Hyacinths to beat the January Blues

/ November 25, 2014

I know I should be getting excited for Christmas and all that, especially with the beginning of Advent this Sunday. In Germany, the four weeks leading up to Christmas are filled with traditional baking and little celebrations, all lined up to brighten up those short and dark December days. Once Christmas is over and the New Year has been rung in, January beckons with equally short and cold days, but without the glamour and sparkle of Christmas preparations. In order to speed up the arrival of Spring I am planning to force a few hyacinth bulbs in glass vases, in the hope that the flowers will come to bloom when we need a lift.Forcing hyacinth bulbs 2

Hyacinths are beautiful anyway, and you can get bulbs from around September onwards in various colours. Vases are a little harder to come by: they were rather fashionable in the Victorian period as well as the 1970s, which means you can pick up some lovely specimens in car boot sales and the like. My own little collection was completely destroyed in the hard winter two years ago, but more of that later. If you don’t have any vases handy, a pretty bottle with a slightly wider opening, such as a milk bottle, should do the trick. I don’t think you need to buy special bulbs for this, although I am aware that some are marketed in that way. I’ve always used ordinary hyacinth bulbs – although hyacinths are anything but ordinary with their delicate flowers and beautiful scent.

I always find that the term ‘forcing’ sounds a little harsh, because all you do is to trick the bulbs into developing roots – and flowers – a little ahead of their time. Some people begin at the end of September to have flowers in time for Christmas, making them an amazing and unusual Christmas gift.

All you need to do to start the process is to fill your vases with water and place the bulb on top of it: make sure they don’t touch the water – you should leave around 1cm or 1/2 inch between the bottom of the bulb and the water. Use rubber gloves when you handle the bulbs as they can cause an allergic reaction.Forcing hyacinth bulbs 1

Next place them in a dark and cool space, such as a cellar, a larder or a shed. If it is too cold it will take a little longer, especially when the temperature drops below freezing as the water might freeze and your vases will explode. Hence my vase-inferno a few years back …Forcing hyacinth bulbs 3

Check regularly to top up water; they will start developing roots and after around 2-3 months their bulbs will have come out fully and you can bring them out into the light. They will take another fortnight or so to come into flower and are bound to brighten up those winter afternoons! If you’d like to take a peak at the possible outcome, have a look at Julie‘s site – her collection of vases is amazing, never mind the mind-blowing array of different varieties in full bloom.

I hope I am not the only one worrying already about the time after Christmas – especially as I haven’t even organised the presents yet …Forcing hyacinth bulbs 4

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22 thoughts on “Hyacinths to beat the January Blues”

  1. Oh Ginger! What a sight for sore eyes and a nice break from all the Thanksgiving frenzy! I can’t imagine you lost vases more beautiful than these. Please post the blooming hyacinths. I force paperwhites and amaryllis but never thought of hyacinths. Their scent will be heavenly come January. I have an amaryllis almost ready to open which I managed to save from last year. Usually all I get is foliage so I am super excited! Thank you for your post.

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    • Thank you for sharing my excitement! I have a hyacinth in a pot on the windowsill, it might make it in time for Christmas. There was a fairy called ‘Amaryllis’ in one of the books I read as a child, the Robber Hotzenplotz it was called, so I have always had a soft spot for that flower. But I never even thought of paperwhites! Must work harder next year 😉
      Have a wonderful Thanksgiving though!

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  2. I love the vases too. I plant mine in pots and indoor window boxes and like you, just use regular bulbs. The smell of hyacinths always say spring and it’s so uplifting in the darkest days of winter!

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  7. Loved this post – it reminded me of my grandmother who used to fill her coat cupboard with pots covered in plastic bags (no cling film back then) to firce them for Christmas – and the smell, oh the smell! Loved your vases, so beautiful!

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  8. Lovely post. Each year at Christmas one of our presents was always a hyacinth like this from my Mum. My sister’s and I always couldn’t wait to see which colour we had. And that smell! It takes me right back! The real markets open here tomorrow, I will have a gluhwein for you! 🙂 x

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    • You are making my cry!! Although, to be honest, we had a little Grühwein on Saturday … and will have some more this weekend, while we are having a board games evening with the neighbours … But enjoy the market and have a mug for me, too 😉

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  11. Lovely vases Ginger- and I’m having my gluhwein everyday darling haha here in Lux they already started like a week ago- yesterday we went to Alsace to see the biggest one in the whole region and I’m going to Trier next weekend! Good idea for a Christmas present by the way- I’m useless when comes to these things- plants and me equals disaster 😀 xx

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