Planting indoor bulbs

At this time of year it seems more important than ever to fill my home with flowers and colour. However, buying fresh flowers every week is expensive (Jules bought me flowers every week for the first year of our relationship – wonder why that stopped!). Also, I think some people find arranging flowers, knowing what to put them in and changing the water a bit of a hassle.

Planting bulbs indoors is the answer. They are so easy to plant, need no care other than a few turns so they don’t grow towards the light and the flowers last far longer than freshly cut ones.

I’ve decided to plant some this year in some of my tea cups, jugs, jars and old tins as it means I can have these on display too – bonus. If you want to do the same, you need to use a Bulb Fibre compost that has lots of fibre and charcoal in it as this allows the water to drain otherwise the roots will rot in a container with no holes.

Here’s a quick run down for you of how I planted each different type of bulb:

Hyacinth – you can plant these bulbs with no compost. If you don’t have a hyacinth vase, use a jam jar. Pop some pebbles to about half way up and place the bulb on top. Fill with water to just below the top of the pebbles so the bulb is just touching the water. The roots will grow and fill the jar so this looks really pretty. Keep the jar topped up with water, never filling it beyond the base of the bulb.

Crocus – these bulbs need very little compost as they have a really shallow root base. Therefore, they are perfect to be planted in shallow tins, serving dishes or bowls. Plant them so that you can see their shoulders. I’ve used a small enamel dish and a soup terrine for mine.

Daffodils – if you are planting these outside, you would plant them at least 10cm below the surface. However, inside plant them just below the surface. I’ve used a tea cup for mine.

Muscari (grape hyacinths) – these need a deeper container to grow in as they have a larger root structure to the other bulbs so I’ve used a deep cake tin and a jug. Plant them close together and just below the surface of the compost.

Snow drops – plant them just below the surface of the compost.

Freesias – plant them just below the surface of the compost and don’t crowd them.

Remember to turn them every now and agin to stop them from bending over backwards towards the light, and keep the soil moist but not flooded.

For far more detailed and expert advice have a look at these articles written by Sarah Raven: The Inside Job Part 1, The Inside Job Part 2, The Inside job Part 3.

Happy planting!

Katy x