Christmas Bulbs

Plant Your Indoor Bulbs for Christmas Now Make Beautiful Christmas Presents and Fresh Flower Displays to Decorate your Home. MyGardenSchool Tutor and multi-gold medal winner at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Andy McIndoe, is urging us all to plant bulbs indoors now to reap the benefits at Christmas. Not only will the flowers make fabulous displays to guarantee cheer in the deep midwinter, but also make excellent Christmas presents. [gallery] But you must be quick – bulbs need to be planted now to flower for Christmas – Deliciously delicate and fragrant bulbs to plant for Christmas: Hippeastrum (amaryllis): If you want a strong and stunning statement - Plant Hippeastrum in October/Early Nov for flowers at Christmas – they take about 10 weeks from planting to flowering Hyacinths: The exact timings for hyacinths depends on the cultivar. ‘Pink Pearl’ likes around ten to dozen weeks of cool conditions followed by 20 days indoors to get to bud, ‘Anna Marie’ needs only 8 weeks cool and 18 days inside before flowering. As a general rule the lower the temperatures, the longer the flowers take to come. Daffodils & Narcissus: Daffodils, such as Narcissus ‘Paper White’, are also perfect for scenting the house in the winter season. These look beautiful on windowsills, with their petals backlit by the winter sun. Naturally they'd flower January or February, but if you find the best quality bulbs they'll flower in 6 to 10 weeks after planting Instructions: • Buy ‘prepared’ bulbs (they will flower more quickly) • Partly fill your pot of choice with potting compost or moist bulb fibre • Place your bulbs in the pot – close but not touching – and cover them, but leave the tops exposed • Water well • Put the pot somewhere cool and, ideally, dim – the shed, a darker corner of the greenhouse, a cool cupboard etc. • Keep the plant here, and the earth moist, for 8-12 weeks. The plants will be ready to come into the light when the green shoots are approximately 5cm high • Bring the pot into a cool, well lit room and it should flower for Christmas [caption id="attachment_670" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="MyGardenSchool Tutor, Andy McIndoe"][/caption] Andy McIndoe is currently teaching an online course on planting flowerbulbs on MyGardenSchool. Designed with spring bulbs in mind, the course guides students from buying bulbs through to planning and planting a beautiful spring garden.

This no nonsense course is crammed full of facts and tips, including how to blend scents and colour, and how to naturalise bulbs in grass.

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