Growing Guides:
How to grow Hyacinths
Gorgeous Spring favourites, Hyacinths are known for their large flowers and delightful fragrance. They are winter growers (plant in Autumn) and should be dried off in the summer when the leaves have died away. Hyacinths are suitable for sunny situations in well-drained soil where the resting bulbs will become reasonably dry and warm in the summer (without this summer warmth, they may not flower). Hyacinths are a wonderful companion bulb for other Spring flowers, complementing daffodils, tulips, muscari and snowdrops beautifully, and make striking displays when planted en mass.
Hyacinths are also a hugely popular bulb for growing indoors, in both soil and water.
Planting hyacinth bulbs:
Follow our simple step-by-step guide to planting Hyacinth bulbs:
- Hyacinth bulbs are planted In Autumn, before the ground freezes. Pick a sunny spot with good drainage
- Dig a hole around 15cm deep (follow the general rule of thumb when planting bulbs and give the bulbs at least 2 times their height of soil above them), drop the bulb in, and cover with soil. Make sure you place the bulb the right way up, Hyacinth bulbs look like a little onion with a slightly pointy head and sometimes with wiry roots growing out of the underside. Plant with the pointy head / spike pointing up.
- Leave approximately 8cm between each bulb. If you are planting in containers, you can cluster them a little closer together.
- After planting, water well so that the soil above the bulbs settles.
- Hyacinth bulbs will flower in Spring. After the flowers die down, allow the plant to enjoy a rest period - there is no need to water much during this period. Leaves will also die back and at this point you can choose to tidy up the plant and remove the old leaves or just let nature take its course.