How to grow Hyacinth

Hyacinthus orientalis · garden hyacinth, common hyacinth, Dutch hyacinth

Spring bulb from western Asia, planted in autumn. It needs a cold winter to flower and then bears one dense spike of strongly scented flowers in blue, purple, pink, red or white.

Quick facts

Type	Flower
Family	Asparagaceae
Light	Full sun
Soil pH	6–7
Frost	tolerates light frost
Germination	161 days
Where it grows	Open ground

When to plant

Plant in autumn, about a month before your first autumn frost, so the roots grow before winter; it flowers or crops the next season.

Dates for your city are on the frost dates page.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Growth	every 7 days	—	potassium, at the start of the stage; potassium, 14 days into the stage
Flowering	every 7 days	—	potassium, 7 days into the stage

Growing notes

Light

Full sun gives the best flowers year after year. Part shade is fine for one season, but bulbs left there flower less well later.

Soil

Well-drained, moderately fertile soil, moist while the plants grow but never waterlogged; pH 6.0–7.0. Poor drainage rots the bulbs; improve clay with compost.

Care

Plant bulbs in autumn 10–15 cm deep and 10–15 cm apart, and water them in. Wear gloves, as the bulbs can irritate the skin. Keep the soil moist while leaves and flowers grow, and water less once the leaves start to die back. From early spring until six weeks after flowering give a high-potassium feed such as tomato fertiliser. Cut the flower stalk off at the base when the flowers fade, but leave the leaves until they turn yellow. Flowering often gets weaker after the first year. Prepared bulbs can be forced indoors for winter flowers.

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.