Forcing bulbs for indoors

How to do it

1. 1Buy bulbs sold as 'prepared' for hyacinths and for Christmas paperwhites; ordinary ones have not been chilled and will flower late and short.
2. 2Plant in September or October with the tips just showing, in bulb fibre or any free-draining compost.
3. 3Give them eight to ten weeks somewhere cold and dark — a shed, a garage, an unheated cupboard — checked every fortnight so they never dry right out.
4. 4Bring them into the light only when the shoots are about 5cm and you can feel a fat bud inside the neck.
5. 5Move them somewhere cool once the colour shows. A warm room halves the display.

Plants that use it

Their calendar has a job that points to this guide.