The Easy Way To Make Your Hyacinth Plants Bloom Earlier

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Winters can be quite cold and gloomy, but your home doesn't have to be. You can easily enjoy the vibrant cheer of springtime even during the harshest of winters by simply hacking your hyacinths to bloom early. After all, hyacinths are one of the easiest plants for "forcing," a technique that allows plants to flower much earlier than normal. The good news is that you don't have to get into the dark depths of horticulture to achieve this feat either. All you need to do is place the bulbs in water containers, chill them for several weeks, change them to a warmer location, and voila, your space will be full of heavenly blooms and fragrances.

Hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis) are extremely fragrant, spring-blooming flowers that need to experience a period of low temperature to flower. You can mimic this natural sequence to your advantage by tricking the bulbs into believing that spring is coming and aiding an early flowering response. 'Blue Jacket', 'Jan Bos', 'Pink Pearl', and 'Gypsy Queen' are some of the best varieties of hyacinths that will readily comply with the demands of forcing and reward you with breathtaking blooms even in snow-covered winters. All you need is a glass container, some pebbles, a dark and cool location like your refrigerator, and patience.

You can start with a specific hyacinth forcing vase, like these TOPPERFUN Hyacinth Clear Bulb Vases, but a simple mason jar filled with pebbles or gravel will also work. Fill up the lower half of the jar with water and place the bulbs on top so the roots can reach down into the water. The next step involves chilling the bulbs. You can also order pre-chilled bulbs from nurseries, especially if you want some blooming houseplants to spice up your holiday decor in time, but it's easy to do yourself. Use your refrigerator as the chilling spot, but make sure you wrap the bulbs up in a brown paper bag before you place them inside, since darkness is essential for this phase. The ideal temperature for chilling ranges from 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit and it takes about 12 to 16 weeks for the bulbs to get ready to bloom. If unsure, err on the side of keeping the chilling period longer rather than shorter.

Once the bulbs are chilled for the prescribed period, you will begin to see yellow shoots sprouting from them. Take them out of the refrigerator and move them to a new location that receives indirect light with temperature hovering between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit for a few days. Once the shoots turn green, move them to a bright and slightly warmer location. Remember to keep replacing the water in the container about twice a week. Rotate the vase every day to make sure the plant grows straight upwards and wait for about two more weeks for magic to happen as the blooms come out!

Selecting the right bulbs for forcing is a key part of the process. In general, the size of the blooms you get directly depends on the size of the flower bulbs. Pick large, heavy, and dense bulbs if you want the most eye-catching blooms. Make sure they are fresh and free from any discoloration, mold, or mildew. Throughout the process, the bulbs should always remain over the water and never submerged, otherwise they will rot. Ideally, water should only touch the roots, and any rotting bulbs should be removed as soon as they're noticed. Having said that, it's important that the bulbs are not dried out either.

Another crucial precaution to take during the chilling stage is getting rid of any ripening fruits, such as apples or pears, from the refrigerator where your bulbs are stored. This is because these fruits emit ethylene gas, which can severely restrict flowering and sterilize growth inside bulbs. Alternatively, you can put the hyacinth bulbs in a sealed container. Hyacinths can also be unsafe for kids and animals and their bulbs can also cause mild irritation in the skin, so put on a pair of gardening gloves every time you handle them and keep them away from your ever-curious loved ones. Follow some general tips for caring for hyacinth bulbs after flowering and discard the bulbs that have been forced in glasses since they cannot be forced twice.