Hyacinth

Hyacinth: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Compact plant 20–25 cm tall and about 10 cm wide, with one sturdy flower stem per bulb; older bulbs sometimes produce more.

Leaves

Four to six broad, strap-shaped, glossy green leaves around the stem.

Flower

A dense spike of dozens of waxy, star-shaped bells, single or double, in March–April.

Scent

Very strong, sweet and heavy; in a small room it can be almost too much.

Bulb

A fat, round bulb with a papery tunic, often tinged with the flower colour: purplish in blue varieties, paler in white and yellow ones.

Flowering: March–April · Plants: September–November

Why grow it?

• One of the most fragrant spring flowers: a few bulbs by the front door scent the whole entrance.
• Bright, clear colours in March–April, when the garden is still bare.
• Ideal in pots and containers, and indoors on a hyacinth glass.
• An early source of nectar and pollen for bumblebees and bees.
• A fragrant cut flower for a small vase.
• Hardy and easy: plant in autumn and enjoy in spring.

Hyacinth: where does it grow best?

• Sun or partial shade; in sun the stems stay shorter and sturdier.
• Well-drained soil: sand, loam or clay, neutral to chalky. In wet soil the bulbs rot.
• Normally moist in spring and rather dry in summer, when the bulb is resting.
• Plant 10–15 cm apart, in groups of five to ten, or close together in a pot.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Neutral or chalky

Moisture

Normal

Size

0.25 m tall, 0.1 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -25 °C)

Goes well with

• Tulips: They partly flower at the same time and add height above the compact hyacinths.
• Grape hyacinths: A blue carpet at their feet, especially lovely with white or pink hyacinths.
• Horned violet: Flowers from autumn and covers the soil around the bulbs in a pot.
• Daffodils: Yellow and blue: a classic spring combination.
• Forget-me-not: A soft blue haze between the sturdy spikes.

Hyacinth: when and how to plant it?

Plant in September–November.

1. Plant from September to November, ideally once the soil has cooled a little; October is perfect.
2. Wear gloves: the outer skins of the bulb can make your skin itch.
3. Dig a hole or a wide trench and set the bulbs pointed end up, 15 cm deep.
4. Space them 10–15 cm apart; in a pot they can almost touch.
5. In heavy soil, put a layer of coarse sand under the bulbs.
6. Firm the soil and water in if it is dry.

Care

Watering

Usually unnecessary in the garden. In pots, keep the compost slightly moist, never soggy.

Feeding

Not needed. If you like, scatter some compost or bulb fertiliser when the shoots appear.

Deadheading

Cut off the flower stem after flowering, so the bulb does not set seed.

Leaves

Leave the leaves for at least six weeks after flowering, until they turn yellow: this is how the bulb recharges.

Support

Heavy, double spikes in pots or indoors can topple; a thin stick helps.

Tip: Want hyacinths in flower at Christmas? Buy prepared bulbs in September, set them on glasses somewhere cool and dark, and only move them to a warm room once the bud sticks out a few centimetres above the bulb.

Hyacinth: when to prune it?

When: No pruning is needed. Cut off the faded flower stem in April–May and only remove the leaves once they are yellow, usually in June.

How:

• Cut off the faded spike with its stem, as low as possible.
• Leave the leaves until they turn yellow and limp by themselves.
• Then remove the dead leaves or gently pull them away.

Caution: Do not cut the leaves while green or tie them in knots: the bulb stays small and flowers poorly next year.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Offsets

Hyacinths produce few offsets, and slowly. Detach them in June when the leaves have died down and replant them in autumn; they take several years to flower.

Scooping and scoring

Growers scoop out the base of the bulb in summer or cut a cross into it. Dozens of bulblets form on the wound, which take a few years to flower. A fun experiment, but it takes patience.

Hyacinth: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• Fully hardy, to about −25 °C: in open ground there is nothing to do.
• Bulbs in pots are more vulnerable, as the whole pot can freeze solid. Stand the pot against a wall or wrap it in hessian.
• On a glass or in a pot indoors: keep the bulbs cool and dark for 8–10 weeks first, until the bud sticks out a few centimetres from the bulb, and only then move them to a light room.
• Hyacinths that have flowered indoors can be planted in the garden afterwards: they will flower there again in later years, but more loosely.

Diseases and pests

• Bulb rot: Soft, smelly or mouldy bulbs and plants that fail to appear. The cause is nearly always wet soil: plant in free-draining ground and throw soft bulbs away.
• Slugs: Holes in leaves and flowers. Picking them off in the evening helps.
• Stuck flower: Indoors, the spike stays stuck among the leaves. The bulb had too few cold weeks or was brought into the warmth too early: give it enough time cool and dark first.
• Loose spikes: In the second year the spikes become sparser and looser. That is normal, not a disease; for tight spikes in pots, plant new bulbs each year.
• Itching: Red, itchy skin after planting or cutting flowers. Wear gloves and wash your hands.

Through the year

• January: Move bulbs on glasses or in pots to a light room once the bud is clearly visible.
• February: Forced hyacinths flower indoors. Outside, the noses appear.
• March: First flowers in the garden. Watch out for slugs.
• April: Flowering. Cut off faded spikes.
• May: Let the leaves die back. Plant out bulbs that flowered indoors.
• June: Remove yellow leaves. Detach offsets.
• September: Buy and plant bulbs. Set bulbs on glasses and put them somewhere cool and dark.
• October: Best month for planting, 15 cm deep.
• November: Plant the last bulbs. Protect pots from hard frost.
• December: Check forced bulbs and top up the water in hyacinth glasses.

Edible and useful

Not edible. All parts of hyacinth are poisonous, especially the bulb: it causes vomiting and diarrhoea, in dogs and cats too. The papery outer layers of the bulb are full of needle-like crystals that cause itching and red patches on the skin: wear gloves when planting and wash your hands afterwards. The bulb looks like an onion but does not smell of one: never store bulbs with the vegetables, and keep a hyacinth on a bulb glass out of reach of small children and cats. If any is swallowed, call a poison centre (in Belgium 070 245 245) or your doctor at once.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• The name refers to the Greek myth of Hyacinthus, a young man accidentally killed by a discus thrown by Apollo. A flower is said to have sprung from his blood.
• In the 18th century the hyacinth was a fashionable flower in Holland: high prices were paid for rare, especially double, varieties.
• On a hyacinth glass the base of the bulb must not quite touch the water: the roots reach down for it themselves, and a wet bulb rots.