bulb. Then the containers went back into the unheated garage in large cardboard boxes. After 3 weeks, when the bulbs pushed out more green foliage about 2 inches tall and sent tiny white roots into the water below, I moved the containers inside to a cool window sill out of direct sunlight to monitor water levels and growth. A week later, I had a dozen Christmas gifts ready to deliver to family and friends, and two large containers for myself.
Overhead View
Roots
Side View
My containers will remain on a cool window sill out of direct sunlight until they are ready to bloom in few weeks. I won’t know if the conditions have been optimum for producing full or stunted blooms yet, so I’ll send another photo when/if they do bloom.
The process of forcing bulbs in water is fun and very educational. I felt like an inquisitive science student in grade school again, hoping I could induce a plant to grow ahead of its normal growing cycle. I’ll be trying this great project with my grandchildren next fall so they can observe the entire growth cycle of a bulb and enjoy the beauty and fragrance of a hyacinth bloom indoors in their homes in late winter.
Follow the link below to Old House Gardens, an Ann Arbor based company that specializes in heirloom bulbs, for a discussion of the history of bulb forcing and step-by-step instructions.
Monroe County Master Gardener Association 
Mary Ellen, sorry, the original Post that was sent to subscribers cut off part of your last name. I corrected that. Thank you for such a great article. I forced an Amaryllis bulb once with success. I’m a frugal gardener and purchase bulbs when they are on closeout. This will help since it’s typically winter when they ship and the ground is too hard to plant. I have planted them in containers in the past and set them out. But I’m thinking I’ll force some now.
Thanks for the informative article, Mary Ellen. Scott’s catalog and web site from Old House Gardens is a great resource .