Bulb Bleg

Anyone out there know about plants? See, I bought these bulbs last March-ish, when purty flowers were growing out of them. Then the flowers died, and the bulbs just sat there. Somewhere I remembered that bulbs actually can bloom again sometimes, so instead of throwing them out, I left them outside on my balcony. But nothing happened. Random seeds landed and germinated in the pots. I was just about to empty them out the other day, when lo and behold, this is what I see:

So, they're now growing again. It's kind of spooky. Yet, soon I'm gonna have me more purty flowers!

My question for the botanically-inclined is: why is this happening right now, on the cusp of winter? How can I make sure it continues happening? Should I take the pots in from the balcony, or do they need lots of light?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Comments

[Franziska]

Yes, they could be some kind of hyaciths, since tulips or daffodils do not grow in autumn. My grape hyacinths have smaller but more leaves though. I do the same what you did with them, I just leave the bulbs in and put something more decorative above them once the leaves are dead (Don't cut them off, the plants still need some photosynthesis). In early autumn leaves come back out again. It seems like they need some photosynthesis before winter comes. The green leaves survive snow and ice and in April they start blooming again. The "winter leaves" look a bit scruffy by then, but nature isn't as picky as I am.

[G]

Your problem was that they needed to be chilled (I have friends who put them in the fridge). Now they have been, you can bring them in and put them on the windowsill. This reminds me it must be time to go to Ikea for my new bulbs!

[John]

The Wife says: they're hyacinths. They need light now, and you can leave them on the balcony as long as it's not freezing.

Getting hyacinths to blossom for Christmas is an old tradition, one often commented upon in books by Astid Lindgren. You don't even need a pot with soil: there are special hyacinth glasses to serve this purpose.

In short: enjoy the purty flowers!