Forcing Hyacinth bulbs is one of those little pleasures in life that one should not miss! Just look at this amazing flower, and the fragrance is incredible too. I put three hyacinth bulbs in my refrigerator in November, but then got busy and somehow those bulbs just sat there in my fridge door for months and months, enduring a cold and lonely winter. That is until last week, when my husband wanted to toss them thinking they were old onions.
So, I seized the moment, and although I thought that it may be too late to expect flowers from my little bulbs, I filled some small Moroccan tea glasses with water and placed my bulbs inside, just touching the water. And guess what, a mere 12 days later one bulb has bloomed, a second has bloomed partially and the third will have blooms in another few days. So much fun, and I now realize that one can and should store a whole bag of bulbs in the fridge and take them out gradually over the course of a few months to enjoy the incomparable beauty of hyacinth.
Now of course, there is just one remaining question, can one actually do this year round? I do know that bulbs have a yearly cycle, but since forcing throws them off this cycle, maybe it is possible to have blooming hyacinth in the summer, assuming the bulbs have been kept in the fridge since they were purchased? If anyone tries it let me know!