Growing Bulbs indoors
Many bulbs that can be grown outdoors can also be grown indoors. The most popular being the hyacinth which is either forced into flower early, or just grown as a normal house plant - but with scent.
The main thing to remember about growing bulbs indoors in pots, is that the growing environment is totally different to what the bulb would experience outdoors. Subsequently, there are many failures! But it need not be so.
The secret is firstly to select types of bulbs that will grow happily in containers indoors, and even more important, how you can raise those bulbs in the right conditions without seeing them either flop over, after being drawn up by the light - or lack of it. This is particularly so with the bulbs that are forced into flower during the winter months.
Most of the spring flowering bulbs can be grown indoors - but the best method is to grow them outside in their pots, then bring them indoors for forcing at a later stage. Hyacinths which are specially treated, can spend the whole time indoors - as can the favourite daffodil/narcissus "Paperwhite".
Summer flowering bulbs - such as the lilies, are best grown to flowering bud stage out of doors in their post, then bought into the house ready for the final act of providing you with a spectacular feature for a corner of the room - or with smaller growing varieties - a superb centrepiece for the table.
Autumn and Winter can be brightened up with bulbs (corms) such as the hardy cyclamen - and of course the normal florists cyclamen which are on sale from late August through to early spring.
Cyclamen Coum Hybrids are shown in the picture. It is suitable for growing in a pot, then bringing into the house during flowering period - late winter as it breaks into flower, or can be flowered a little earlier if gently forced with room temperature heat.
It is much smaller than the florists' cyclamen - being just a few inches in height.
The most important points to for growing bulbs in the house are ......
- Choose the right bulb type
- Take care not to place the bulb pot too near a warm radiator or any other heat source, otherwise it will grow too tall and be generally weaker for it.
- Give the bulb plenty of light - especially in winter months which are normally much darker indoors than realised.
- Keep the bulbs watered and do not allow to dry out at any stage of the growing.
- Do NOT try to force your bulbs into growth by placing it in a warm place - or a darkened room. If the latter for prepared hyacinths or daffodils, than as soon as the leaves start to appear above the nose of the bulb, bring out into full light.