I recently did a post about how to plant tulips and shared all of the details about planting my tulip garden in the new house. But I planted a few different types of bulbs—not just tulip bulbs. I also planted a lot of hyacinth flowers!
Hyacinth flowers are a very strong-smelling spring-blooming perennial. They are native to areas of the Mediterranean from southern Turkey to Palestine but have been naturalized worldwide, and they are some of the earliest spring-blooming flowers.
Planting time & location
These are spring flowers. However, you don’t plant them in spring. The best time to plant hyacinth bulbs is in late fall before the ground freezes. That’s because they need a period of very cold temperatures to prepare for blooming. In fact, they need to chill for around 3 months.
If you don’t live in an area that has this long of a cold period (~30 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit), you can chill bulbs in a fridge first. Or you can buy them pre-chilled from many nurseries.
When considering your planting location, remember that hyacinths like full sun best. However, hyacinth flowers will generally tolerate partial shade well.
Planting depth
Plant each bulb about 6 inches deep. Take a look at the planting instructions on the back of your bulb package for specifics on how far they should be spaced apart. However, about 6 inches apart is pretty typical.
I planted mine in a row along the edge of the garden by the patio, as well as in a row near the back of the yard in a spot that gets a bit less sun. Make sure to plant with the pointy end of the bulb up.
I used a little bulb digging contraption (affiliate link) to help me plant mine. It’s super easy—you just shove it down in the ground. When you pull it out, it takes all the dirt with it. I then put the bulb in.
When I backfilled the dirt, I mixed it with some leaf compost to loosen the soil a bit and add some nutrients. Hyacinth bulbs are prone to rot and do not like super dense soils.
Post-blooming care
Hyacinth flowers are perennials, which means they come back year after year. However, it’s important that you treat the plant with care after it is done blooming—usually in mid-spring. You can remove the flowers, but don’t touch the leaves.
The leaves will act as solar panels to gather energy that it stores in the bulb. They will die off on their own by the end of spring/early summer. While you’re waiting for them to die off, it’s also not a great idea to tie them up with twine like some gardeners do. This prevents optimal energy absorption.
If you want great hyacinth blooms next spring, let those leaves ride until they die! However, it’s perfectly fine to treat your hyacinth flowers as annuals. Many gardeners do since they just don’t want to deal with the maintenance of the leaves.
Where I live, bulbs will live happily in the ground. However, they need that nice period of cold weather before blooming. So if you are somewhere that doesn’t get cold winters, you may need to dig your bulbs up to store them.
That’s because, like tulips, the leaves are an essential part of the energy-gathering process for next spring’s blooms. Even when they look ugly, you gotta keep them on if you want beautiful blooms next year.
Want more gardening content? Check out my posts on How to Grow Beautiful Zinnia Flowers and Moonflower Vine Care & Growth Tips!
Spreading & multiplying
Hyacinth flowers grow from bulbs. When you plant one bulb, the next spring, there will be one to three flower stalks with four to six leaves. However, different varieties can have different growth patterns in terms of size and density.
Hyacinth flowers do spread on their own, though. The bulbs will slowly grow babies (offsets or bulbets). After a few years, you’ll be able to separate the bulb babies from the mother bulbs and plant them separately.
Toxicity
Hyacinth bulbs are poisonous because they contain calcium oxalate in higher concentrations. It is also in the leaves and flowers at lower concentrations. It’s best to wear protective gloves while handling the bulbs just in case.
But the toxicity does come with one benefit…unlike tulip bulbs, garden critters like squirrels and moles find hyacinth bulbs MUCH less appetizing. I planted my hyacinth bulbs around my tulip bulbs for this reason. Decoys!
Growing in pots
If you receive a potted hyacinth, you can wait until the plant finishes flowering and then dig up the bulbs (with their stalks and leaves) to transfer to the garden. You also have the option of cutting off all of the dead foliage and just bringing the entire pot inside for the summer. Then, once fall hits, bring it back outside.
Planting bulbs in pots is also a great option. I have planted hyacinth pots with great success. The planting process is pretty much the same, just keep and eye on moisture levels. You may want to put them in a covered area—or cover them with something—to avoid the soil getting and staying too wet. This can rot the bulbs.
Grape hyacinths
Grape hyacinths are not part of the hyacinth genus. They are actually part of the muscari genus. “Grape hyacinths” are smaller plants, but they have similar shapes and colors.
They are also grown from bulbs that must be planted in the fall to flower in the spring. Grape hyacinths spread very quickly, so I planted mine in pots for now. Here is the kind of grape hyacinth I planted.
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Brittany is a seasoned DIY home and garden expert, running a creative brand since 2014 that inspires others with approachable plant care guides, woodworking tutorials, and decor projects. She is a certified project manager and has completed extensive coursework in the art and science of growing your own plants. Her work has been recognized by major publications, and she routinely collaborates with fellow DIY industry leaders—but her favorite thing to do is inspire you! Learn more about her here.
Thank you for all you do.
Thanks for stopping by Linda! <3