Question
Hyacinth bulbs
Hi Darlene. This is the 3rd time I am writing to you and am sure you will be able to help me. The other day I was cleaning up some of the vases on my terrace, when to my surprise some hyacinth bulbs which I thought had rotted over the last few months were found to be very much alive with lots of green shoots coming through. There are 4 bulbs in a terracotta vase of 22cm diameter. I bought them when they were in bloom in the spring time and once the flowers had dried out I left out on the terrace with the leaves on. The leaves were obviously completely dried out now and as I removed them the other day, I saw that the bulbs were growing new shoots. When I bought the flowers they were in tiny plastic pots and I repotted them into this other vase. As the bulb was half out of the earth in the original pot I replanted them this way. I have sent you a photo and you can see that the bulbs are on the surface of the earth. One of the bulbs was completely loose and so I added a little earth to give it something to sit in. I really don't know what to do with these now. They haven't been watered in months and I don't know whether to bring them in or leave them out on the terrace. I understand that the hyacinths could flower again sometime in spring but what conditions would they need to bloom again? I live in Tuscany, Italy and the temperatures are sub-zero at night and do not go past 7-9 degrees centigrade during the day. I have left the dry leaves over the top of the bulbs in the hope that this might be a little protection from the cold at night. Also they are sprouting what seem to be new little shoots from the underneath and side of the bulb. I would love to help this make the spring time again and see them in bloom. Look forward to receiving your valuable advice again.
AnswerVicki,
Basically your forgotton bulbs are "forcing" themselves. That is what it is called when bulbs are potted and given a cold period outside during early winter then brought inside early so they bloom early and we get to enjoy a taste of spring in February or early March. They need a 12 week period of cold temperatures followed by warmerer temperatures. Following are some instructions for forcing and it appears that you accidently followed the first part.
SOIL FORCING:
For forcing in soil, hyacinths should be potted up by mid-October. Use ordinary potting medium and, for best effect, place bulbs close together, but not touching. The pointy tops of the bulbs should be about half an inch above the soil line. Water them thoroughly and place the pots in a cold (35 to 48 degree F), dark location for at least 13 weeks. If the bulbs start to push out of the soil during rooting, add a layer of gravel on top to weigh them down a bit, taking care not to cover the bulb's pointed nose. Keep them watered and in the dark until bulb shoots reach one inch tall. At this point, move the pot to a cool (55 degree F), bright location (a north-facing window is perfect). Soon, the shoots will turn green and buds will appear. Once in flower (about two weeks) keep the hyacinths cool and well watered.
Since they have started growing I would water them and fertilize them well and see what happens. You may have beautiful hyacinths early in February. If you want to hold them off a bit longer just give them a tiny bit of water so the bulbs don't shrivel and put them in a black trash bag with a few layers over it so they are in total darkness and that will hold bac the growth for abit but I would not eep them in the dark too long or they may begin to rot. Maybe a ouple of weeks so you could hold them off from blooming till Valentines. Below is another website with more information on forcing hyacinths in the winter:
http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/hyacinths.html
Send me a picture when they are blooming! Good luck.
Darlene
