Don’t Try Growing a Hyacinth Bulb Indoors

About two weeks ago, I bought a hyacinth bulb that came with a little glass from Home Depot. There’s a top part to the glass where the bulb sits, and then there is a chamber below the bulb that is filled with water. It seemed like it would be a really nice idea, but it didn’t work at all. The problem was that I failed to read the directions before making the purchase.

Here are the directions. Fill the glass with water just beneath the bulb. The water should not touch the bottom of the bulb. Place the hyacinth in a cool (40-50°F), dark and ventilated spot. Check the water level every week. When the bud of the hyacinth is 8 cm out of the bulb, after 10 to 12 weeks you may bring the hyacinth into the living room (68°F).

The main problem here is that there’s no way that I’m going to lower the temperature of my apartment to 40° for several weeks, and it’s much too cold right now to put it outside on my balcony! The second problem was that I put too much water in the bottom portion of the glass so that the water was touching the bulb. It should not have been touching it. It should have been below the bulb, but the water should not have been in contact with the bulb. Because the water was in contact with the bulb for quite some time, a white mold started to grow on the bulb. So, the summary is that no flowers grew, and the only thing I was able to grow was a lot of very smelly white mold, so I had to throw the bulb out today. It was 50% off when I bought it. I now realize that was because no one else wanted to buy it because they actually took the time to read the directions. The moral of the story is always read the directions on the box before you buy no matter how good a deal it seems to be.