Bringing Spring Indoors: Planting Flower Bulbs During the Cold Winter Months
As the chill of winter settles in and the outdoor garden lies dormant, there's a way to bring a burst of spring fragrance into your home. Planting hyacinth bulbs indoors during the cold winter months is a delightful way to enjoy the beauty of these vibrant flowers even before spring arrives. Not only will you have a stunning display, but you'll also be able to enjoy their sweet scent wafting through your home. In this step-by-step guide, we'll walk you through the process of planting hyacinth bulbs inside, ensuring a successful indoor garden that will chase away those winter blues.
A few Basic Supplies
Flower pot or decorative planter or a glass vase or mason jar
Blooming bulbs such as hyacinth, tulips, crocus, amaryllis or paperwhite narcissus
Small bag of river rocks
Small bag of potting soil
Moss or decorative gravel, pebbles or marbles
While we were able to source our vases, stones and moss at local dollar stores, flowering bulb pots as well as soil can be purchased at local florist and garden centres:
Business is Blooming
Creating Your Indoor Blooming Planter
Purchase Blooming Bulbs: Visit your local garden centre or flower shop to purchase potted blooming bulbs. Be sure to select healthy hyacinth bulbs that are already showing growth signs or have buds forming.
A small bag of basic potting soil is adequate for your blooming project.
Select Your Container: You can use traditional flower pots or get creative with unique vessels like decorative bowls or glass vases, mason jars or a decorative planter as we've used.
Gently remove your bulbs from the container, separating the bulbs one at a time and shaking away the soil. You may lose a few roots in the process. This will not impact your plant.
Fill your container approximately 2/3 full with potting soil, leaving enough space for the bulbs and roots.
Place your bulb in the soil, and cover the bulb and roots. You can place decorative stones or moss on top of the soil as an accent. We added a small succulent plant, branches, sliced birch pieces and moss.
* When creating a mini terrarium, line the bottom of the jar or vase with river rocks, fill it with soil, place your bulbs, continue to cover it with soil, and add decorative stones or moss as a natural accent. Water your terrarium sparingly to prevent bulb and root rot.
Create a Simple Bulb Vase or Terrarium
Remove your bulbs from the soil, and rinse them well in lukewarm water, clearing the bulbs and roots of all soil. This will prevent root rot and will make your project more aesthetically pleasing.
Line the bottom quarter of your container with river rocks. This will provide a stable surface for your bulb to stand.
Once you have placed your bulb, fill around the base of the bulb with rocks to create stability for the bulb. The bulb should now stand on its own.
Fill your vase with water, but only enough to cover the roots. (Submerging the bulb in water will promote bulb and root rot)
Provide Adequate Light - And Enjoy!
Place your containers in a bright area near a window where they can receive at least six hours of sunlight daily. Bulb flowers bend toward the light, so rotating your pot daily may be necessary to keep an even appearance.
Monitor and Maintain Your Flowers
Regularly check the soil moisture level and water as needed to keep it consistently moist but not saturated. Avoid letting the soil dry out completely.
For jar and vase arrangements, ensure the water level stays high enough to keep the roots wet.
Depending on the variety of hyacinth and the temperature in your home, your bulbs will bloom within a few days to a week. Bulbs typically bloom quickly in warmer conditions. Once the flowers open, they will fill the space with a delightful fragrance.
These methods can be used with all sorts of blooming bulbs, including narcissus, tulips, daffodils, and amaryllis, which are readily available already in bloom at local florists and garden centres.
Anticipate an Early Spring - Indoors!
Embrace the spirit of spring during the winter months by bringing the beauty of blooming bulbs into your home. With a touch of warmth and a burst of colour, you can create an indoor garden that brightens even the coldest days.
Enjoy the process of indoor planting as a quiet activity by yourself or with your loved ones; it's a great activity to do with kids. Feel free to tag @Silverbirchcollective on Instagram when posting photos of your indoor spring creations. We love seeing your beautiful homes!