Growing Bulbs Indoors

Beth
by Beth
4 Materials
$10
4 Months
Easy

In this post, I'll show you how to grow bulbs indoors by tricking them into thinking that winter has passed. Once the bulbs are spent, you can either plant them in your garden outside or toss them.

Buy your bulbs in the fall, and put them in your fridge for approximately three months. I've done this with hyacinths, daffodils, tulips, and crocuses. If you look around online, you'll see some very specific suggestions for how long to keep them in the fridge and it will vary from bulb to bulb.


I don't follow any specific time frame other than roughly three months. Sometimes I forget about them and they stay in longer; sometimes I accidentally take them out a week or two early. So far it has not made a difference--all of my bulbs have flowered. 

When you put bulbs in your fridge in the fall, they'll be ready to plant mid-winter, right when it's all dreary and cold outside.


Using potting soil, plant your bulbs fairly close to each other. Leave the top part sticking out of the soil. You can see that some of them are already growing a bit.


Certain bulbs, like hyacinths, may irritate your skin when you handle them, so you might want to wear gloves.

Once you've planted your bulbs, they should emerge and bloom within a few weeks. The flowers will last for a few weeks as well. Water them around twice a week or whenever they seem dry. 


See the best indoor growing systems to garden indoors.

Hyacinths are my favorite bulb to grow indoors. They look great and smell wonderful! If you want them to flower at the same time, choose hyacinths that are all one color.

It can also be nice to have waves of different hyacinths blooming if you plant different colors together.


Read this guide for more information on how to grow hyacinths!

So there you go! Easy peasy. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments.

Suggested materials:
  • Bulbs   (Home Depot)
  • Potting soil   (Home Depot)
  • Planter   (Ocean State Job Lots)
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Beth
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3 of 5 questions
  • Julia Ruiz Julia Ruiz on Apr 12, 2018

    Hello to all! My name is Julia, I don't know much about this beautiful plant that I just love so much. I have about 8 plants that my husband bought me for Easter. I transferred them to a big planter with good quality planting soil. I have them on my front porch. I live in beautiful Sunny Orlando, Florida. They receive the direct morning sun and about 1 or 2 hours of the evening sun. They have been doing great. I feed them and water them. My neighbors all say they love taking a morning walk or evening jog down my block because of the beautiful scent of my plants. So now the flowers are starting to die down & loose their color. However the plant is a healthy green color and some are opening up. What to Do? Should cut the flower off and where? Will this plant flourish again? I look forward to to some guidance. Thank you. These are before & after pictures.

  • Ing25770091 Ing25770091 on Apr 16, 2018

    Do the planted bulbs have to be in a sunny place?

  • Shelba Mengel Shelba Mengel on Apr 17, 2018

    I purchased a hyacinth that came in a small glass vase. Instructions said to fill with water just below bulb. It bloomed but now that the flower is done (it has a lot of long roots} can I plant it in soil to bloom again? Should I let it dry up first?


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3 of 15 comments
  • Chris Keating-Ingelse Chris Keating-Ingelse on Mar 24, 2018

    What a wonderful idea! I love the scent of Hyacinths in the spring, but hate spending the money for one little bulb, already in bloom, in the grocery store. I am gonna try this at home!!!

    • Beth Beth on Mar 25, 2018

      Sounds good! Glad I could help. I also hate overpaying for grocery store flowers.

  • Ruf28250527 Ruf28250527 on Apr 17, 2018

    Yes

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