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Notebook · Guide 1 October 2026 · houseplants

Bulbs for Christmas: forcing hyacinths, paperwhites and amaryllis

Prepared hyacinths need a cool, dark spell first; paperwhites and amaryllis just need warmth and light. Timings, planting depths and aftercare for winter flowers indoors.

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A bowl of prepared hyacinth bulbs planted in bulb fibre with their tops at the surface, sitting in a dim, cool shed.
1Prepared hyacinths spend 8–10 weeks somewhere cool and dark.

Bulbs flowering indoors in midwinter feel like a trick, and they partly are: "forcing" means persuading a bulb it has already been through winter. Three bulbs dominate, and they work in different ways. Hyacinths need a cold, dark spell first. Paperwhites and amaryllis just need planting somewhere warm and bright.

In pictures

  1. A bowl of hyacinths with shoots about 4–5cm tall and visible roots, being carried into a bright room.
    2Bring them into the light when roots have formed and shoots are 4–5cm tall.
  2. An amaryllis bulb in a pot only slightly wider than the bulb, planted with about two-thirds of the bulb sitting above the compost.
    3Amaryllis: plant with about two-thirds of the bulb above the compost.
  3. A flowering amaryllis with large red trumpet flowers and a bowl of white paperwhite narcissus side by side on a windowsill in winter.
    4Amaryllis and paperwhites flowering for Christmas.

01Prepared hyacinths

"Prepared" hyacinths have been heat-treated so they flower early. Ordinary garden hyacinths won't make it for Christmas.

  1. Plant in September for Christmas, in bulb fibre or peat-free multipurpose compost, with the top of each bulb level with or just above the surface.
  2. Keep them cool and dark — a shed, garage or cold room — for about 8–10 weeks, ideally around 9°C. Keep the compost just moist.
  3. Bring them into the light once roots have formed and the shoots are about 4–5cm tall.
  4. Keep them cool indoors, away from radiators and draughts. A room that's too warm makes the flower stalks flop or fail to emerge from the leaves.
  5. After flowering, plant them out in the garden at the usual depth, two to three times the bulb's height.

Wear gloves when handling hyacinth bulbs — the RHS notes they can irritate skin.

02Paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus)

  1. Plant in September for Christmas or New Year.
  2. Water well and put them on a bright, sunny windowsill.
  3. Expect flowers about 6–10 weeks after planting.
  4. Support the floppy stems with a few twiggy sticks or dogwood stems.

03Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)

  1. Plant October to January in a pot only a little wider than the bulb, with about two-thirds of the bulb above the compost.
  2. Keep it warm — about 21°C — in good light, and water sparingly until leaves appear.
  3. Expect flowers roughly 6–10 weeks after planting.
  4. Move it somewhere cooler (15–18°C) once it's flowering, to make the flowers last longer.

Keeping it for next year:

  1. Cut the flower stalk to the base after flowering, and keep the leaves growing.
  2. Feed weekly with a balanced liquid feed through spring and summer.
  3. In late September, stop feeding, reduce watering, and keep it at about 13°C for 8–10 weeks.
  4. Then restart watering and warmth for the next round of flowers.

See our amaryllis profile for its safety flags.

Save your money
Bowls without drainage holes work fine with bulb fibre.
Use garden prunings — twiggy stems — as supports.
Keep the amaryllis. A bulb that's fed and rested flowers again next winter.
Don't bin the hyacinths — plant them out in the garden.

How we checked this

Every care and safety claim on this page is verified against horticultural and veterinary sources.

Sources: RHS — Bulbs for Christmas flowering · RHS — How to grow hyacinths · RHS — Hippeastrum · RHS — Hyacinth

Checked 1 October 2026. If our advice ever conflicts with the RHS, believe them and tell us.