How to grow Hyacinths for Christmas

Today (27th September) is just 88 days from Christmas. One of our favourite Christmas Gifts to grow are Hyacinths.

Hyacinths have beautiful tiny star shaped blooms that amass to create a bold floral display with the added bonus of a sweet fragrance. To get them to flower by Christmas you need to follow a process known as ‘forcing’. Here’s our handy guide on what to do…

What to do..

1. Buy some prepared hyacinth bulbs from one of our Exeter garden centres. These are bulbs that have been ‘prepared’ through a cooling process to trick them into believing winter has been and gone and therefore that it is time to grow!
2. Put some broken crocks in a bottom of a pot of your choice to help drainage.
3. Add some bulb fibre compost available from our garden centres. until it is about 10cm from the top of the pot
4. Place the bulb with the pointed end facing upwards onto the bulb fibre.
5. Add more bulb fibre but stop when you get to about 1-1.5 cm from the top of the bulb.
6. Place your pot in a cool dark cupboard for 6-8 weeks. Kitchen cupboards are usually ideal.
7. Water when required, you want a moist soil (not bone dry but certainly not wet).
8. Once shoots have established bring your pot out into a warm room with plenty of daylight.
9. Add a box and voila – you have a home grown gift to give this Christmas.

For everything you need to grow hyacinths for Christmas, visit one of our Exeter garden centres today.