Back

Have an early spring indoors

Autumn is the perfect time to prepare flowering bulbs for an impactful indoor display in the darkest days of midwinter

Seeing spring flowers up close is always a joyful experience – especially indoors in midwinter when all is cold and grey outside. Controlling growing conditions so that

bulbs flower earlier than they would naturally is known as ‘forcing’, and with a little experimentation you can persuade many bulbs to give a highly scented and colourful performance as early as Christmas.

Most bulbs need a chill period, to mimic having been through winter. You can buy ‘prepared’ hyacinth bulbs (temperature-treated to flower early) but for most other bulbs (including paper-white daffodils and Hippeastrum or amaryllis) a few weeks in a dark, cool shed or garage after potting-up is enough. Allow 6–10 weeks, depending on species, cultivar and temperature, from planting to flowering. 

Bulbs can be grown suspended in a narrow-necked vase of water (hyacinths work well this way), but for more impact use a bowl or wide pot and grow at least five bulbs in a group. 

When the bulbs are ready to come indoors, keep them somewhere draught-free and not too hot (avoid a windowsill right above a radiator, for example). Cooler spots out of direct sunlight will encourage the leaves to green up, while a brighter position will accelerate blooming. 

What you need

Ingredients

  • Bulb fibre or peat-free multipurpose compost
  • Decorative pot
  • Bulbs such as hyacinths, paperwhite narcissi or hippeastrums 
  • Moss (lawn moss works well)



1. Plant your bulbs

Half fill a bowl or shallow pot with peat-free multipurpose potting compost and firm it down; use bulb fibre in pots without drainage holes (you don't need a rich growing medium as all the nutrients necessary are stored within the bulb). Arrange the bulbs on the compost, close together but not touching each other or the bowl.

2. Settle your bulbs in

Add more compost around the edge and between the bulbs until just their tops are showing. A layer of sustainably-harvested decorative moss, gravel or glass chips on top will make the arrangement look neat, but leave 1cm (½in) below the rim to allow for watering. 

Give water to the planted pot lightly and evenly, as bulbs only need a minimal amount to start growing. Be mindful if your bowl does not have any drainage holes, as excess water will be unable to drain away and this could cause the bulbs to rot (bulb fibre contains charcoal which helps keep the substrate ‘sweet’). 

3. Keep them dark

Place the pot in a dark corner of a frost-free shed or garage, and/or wrap loosely in a black plastic bag if you need to seal out light. Check for growth every week and only water if compost is dry. When shoots are 4–5cm (1½–2in) long, unwrap pots and bring them into a cool room to allow leaves and flowers to develop. You can fine-tune flowering by keeping pots cooler to hold blooms back. 

4. Enjoy the display

Add more moss to improve the display and if you are growing tall flowers, such as narcissi, colourful stems of dogwood or willow pushed into the compost can offer support and additional seasonal interest. Arrange your pots in groups to heighten visual impact and fragrance. 

This article is adapted from an item in The Garden magazine.

Save to My scrapbook

Recommended plants

Hippeastrum 'Happy Garden'PBR
amaryllis 'Happy Garden'
  • 0.5–1 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Hippeastrum</em> 'Happy Garden'<sup>PBR</sup>
Narcissus papyraceus (13)
paper-white daffodil
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0–0.1 metre
<em>Narcissus</em> <em>papyraceus</em> (13)
Hyacinthus orientalis 'Delft Blue'
hyacinth 'Delft Blue'
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0–0.1 metre
<em>Hyacinthus</em> <em>orientalis</em> 'Delft Blue'
Hippeastrum 'Happy Garden'PBR
amaryllis 'Happy Garden'
  • 0.5–1 metres
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
<em>Hippeastrum</em> 'Happy Garden'<sup>PBR</sup>
Narcissus papyraceus (13)
paper-white daffodil
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0–0.1 metre
<em>Narcissus</em> <em>papyraceus</em> (13)
Hyacinthus orientalis 'Delft Blue'
hyacinth 'Delft Blue'
  • 0.1–0.5 metres
  • 0–0.1 metre
<em>Hyacinthus</em> <em>orientalis</em> 'Delft Blue'
prev
next

You might also like

Top tips for growing orchids at home

Top tips for growing orchids at home

Winter interest houseplants

Winter interest houseplants

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.