Growing hyacinth flowers indoors is a great way to enjoy the beauty of these gorgeous flowers in your home at any time of year.
In this article I’ll show you two ways to grow hyacinths indoors and give you tips to keep them healthy and blooming for as long as possible.
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Preparing hyacinth bulbs for indoor planting
When buying flower bulbs always choose large, healthy looking bulbs with no blemishes.
This will ensure that the bulbs have plenty of stored nutrients for long lasting flowers.
You can purchase bulbs that have been pre-chilled for immediate planting or if you buy regular bulbs you’ll need to keep them cold for at least 6 to 10 weeks before you plant them.
You can place the bulbs in a cool basement, garage or refrigerator but keep them away from fruits and vegetables because the ethylene gas that they produce can damage the bulbs.
HOW TO GROW HYACINTHS INDOORS
After the bulbs have been chilled for 6 to 10 weeks it’s time to plant them.
Choose a small container with drainage holes at the bottom.
Hyacinths will grow in shallow pots, even with half the bulb exposed at the top so you don’t need a deep pot.
You can plant one bulb in each pot or plant a clump of bulbs in a larger pot. Just make sure that the bulbs aren’t touching.
Fill the pot with a good quality, well draining potting mix and water well.
Hyacinth bulbs will rot easily if they’re overwatered, so let the soil dry out a bit in between waterings.
Place the pot in a cool spot in the house until the leaves begin to appear.
As leaves emerge, move the pot to a sunny windowsill and give it a feed with a slow-release bulb fertilizer
It normally takes about 3 weeks for the flowers to open after the first leaves appear.
Hyacinth flowers usually grow 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) tall and they’re self supporting, so you shouldn’t need to stake them.
If you notice a flower flopping over you can support it with a small stick.
Occasionally you’ll get two or more flower heads from the one bulb.
Growing hyacinths in water indoors
Hyacinths can even be grown indoors without soil.
The easiest way to grow hyacinths in water is to use a hyacinth vase
They’re specially made so the bulb can sit without touching the water, while the roots dangle below.
To plant a hyacinth bulb in water you’ll need to chill the bulb just as you would if you were planting it in soil.
After chilling, place the bulb in the vase with the water level just below the bulb.
Leave the vase in a cool, dark place until roots and shoots appear.
When the shoots are about 3 to 4 inches (7 to 10 cm) tall, move the vase to a sunny spot.
Replace the water regularly and turn the vase every few days to prevent the flowers leaning over towards the light.
Types of hyacinth bulbs to grow indoors
Jan Bos
Miss Saigon
Grape Hyacinth
Caring for hyacinth bulbs after flowering
Hyacinths that have been grown in water won’t flower again because they use all of their energy to bloom without soil.
Water grown hyacinths should be composted once they’ve finished flowering.
Hyacinth bulbs grown in containers can be treated as annuals and replaced each year or you can remove the spent flowers and allow the leaves to die back naturally.
The bulb will use photosynthesis to store nutrients for the next season.
After the leaves have died back, the bulbs can be moved to the garden where they may bloom again the next season.
You can read more about caring for bulbs when they’ve finished flowering in this article: How To Care For Bulbs After Flowering
Indoor hyacinth problems
Hyacinths grown indoors can be affected by a number of different insects so it’s a good idea to check the leaves and flowers regularly and if you notice any insects, treat the plant with neem oil.
Yellowing or browning leaves are usually a sign of overwatering and it may indicate that the roots have started to rot. [1]
So there are my tips for growing hyacinth flowers indoors.
With the right care you can have beautiful hyacinths blooming in your home no matter what season it is.
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Have you tried growing hyacinth bulbs indoors? Let me know in the comments below.
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I’m going to give this a try, and see if I am able to have some success growing hyacinths indoors. Thank you for sharing these easy steps.
Those were great tips on how to grow hyacinths indoors. We already grow lots of stuff indoors but we may just add this new flower to our crop.
These flowers look so neat. I like how they all bunch up and the colors they grow in. I may have to pick up one of these the next time I go plant shopping.
This was a really helpful guide for growing hyacinths indoors. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Wow yet another refreshing flower from your home. Being a plant enthusiast I feel wonderful reading your posts Kelly as they are all about beautiful nature. I have always struggled with indoor plants and hence good learning here.
Having flowers indoors seems so special to me. So very uniquely beautiful! It’s a great idea, I think I will try it
I have always been a fan of hyacinth flowers, but never realized they could be grown indoors. I’m glad to know the tips about growing them without soil and needing to be composted once they are done blooming. This is one flower I would love to try growing indoors.
Hyacinths are very beautiful flowers. I’d love to try growing them at home.
My grandmother always grew hyacinths in her garden outdoors when I was growing up, so it’s a sight that I associate with her and all of those happy memories. That being said, I’ve never considered trying to grow them indoors. I might have to look at doing the leg work for her to have one where she’s living now. I know that she’s missing her garden, so it would be something that would hopefully make her smile.
Hyacinths are gorgeous and I didn‘t know you could grow them inside. This is a very helpful guide. I‘ve seen one of the local corner shops selling them and might pick some up next time I‘m there.
Mom and I picked up Hyacinths for a dollar at a Walmart several weeks ago. To my surprise they did very well. I had no idea about the care and treatment of the flower. So to read this article about the flower, I did good. Oh, there was no mention of the wonderful fragrance these flowers put out. That is what made me buy one. Anyway, now this article has guided me on how to care for the flowers after they have flowered. The “keep cool” is new on me. Thank you so much for the article.
Thanks Gail, I’m glad your indoor hyacinth bulbs did well.