The Dutch Hyacinth (Oriental hyacinth) is a bulbous plant of the family of Liliaceae. It is appreciated for the beauty of its flowers with pretty colors and their delicate fragrance. Easy to grow, the hyacinth likes both in the ground and in pots and can even be forced to flower in the middle of winter. Let’s find out together how to plant hyacinths and see what their care boils down to.
Planting a Dutch hyacinth
It is ideally in autumn that we plant the Hyacinth of Holland. But to enjoy a beautiful flowering, it is recommended to choose quality onions. We prefer the bulbs:
- large calibers,
- Science,
- Without any sign of mould,
- without stains,
- Heavy,
- Firm in consistency.
Before planting hyacinth bulbs, it is important to prepare the ground well. This consists of digging to a depth of 15 to 20 cm in order to loosen the soil and eliminate stones and all weeds as well as their roots. If the soil in the garden is heavy, you can incorporate sand mixed with heather soil.
The planting hyacinths in the ground proceeds as follows.
- Make holes with the dibber, with a 10cm depth and respecting a distance of 15 cm between two onions.
- Position one bulb per hole, ensuring that the tip is pointing upwards.
- Cover the bulbs with the garden soil/sand/heather soil mixture.
- Pack moderately.
- Choose a container with a pierced bottom.
- Cover the bottom with a thickness of 5 to 6 cm of gravel or clay pebbles to ensure good drainage.
- Fill the jar with a mixture consisting of perliteof heathland and of potting soil.
- Place the bulbs in the substrate, point to the sky, burying them only 50% of their height. Note that if the pots are intended to be installed outdoors in an area particularly exposed to the wind, it is better to completely bury the bulbs.
- Lightly tamp the substrate.
In autumn, the soil being generally sufficiently humid, it is unnecessary to water.
Pour plant hyacinths in potsjust follow the steps below.
Finally, it is possible to proceed to forcing hyacinths by installing each bulb in a specific vase. All you have to do is pour water into the vase until it is tight, then place the bulb pointing up, making sure that its base is not in contact with the water. In this way, hyacinths are grown without soil. This is called thehydroponie. This is a method that can be adopted to have beautiful flowers at Christmas, for example.
Growing and Maintaining a Hyacinth
The Dutch Hyacinth loves sunny to semi-shaded exposures. It needs loose and fertile soil, light, but also well drained because stagnant water favors the rotting of the bulb. It is a bulbous plant that does not cause any particular problems and is therefore suitable for all gardeners, even beginners.
Water
The Hyacinth hating to have the bulb in the water, it is not no need to water it. However, in the event of severe drought, you simply have to take care to keep the soil or substrate slightly moist.
Fertiliser
There is no need to add fertilizer during cultivation. All you have to do is plant your hyacinths in sufficiently fertile soil.
Dig up the bulbs
The bulbs must be taken out of the ground when the hyacinths are completely deflowered and their leaves are fully dried. The bulbs should then be left to dry and then stored in a dry, ventilated, cool and dark place. It is therefore important not to cut the foliage when it is still green, since it is this that allows the bulbs to store nutrients for the next flowering season.
Pests and diseases
The bulb fly is a parasite that can attack hyacinths. If early yellowing of foliage and maggots are observed in onions, there is no other solution than to destroy the affected plants. The destruction of the bulbs is also necessary in the event of rotting due to excess water.
hyacinth flowering
Apart from the bulbs which benefit from forcing, the Hyacinth of Holland blooms between March and May. Ses large clusters of fragrant flowers Available in a beautiful color palette, they work wonders in beds, borders, on the terrace, balcony, window sills and even at home, since hyacinths can also be grown indoors. It is necessary to cut the deflowered stems as you go but, as we have specified above, to leave the leaves until they have completely yellowed.
Holland hyacinths can be left in place in the garden from year to year, but over time they will produce smaller and smaller flowers. It is therefore better to dig up the bulbs between two flowering periods. Just before replanting them, we can sprinkle with a mixture of sulfur and wood ash to limit the risk of rotting once in the ground.