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In spring, hyacinths are among the first to bloom in the garden - they open their buds around mid-April. These delicate flowers have many beautiful colors, their varieties differ in the timing of flowering and the structure of the inflorescences: today there are three types of hyacinths and more than five hundred varieties. Herbaceous plants hyacinths are intended for open ground, but gardeners also grow them in pots, containers, and baskets. This versatile flower will be a wonderful decoration for a garden, flower bed, windowsill or balcony. The only upsetting thing is the capricious nature of bulbous hyacinths, but this can be dealt with if you follow the rules of planting and care.
This article will tell you about when to plant hyacinths in open ground: in spring or autumn, how to plant them correctly and how to care for these flowers. Here you can also find information on how to replant and propagate hyacinths, what to feed them with and where to store the bulbs until the next planting.
Description of colors
Growing hyacinths in open ground has been practiced by flower growers all over the world for more than four hundred years. The Middle East, Mediterranean countries, and North Africa are considered the homeland of spring flowers.Dutch breeders have put so much effort into spreading these plants across all continents that today the Netherlands can safely be called their second home. Exactly Millions of bulbs set off from Holland every year; in this country, breeders are developing new varieties of hyacinths and working to expand their shades and types.
Initially, hyacinths were classified as a member of the Liliaceae family; some scientists identified a separate species for them - Hyacinthaceae. Modern botany claims that these bulbous flowers should be classified as members of the Asparagus family, they are perennials, and in Russian the name of hyacinths sounds like “rain flowers.”
The leaves of hyacinths are pointed and dense. The flowers are collected in racemes, the shape of which can be cylindrical or cone-shaped. The perianths are bell-shaped funnels with petals bent outward. The fruit of the plant is a seed with a thin peel.
Classification of varieties
The basis for propagating varieties and breeding new hybrids of hyacinths are three types of these flowers:
- Oriental.
- Litvinova.
- Transcaspian.
Flower varieties are also usually divided into simple and double, depending on the structure and shape of the inflorescences. According to the timing of flowering, early, middle and late varieties are distinguished. Hyacinths of any type usually bloom from 12 to 25 days - the duration of flowering depends on air temperature and solar activity.
Depending on the color, varieties are usually divided into six more groups:
- blue and blue inflorescences (Perle Brillante, Marie, Queen of the blues);
- lilac varieties (Blue Magic, Indigo King, Bismarck);
- pink flowers (Moreno, Anna Marie, Gertruda);
- red hyacinths (Hollyhock, La Victoire, Tubcrgen’s Scarlet);
- white varieties (Arentine Arendsen, Snow Crystal, Madam Sofie);
- yellow and orange inflorescences (Yellow Hammer, City of Haarlem, Orange Boven).
Features of growing bulbous flowers
Growing hyacinths is not an easy process. These flowers are quite capricious; they have special requirements for the planting site, the composition of the soil, and the degree of humidity. Bulbous flowers also require constant care: several feedings, moderate watering, digging, storage and annual replanting.
Buying bulbs
Growing any flowers begins with the purchase of planting material. Usually, Hyacinths are propagated by bulbs, so the gardener will need to purchase high-quality and healthy bulbs of these flowers.
To determine which bulbs are suitable for planting, It is necessary to identify the following signs in them:
- the diameter of the bulb should be average - no more than 4-6 cm (terry and yellow varieties, as a rule, have smaller bulbs);
- the size of a healthy bulb is usually 1.5 times the diameter of the bottom;
- externally, flower bulbs should be beautiful, glossy and clean;
- to the touch, the planting material is elastic, dense, without traces of rot or other lesions.
Site preparation
Transplantation of purchased bulbs must be done correctly - the splendor and abundance of hyacinth flowering depends on this. One of the most important stages in growing these flowers is choosing the right and well-prepared planting site.
Fans of bulbous hyacinths should Consider the following features of these colors:
- The lighting in the area should be bright, but at the same time, direct sunlight greatly reduces the flowering time of hyacinths. As a rule, people try to plant these flowers near trees or shrubs to prolong their flowering.
- The soil in the flowerbed should be loose, well-drained, with neutral acidity. In heavy soils, it is necessary to add raising agents in the form of sand or peat. Acidic soil must be limed with dolomite flour or other means.
- Groundwater should not lie close to the ground, since the “rain flower” does not tolerate waterlogging - the bulbs will rot. For the same reason, the place for planting these flowers is chosen on a slope, high beds are created, and drainage is taken care of.
- Strong winds and drafts are also dangerous for delicate flowers, so it is recommended to plant bulbs close to natural protection (a hedge, wall, tree or shrub).
- You cannot fertilize hyacinths with fresh organic matter (either at the time of transplantation or later), as this often leads to the development of fungal infections, which pose a great danger to the bulbous plants.
Landing in the ground
As a rule, hyacinths are not planted in open ground in the spring - in central Russia, the bulbs are replanted in the fall. The most suitable time for this is considered to be the period from the end of September to the second ten days of October. Here it is very important to plant hyacinth in the ground not too early and not too late: in the first case, the flowers will begin to grow and freeze out with frost, the second situation is dangerous because the hyacinths will not have time to take root properly and will also not survive the winter.
It is recommended to prepare the soil for planting hyacinths in advance - two months before transplanting, the area is dug up, having previously scattered fertilizers on the ground. If you do not dig up the ground in advance, there is a high risk of the bulbs falling through as the soil shrinks.
Fertilizers for “rain flowers” should be complex. Per square meter you will need:
- 70 grams of superphosphate;
- a glass of wood ash;
- 250 grams of limestone (if soil acidity exceeds 6.5);
- a bucket of compost or humus;
- peat and river sand depending on the composition of the soil.
The bulbs need to be planted at a depth that is three times their diameter. For example, bulbs up to 5 cm in size are planted to a depth of 12-15 cm; for larger bulbs, holes 15-18 cm deep will be needed.
The recommended interval between adjacent hyacinth bulbs is 15-20 cm. To ensure that flowers grow evenly, they are planted at the same depth and bulbs of approximately the same size are selected for each row.
It is best to plant hyacinths in a “sand jacket”. To do this, three centimeters of river sand should be poured into the bottom of each hole during planting. Then the bulb is placed on the sand of the bottoms downwards (do not press it in!). A little sand is poured on top again, and then the hole is covered with soil. After transplanting, the flowers need to be watered lightly.
Care instructions
Caring for hyacinths is not easy - these flowers are capricious and demanding. But with a competent approach and a little attention from the grower, it will be enough for lush and long flowering.
Caring for bulbous flowers should consist of the following steps:
- Weeds in the flower bed must be removed, since hyacinth does not tolerate such “neighborhood”.
- The soil is regularly loosened, and to avoid this, you can mulch the flowerbed with organic matter.
- Watering flowers is required only in dry and hot weather. Hyacinth is the case when excess moisture is more dangerous than its lack. The depth of soil wetting during watering should be 15-20 cm.
- “Rain flowers” should be fed three times a season. The grower decides what to feed. This scheme is optimal: after the sprouts appear, you can add ammonium nitrate; during the budding period, saltpeter is mixed with superphosphate and potassium chloride; when the flowering period ends, potassium and saltpeter are added in equal parts.
After flowering, the stems of hyacinths should be trimmed, but the flowers continue to be watered and cared for until the leaves completely dry out.
Digging and storing bulbs
When the leaves of the flowers dry, their bulbs must be dug up and stored until the next planting (in the fall). Tubers are usually dug up at the end of June, but the exact timing depends on the flowering time of the particular variety.
Excavated bulbs should be washed and inspected for infection or mechanical damage. It is better to disinfect selected high-quality planting material by placing it in a rich pink solution of potassium permanganate for 10-15 minutes.
After disinfection, the hyacinth tubers are dried, dry scales are separated from them, and the roots are cut off. Now the planting material needs to be placed in thick fabric bags, opaque plastic containers or cardboard boxes.
For the first 1.5-2 months, hyacinths are stored in a dark place with a temperature of about 23-25 degrees. Subsequently, they need to be removed to a cooler place where the air temperature does not exceed 17 degrees (a dry basement is suitable).
To do this, cross-shaped cuts are made on the bottom of the largest bulbs - after a while several children will appear there. These shoots are separated and grown in pots for several years.
Conclusion
Hyacinths are beautiful and very showy flowers, as evidenced by the photo from the article. In addition to their striking appearance, these plants have another advantage - early flowering, occurring in mid-April.
If you choose the right varieties of “rain flowers,” you can enjoy their delicate colors for a couple of months. The only difficulty in growing is the annual replanting of the bulbs and their storage.
