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Planting, Growing, and Caring for Hyacinths
Ahhh! The scent of hyacinth is intoxicating in springtime! And who can resist the tiny blue Muscari? Learn more about planting these spring-flowering bulbs as well as caring for the pretty pastel flowers after they bloom.
About Hyacinths and Grape Hyacinths
- Hyacinths (Hyacinthus): Originally a pale blue or violet flower, hyacinths now come in a rainbow of colors, including lilacs, pinks, white, cobalt blue, cream, apricot, and even a blood-red hue. Each hyacinth bulb generally produces one flower stalk that stands 8 to 10 inches tall. The hyacinth鈥檚 loose-to-dense racemes (clusters) of strongly fragrant flowers may be closely packed single or double flowers.
- Grape hyacinths (Muscari) are not directly related to true hyacinths, but also bloom in mid-spring and have the same care requirements. This tiny wonder has small clusters of bell-shaped, cobalt-blue flowers.
Note: This page will refer to both Hyacinthus and Muscari plants as 鈥渉yacinths鈥 for simplicity鈥檚 sake!
As hyacinths are one of the first blooms, they look best at the front of a perennial garden, near the front door, along a walkway, or in mixed borders. These beauties are also a great choice for pots and planters. Hyacinths make wonderful cutting flowers, too, and look stunning in bouquets. As the flowers are famous for their fragrance, you can bring the sweet scent of spring inside!
The Victorians revered hyacinths for their sweet, lingering fragrance, and carefully massed them in low beds, planting them in rows of one color each. In general, hyacinths are said to symbolize playfulness, sport, and rashness, though their meanings are color-dependent. Learn more about the meanings of flowers.
Please note: Most hyacinths grow in zones 3 to 9. They must have cold temperatures of 40掳 to 45掳F (4掳 to 7掳C) for at least 12 to 14 weeks. If temperatures in your area do not get this cold, you鈥檒l need to pre-chill the bulbs in a refrigerator before planting them outdoors.
Warning: Hyacinth bulbs (and daffodil bulbs) contain a substance called oxalic acid, which can be irritating to bare skin. Use gloves when handling these bulbs for extended periods.
Catherine Boeckmann
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Hi, I received a potted hyacinth on Thursday May 28,2020. When I received them two bulbs were already dropping they were laying on the table. Now Sunday May 31,2020 all the bulbs are laying on the table. What does this meaning? What do I do now? I watered them on Thursday and then again last night. How do I take care of the Hyacinth?
Thank you
Purchased potted bulbs (say that three times fast) are almost always forced. We can only guess that perhaps they were weak or even spent just before you received them. Or, and this is just a wild hunch, if the person who gave them to you transplanted blooming bulbs into the pot as a gift, they did not survive the uprooting and resetting, so flopped over, confused about what to do and weary from the experience.
I have some great Hyacinth bulbs and am planning on them returning for years to come (Columbus, Ohio). I would like to move my spent bulbs to a secondary holding bed so that I can plant some annuals in that prime real estate in my garden beds. Is this something that I can expect any success with? I was planning on digging up the bulbs with their leaf-stalks and just moving them to another bed until Fall when I would bring back the bulbs to be planted again for next Spring.
What are my chances at success here? Any tips I should be thinking of?
Thanks in advance!
The first thing to think about is Plan B: how will you feel, and what will you do, if the bulbs do not survive the transitions? It is generally and widely recommended to let bulbs die back in place (the ground they bloomed in), leaving th foliage to 鈥測ellow鈥 naturally, without tiebacks or other techniques that put the foliage out of sight or lacking sun exposure. In short, the rule of thumb is to leave them alone. Lifting them and resetting them would be jarring (think about it: the plant just put on a show and is resting, catching up on spent energy and gets this shock to its system!). IF, capital letters, you can dig deep enough to take the soil that the bulbs are in, plus a few inches of soil under and around the bulbs, and move the whole thing without disturbing the bulbs, it might, might work. At least, on a few of the bulbs. But you won’t know for sure until show time.
They have flowered and the followers are still on them , but looking old
My Question is , will there be any seeds produced in the flower heads
Thank you
It is best to cut off the spent flower stalk before it starts to form seed pods. Allowing it to grow seed pods weakens the bulb and diminishes its blooms the following spring.
I just received a hyacinth as a gift for Mother's Day. It has three beautiful blooms right now and is in just the small pot from a garden center purchase. Can this be replanted right now and if so, where is best--a pot or the ground? I live in Southeast Louisiana. Thank you!
All my hyacinth plants are blooming before they fully emerge from the ground. What is my problem?
Could you have planted them too deep? Hyacinths should be planted only 3-4 inches into the soil. If they’re too deep, they may struggle to emerge properly.
Can young plants be planted in the spring, their in a container now.
