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Hyacinth poking it's head already, how to proceed

I planted the bulbs in 6 inch plastic containers a couple of months back I think once it started getting cooler. The idea was to let them get enough cold exposure before Temps get too cold for containers to be outside at which time I was going to give them additional protection in a styrofoam container outdoors. When I have planted them later and with additional protection from the beginning blooming was minimal and the flower stalks were barely out of the soil line. I presumed that had to do with not enough cold temp exposure. Apparently my early planting may have been too early. I can already see them sprouting and these appear to be flower stalks (some are quite green despite my attempts to bury them by covering with more potting mix. We have not had very many below freezing days yet. So, the question is should I keep them forcibly buried or let them grow and bloom under grow lights indoors (there's no sunlight exposure outdoors - north facing balcony).

Comments (10)

  • 6 years ago

    Are these for blooming outside? If so leave them alone. They're very hardy and will come up when conditions are right. Just stop the mix freezing solid. Btw you can't really tell from the growing point whether there's a flower coming or just foliage. The buds look pretty much the same other than probablybeing a bit fatter if it's a flower. It's being green is not a problem as long as you keep the temperature down. You could cover the whole thing in a box or upturned pot to exclude light if you wish.

    If they're for indoors, and you didn't buy prepared bulbs, they need 13 weeks below 48f before bringing into warmth and light.


  • 6 years ago

    Thanks. I may have to bring them in at some point considering my balcony doesn't get any sun till April. But I want them to grow more like they were in the ground than if I was forcing them. They are from blooming pots I bought last year so not prechilled. Actually, some of them have poked out enough to (I think) show indents that are characteristics of blooms and not more leaves coming up. I am going to keep them buried/covered and see how it goes.

  • 6 years ago

    I agree that bringing them indoors before they have experienced enough winter chill would be a mistake. I can actually see the flower stock in one (second stage of your line up but greener). So the question is if it would survive being left out through the winter even with some protection if I may have allowed it to progress too far by planting too early. Here are the pics. Nice arrangement with the bulbs. I am guessing you are handling dozens of these through the winter. Unfortunately, I don't have a cold garage... I guess the sun is only needed for food production for the next year then? I did leave the leaves on those bulbs for as long as they were green and let them have as much light as possible. I don't remember if I fertilized much. Note to self for the coming season - feed them.

  • 6 years ago

    It seems there was too much light for a good view but the flower stalk is visible in the last picture - top container lower right bulb.

  • 6 years ago

    Flower stalk not stock*

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Right, the picture clarifies a lot and now I can see that they are about to flower. I was thinking you were talking about the bud still enfolded in leaves. Yours are beyond the point where further chilling will be useful and now they do need light. But they don't want too much heat. Can you keep them somewhere cool and light? They also look rather dry. And the pots a rather large for the number of bulbs.

    You have done well to get them to rebloom in containers.

    Btw I don't do dozens. Just 10 or 12. I bring them into the house in sequence, so I always have one on the go for several weeks. The picture shows various stages from just being brought inside to beginning to go over.

  • 6 years ago

    I am going to leave them out for a bit more buried under some more potting mix to confuse them. :) they really have nowhere else to go but the 18-20 C room. Someone has to suffer, me or the cool weather plants! Since I get to decide.... I may put them in a somewhat cooler bedroom but it only gets eastern sun and can't have grow lights (I have short day bloomers - kalanchoe and poinsettias in that window forming buds).

    The pots are standard 6 inch plastic ones. They were supposed to be out in the cold much of the winter, hence the larger, the better the insulation. Also, I tucked in several smaller tulip bulbs in there. I don't think those will bloom anytime soon, if ever, but I hate the idea of throwing them away. They are intentionally on the drier side. They were out in the rain for several weeks and I thought I may have lost them but they survived.
    My experiments with bulbs has been less than stellar, shall we say. A couple of years back, I bought a dozen hyacinths and a dozen tulips bulbs, potted them up like the ones here and then packed them in styrofoam and bubble wrap and left them out there. I was trying to simulate underground conditions by not leaving out small pots in the cold. Checked and watered periodically. Anyhow, the outcome was the hyacinth bloomed but were wimp as mentioned earlier. Only a couple of tulips developed buds. Nothing bloomed and they all rotted in the rainy spring that we usually have. I realized that the cold treatment was lacking.
    Next year, I got dozen each tulips., crocus, anemones, irises (smaller variety), potted them in a large rectangular wicker basket, watered well and covered with bubble wrap after a couple of weeks (and it rained in the meanwhile. Anyhow, not much sprouted in spring and I found they had all rotted. I swore to never plant another spring bulb....

    I can see that the bulbs lined up in your picture are progressive stages and thought, if you had these ready to pose for, you have probably got lots more going. :)

  • 6 years ago

    My picture is from last year. This year's were only started 2 weeks ago and are still busy developing roots.

    What you are doing seems basically to be growing the bulbs as if they were just in beds outdoors rather than forcing them. My winters are not cold enough to freeze the bulbs so it is easy to grow them in pots outside without any protection. The ones in my picture are forced for indoor blooming which is a different process. I hope someone with experience of winters like yours can help you further with growing them outside.

  • 6 years ago

    So, I brought them in late November/early December. They are sitting on an Eastern windowsill which probably gets only a couple of hours of sun these days. The room is unheated (usually 10±3 centigrade). Here is what they look like. One set (first two pics) is closer to bloom than the other (the last two pics) and will probably bloom close to the soil line. The other set seems to be doing better and still has big fat nubs but no flower stalks showing. I am going to be away for a month, leaving in a weeks time. So, the question is how do I make sure I get to see the blooms. Do I speed them up by bringing into a warmer room and under grow lights. Or do I slow them down by leaving them out when it isn't freezing? I know I am being too manipulative to the poor sods but hey I put in the effort... Of course I could give them to someone else to enjoy...

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