Hyacinth Care: Growing Bulbs Indoor & Outdoors

Who doesn’t like colorful Hyacinth bulbs or any bulb plant with their beautiful flowers and their wonderful scents? Everyone loves to have this type of plant in their garden!

Hyacinth plants are common spring-flowering bulbs known for their flamboyant, beautiful and exceptionally fragrant blooms.

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Hyacinth bulb can be planted in a bed, pot, vase, and window planter boxes; they look beautiful when planted in groups.

Blooming normally happens in the spring, but they can also be kept inside to create a flowering hyacinth vase Christmas show.

Some varieties or kinds of hyacinths that you can also try include water hyacinths, grape hyacinths, also known as Muscari and Dutch hyacinth, Hyacinthus orientalis.



Read on to discover the ways of growing hyacinths effectively in your home and garden!

When buying white Hyacinth bulbs at your local gardening center, look for bulbs which are heavy and without any spots, cuts, or softness.

Read on to learn more about how to care for hyacinth.

Planting Hyacinth Bulbs

Growing Hyacinth Outdoors

  • Hyacinths are best planted during harvest season, that is, autumn.
  • As with most hyacinths bulbs like Hyacinthus orientalis need a nutrient-rich, well-drained soil in full direct sunlight.
  • Ensure the ground you are planting has been cleared of weeds, and incorporate some organic matter. For example, spread fully decayed organic manure, composted green waste or fertilizer into the soil bed. This will enhance the well-drained soil quality and add some nutrient supplements.
  • Wear gloves when planting as the bulbs can cause skin irritation.
  • Plant this flowering spring bulb at a depth of 6″ inches, spaced 4″ inches apart.
  • Cover them with soil and gently tamp down. Abstain from walking on top of the bulbs or packing the soil too hard, as this may harm the developing tips.
  • If the soil is damp, they shouldn’t need additional watering.

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Growing Hyacinth Bulbs In Containers

The common hyacinth makes a phenomenal container plant because of is compact nature, and growing it in a pot lets you appreciate their aroma and beauty anywhere.

  • Any fertilizer can be used to plant hyacinths in containers. For short-term blooms, use multi-purpose fertilizer; to make the blooms last longer, use a soil-based fertilizer.
  • Gently work some slow-release bulb fertilizer into the soil surface in early spring to nourish your bulbs for the coming year’s blossoms.
  • For a one-time bloom, bulbs can be planted closer together than normal for a more striking visual impact (separated by about 2″ inches).
  • Once planted, make sure the soil stays moist to help them grow.
  • Generally, you can plant 6-7 bulbs in an 8″-inch container, 8-9 bulbs in 10″-inch containers, and 10-11 bulbs in 12-inch containers.
  • Any great potting medium can be used, including any potting soil blended with coarse sand or similar material.
  • Rocks are useful to fill the bottom of pots with drainage holes to improve removal of excess water to keep the roots and the plant itself safe from conditions brought by overwatering.
  • Place containers on “feet” to guarantee that the water can drain away, avoiding root rot.
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Hyacinths Care Grown in the Ground

  • Growing hyacinths in the ground require little to no care.
  • When hyacinth blossoms have faded you can cut them off, but make sure you let the leaves die back naturally to nourish the bulb for next year.
  • Hyacinths regularly have huge, thick blossoms in their first year because they receive a lot of additional fertilizer in the nursery. They often have fewer blossoms per stem in their second year under ordinary growing conditions.
  • Keep hyacinths watered during droughts or dry fall seasons. A yearly application of fertilizer ought to give sufficient supplements to keep your Hyacinth healthy for the upcoming year.

Caring for Hyacinths in Containers

  • Once you’ve planted your Hyacinth bulbs, keep the pots in a shady spot below 45 F.
  • If you happen to live in a place that doesn’t get colder than 26 degrees F, you can leave them outside.
  • Keep light off the pots by covering them in dark colored paper or recycled burlap sacks.
  • In the spring, start gradually exposing the pots to light. After a couple of weeks, the old bulbs ought to have 3-5 shoots. Then you can move the pots to full sun and let them blossom.
  • Protect potted plants from excessive winter cold or moisture.
  • Allow leaves to die naturally.
  • Use compost as needed.

Hyacinth Care: Pests and Diseases

Bulb decay can affect your hyacinths if they are planted too soon in excessively warm, fertilized soil.

Bulb pests and white grub worms are creepy crawlies can also destroy your bulbs. Stem and bulb nematodes will cause droopy and yellowed hyacinth leaves and dead sprouts.

Discard infected hyacinth globules and don’t plant anything in the infested potting mix or garden area for a long time.

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