Gardeners' World: Adam gives advice on planting spring bulbs
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Hyacinths are a beautiful flowering spring bulbs that can sometimes be overlooked by the popular daffodil and tulips. Hyacinths can fill beds and borders with colour, a heady sweet scent and gorgeous star-shaped flowers. Hyacinths come in a range of colours – yellow, purple, blue, pink, white, coral – and each colour comes with its own fragrance.
Some gardeners plant prepared hyacinth bulbs in September so the plant flowers around Christmas.
“Prepared” hyacinth bulbs have already been through cold treatments which triggers the growing process allowing them to flower earlier. These are mainly grown indoors.
Gardeners could try planting prepared hyacinth bulbs now for Christmas presents but they do require 10 to 12 weeks for roots and shoots to develop.
Planting hyacinth bulbs in beds and borders
Diane Blazek from the National Garden Bureau said hyacinths “always look their best” in the first spring after they’ve been planted.
She continued: “For this reason, most gardeners plant fresh bulbs every year or two. While the bulbs will usually re-bloom for several years, they will gradually revert to the original species, with single florets that are widely spaced along the stem.”
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Hyacinth bulbs can be bought online, from garden centres and even from some supermarkets. There are numerous species available which will come in various colours with different scents.
Larger, plump bulbs are likely to produce healthier plants with bigger flowers. They should be firm to the touch – not squishy – and be weighted according to their size.
Hyacinths like full sunlight, needing around four hours of sun each day. They also prefer well-drained, moderately fertile soil.
For those planting clumps of hyacinth bulbs, dig a hole big enough to hold them all and place them upright at the bottom of the hole with the pointed side facing upwards. Ensure they are around three to four inches below the soil’s surface.
Venelin Dimitrov, Product Manager at Burpee added: “Press the bulbs into the soil and cover with the prepared soil to the recommended depth. You can also use a trowel to dig individual holes.”
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Amanda Shephard of American Meadows said hyacinths are perennial so will return year after year.
She added: “Besides being fragrant and easy to grow indoors, hyacinths are a perennial spring-bloomer, meaning they illuminate the garden year after year.
“They are also unappealing to pesky critters such as deer and rabbits, staying safe in the ground and not likely to be dug up.”
Planting hyacinth bulbs in containers
Hyacinths like good drainage and lots of water. A waterlogged hyacinth bulb will quickly rot.
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Ensure containers have lots of drainage holes for water to pass through and line the bottom with broken terracotta pots.
Grit can be added to the compost to ensure the soil is well-draining. Plant larger bulbs around four to five inches deep close together but not touching.
Growing hyacinths in glass vases
To do this, you will need a hyacinth vase or a glass propagator. These look like glass vases with a pinched-in centre.
Fill the lower part of the glass with water and then place the bulb in the top section, ensuring the base of the bulb does not get wet.
Keep the water topped up and the bulb in a dark place until the shoot is around four to five centimetres tall.
Once there is a well-established shoot, put them in a sunny indoor spot.
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