Blooming Flower Bulbs Indoors

When To Start
The majority of indoor flowering bulbs take 12 weeks from planting to flowering. Decide if you want all the bulbs to flower at the same time or in succession and plant them using the 12 week rule.

What To Plant

Tulip 'Alladin'

Selecting bulbs is easy - choose the largest, firm and healthy examples. In the case of bulbs, size does matter, the larger the better (also more expensive). Avoid examples which look unhealthy or are damaged.

The most widely available indoor bulbs are Hyacinth, daffodils (narcissi), crocuses and tulips. Ensure the bulbs you purchase are specifically for indoor cultivation. Others which are suitable include snowdrops, iris, scillas, muscari and chionodoxas.

Click here for a list of recommended varieties (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and crocuses) which are recommended as indoor bulbs. Many have pictures.

How To Plant
Plant the bulbs individually in plastic pots (or the final planting bowl) filled with normal potting compost. Bulb fibre (more expensive than potting compost) is only necessary where there are no drainage holes - the fibre helps to keep the compost sweet. Whichever compost is used, it should be moistened before planting the bulbs. The larger bulbs (hyacinths and tulips) should be planted to half or three-quarters their depth, smaller bulbs (crocuses and daffodils) should be planted with their tips just below the compost surface.

All bulbs need to spend time in in cool dark conditions before flowering - known as 'plunging'. This is necessary for a good root system to develop. The best place for 'plunging' is the garage or garden shed. Place the planted pots in a black polythene bag (pierced with a few holes) and leave them where they will not be disturbed.

Check the plants each fortnight, watering a little if the compost has dried out. When plants have sprouted one or two inches, they are ready to be brought indoors. For 'prepared' bulbs (consult the packet), this will take approximately 6 weeks, for other bulbs, it will take roughly 9 weeks.

Where the bulbs have been planted individually, transfer them to the final planting pot, choosing bulbs which have developed to the same stage. Traditionally, bulbs are planted in shallow containers, but this is not necessary as long as the bulbs are at the correct depth (as described above). Place the bulbs in the container as close together as possible, without actually touching, for maximum effect. Place them in the coolest room in the house.

Alternative Planting Ideas
A great idea to keep the kids (and adults) amused is to plant hyacinth bulbs in glass or plastic containers filled with water. The bulb base should barely touch the water. As the plants grow, the roots will descend into the water and the foliage and flowers will develop as normal - great fun. Special containers can be brought for this purpose, but any glass / plastic container of the correct size will do. Remember that the bulb and container should be kept in the dark and cool initially, as described above. For this reason, it's best to select 'prepared' bulbs which will reach the sprouting stage much earlier than non-prepared bulbs.

After Flowering
After flowering, all bulbs (excluding 'prepared' bulbs) can be planted outside for outside flowering next year.

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