Mouse hyacinth (muscari): photo and description, planting and care in open ground

Muscari flowers are a herbaceous bulbous plant belonging to the Asparagus family. They exude a musky aroma.Other names for the muscari flower are mouse hyacinth, viper's onion, and grape hyacinth.

Description of muscari flowers

This is a small plant 0.4-0.6 m in height. It consists of a bunch of fleshy basal linear leaves 10 to 17 cm long and a leafless flower-bearing arrow. The number of arrows is from 2 to 7. At the end there is an inflorescence in the form of a multi-colored dense brush, similar to a bunch of grapes. Its length is on average 8 cm. The inflorescence consists of small flowers with short pedicels - blue, white, light blue, purple, pink. The upper specimens are sterile. The size of mouse hyacinth flowers is about 5 mm in length and across. There are six stamens, the perianth is barrel-shaped or cylindrical, it consists of six fused denticles that are bent outward. The fruit is a heart-shaped or spherical capsule of three nests, the seeds are black and wrinkled. The description of the muscari plant differs depending on its type and variety.

What does a muscari bulb look like?

The mouse hyacinth bulb measures 1.5-3.5 cm in length and 2 cm in diameter. It has an ovoid shape and a scaly light surface.

Hyacinth bulbs are small in size

Is muscari poisonous or not?

Muscari is a poisonous plant. Its bulbs are especially toxic. In folk medicine, hyacinth is used for the preparation of external remedies only. Cannot be used internally.

Muscari is a perennial or annual plant

Mouse hyacinth is a perennial. It tolerates frosts down to -35 °C and is one of the first to appear in spring. It grows in different climatic zones and has a good ability to acclimatize.

When do muscari bloom?

The flowering period of muscari is from April to May. The plant has high decorative qualities due to its spectacular inflorescences.A variety of muscari flowers in the photo below.

The popularity of mouse hyacinth is due to the variety of shades of inflorescences

How do muscari reproduce?

Many species reproduce by self-seeding. When culturally breeding mouse hyacinth, this method is not used.

You can grow muscari from seeds and bulbs.

In the first case, there are two ways:

1. For strong specimens, leave flower stalks with seed pods. Collect ripened grains from the lower shoots and sow them in prepared, well-fertilized soil 2 cm deep. Shoots will appear in the spring, the bulb will take 3 years to form, flowering will begin in the fourth.
2. From seeds, grow seedlings in containers, then plant muscari in the ground. The technology is quite complex, and at home the percentage of germination and survival rate is usually low. Seeds must go through a stratification process. It is necessary to prepare high-quality soil and strictly maintain a certain temperature and humidity. With the seedling method, mouse hyacinth blooms in the third year.

To propagate muscari by tubers, they need to be taken from a specimen that has grown for 2-5 years in one area. When the leaves are completely withered, you should carefully dig up the mother bulb, separate the children from it and plant the muscari in the prepared holes. Flowers appear the next year. The bulbs can be saved until spring: they must be dried and placed in a container with wet river sand or peat, periodically checking and removing rotten ones. Store at +17 °C and 70% humidity.

Types and varieties of muscari

There are more than 40 types of muscari.Based on the most popular ones, a large number of varieties have been bred in order to extend the flowering period and create a variety of color schemes for landscaping. A close-up photo of muscari flowers can be seen below.

Mouse hyacinths differ in the color and size of the buds, the shape of the inflorescences and leaves, and the height of the peduncles

Armenian

This is one of the most popular types of muscari among landscape designers and amateur gardeners. Grows up to 20 cm in height. It blooms in May for three to four weeks. The leaves are linear, their length reaches 15 cm, width – 5 mm. The buds are bell-shaped, blue, about 5 mm in diameter. The flowers are collected in small inflorescences about 4 cm high.

Distributed in nature in the southwest of Transcaucasia and northwest Turkey.

Some varieties of muscari with photos and names are presented below.

Blue Spike

This terry muscari was bred in Holland in the 60s of the 20th century. Blue Spike blooms in May for about 3 weeks. The height of Blue Spike hyacinth is 20 cm. Its inflorescences are dense, branched, with many blue sterile flowers (up to 170 pcs.) with branched pedicels. Seed pods are not formed. The bulb produces up to three daughter bulbs per season.

Muscari Blue Spike has lush flowers suitable for cutting

Big Smile

The height of Big Smile is about 25 cm. The length of the inflorescences can be up to 12 cm, not counting the stem. The flowers are muted blue, edged with white. Budding occurs in April and May.

Muscari Big Smile - a variety with expressive long inflorescences

Cupido

It is distinguished by its rather small size, its height is approximately 15 cm. Cupido inflorescences are collected in sky-blue bells.

Muscari Cupido stands out against the backdrop of lush greenery on sun-drenched lawns

Fantasy Creation

Armenian muscari Fantasy Creation has a height of about 20 cm. Flowering occurs in late May and early June.

Double inflorescences of Fantasy Creation muscari change color, first greenish, then become bright blue

Pink Sunrise

Flowering time is May. Muscari Pink Sunrise has a height of about 15 cm. Pink Sunrise inflorescences are collected from pinkish bells.

Delicate and fragile muscari Pink Sunrise goes well with other varieties of hyacinth

Pink Surprise

Muscari Pink Surprise reaches 15 cm. The height of the peduncle is about 6 cm.

Pink surprise muscari flowering time – April and May

Christmas Pearl

The Christmas Pearl variety is distinguished by tall bushes. 10

Hyacinth inflorescences of bright blue-violet bell flowers are best planted in groups

Mount Hood

Flowering occurs in May. This mouse hyacinth grows up to 15 cm in height. Mount Hood flowers are light blue with white tips. Looks good next to dark blue muscari.

The Mount Hood hyacinth is distinguished from other species by its white tufts.

Peppermint

Muscari Peppermint is distinguished by a dense short stem and pale blue small bell-shaped flowers with a white border, tightly pressed to one another. Peppermint blooms in April and May for about four weeks.

Peppermint attracts with its abundant flowering and pronounced pleasant aroma.

Dark Eaz

The height of the Dark Eyes bush is 20 cm. The buds are deep blue, with a white border along the edges.

Flowering begins at the end of April, the buds resemble dark blue bells with a contrasting light border

Azureum

Muscari Azureum is a plant with a dense, rather short stem and a racemose dense inflorescence consisting of small bright blue bell-shaped flowers. Azureum grows up to 15-20 cm.

Azure flowers with half-open buds look good in mixed flower beds

Artist

The height of the plants is about 15 cm. The clusters consist of variegated fragrant buds - bright blue, with a white border along the edge.

The unopened inflorescence resembles a green bunch of grapes

bunch-shaped

Plants of this species have a height of about 12 cm. The length of the leaves is 12 cm, width is 5 mm. Flowering begins in the first days of May and lasts about three weeks. The inflorescences are narrow, approximately 5 cm in length. The buds are blue, with a purple tint, and there are white teeth along the edge of the bells.

Album

Muscari grapevine begins to bloom in late April. Bush height – 15 cm.

Muscari Botyoides Album blooms for approximately 15 days.

Carneum

The flowers of Muscari botryoides Carneum have a delicate whitish-pink hue.

The inflorescences consist of densely planted bells

Oshe (Tubergen)

Ocean Magic bushes reach a height of 25 cm. This type of muscari is heat-loving and must be covered for the winter.

The combination of white, blue and blue buds allows you to plant muscari among other flowers of the same shades

Blue Magic

A young variety with sky-blue inflorescences with a spectacular white tuft. Blue Magic blooms at the end of April. Grows up to 20 cm.

Each Blue Magic bulb produces up to seven flower stalks

Oceanus Magic

Oceanus Magic is a modern variety of muscari, reaching a height of 20 cm. It blooms in late April and May. Oceanus Magia inflorescences are two-colored - the lower buds are blue, the upper ones are white.

The peculiarity of the flower is two-color brushes: the lower buds are blue, the upper ones are white.

Magica Album

A popular variety of mouse hyacinth with ovoid inflorescences consisting of white buds.

Album bush grows up to 20 cm

Neglected

Blooms in April. The bush grows up to 20 cm.The main species differences are belt-shaped leaves, lily-of-the-valley-like dark blue flowers with a white border along the edge. It grows in the wild, there are no varieties.

The neglected species is listed in the Red Book

broadleaf

The plant reaches 15 cm in height. The flowering time of broadleaf muscari is April, duration is up to 25 days. Several flower stalks are formed from one bulb. The leaves are shaped like tulips. The inflorescences are cylindrical, dense, not monochromatic - there is a transition of colors from sky blue to purple. Muscari Latifolium in the photo below.

Mouse Hyacinth Broadleaf has a spectacular color transition

Large-fruited

Heat-loving species. The plant's homeland is the Turkish and Greek coasts of the Aegean Sea. In temperate climates, it grows indoors in flowerpots in winter. It is distinguished by large flowers of yellow, blue, and brown.

Golden Fragrance

The Golden Fragrance muscari bush grows up to 30 cm, inflorescences up to 8 cm. In the middle zone they are grown only in greenhouse conditions for forcing.

Unopened Golden Fragrance inflorescences are purple, then develop into fragrant racemes with yellow flowers edged with brown.

Pretty

Growing in Israel. The height of the peduncles is 15 cm. The width of the leaves is 2-5 mm, their edges are curved. The inflorescences are ovoid in shape with small buds (from 4 to 6 mm) of bright blue color. It begins to bloom in winter.

A small wild plant with narrow leaves

Pale

It is unpretentious. Peduncles are low. The buds are bell-shaped, pale blue, pale pink or sky blue with a white top.

In nature, the Pale species grows on mountain slopes in the Caucasus and Crimea

White Rose Beauty

A popular variety of Muscari Pale. Another name is White Beauty.

White Beauty features pale pink delicate flowers

Crested

Under natural conditions it grows in meadows and forest edges. Muscari crested begins to bloom at the end of May and ends in June. Plant height – 15-20 cm. Leaves are crescent-shaped. It has an original appearance - on the inflorescence there is a purple tuft, consisting of flowers on arched pedicels. It is actively used for landscaping: it looks good on lawns and lawns against the background of grass. By the end of flowering it grows greatly.

Plumosum

The most popular variety. Comsum Plumosum is distinguished by highly branched stems with a large number of sterile purple flowers. Planting and caring for Muscari Plumozum are standard.

Plumosum is valued for its lush purple inflorescences and persistent aroma.

Belozevny

Flowering time is April. The inflorescences are ultramarine with a purple tint, with a border of white teeth along the edge of the flowers.

The homeland of the plant is the lowlands of the Black Sea region

Long-flowered

It grows naturally in the west of Transcaucasia. Begins to bloom at the end of April. The height of the arrow reaches 15-16 cm. The number of ribbon-like leaves is from 4 to 6. The flowers are azure, the perianth is cylindrical with white teeth along the edge.

The long-flowered muscari species grows on calcareous soils in the alpine mountain belt of Transcaucasia

Ordinary

Found in Southern and Central Europe, the Caucasus. Grows up to 12 cm. Leaves are erect, linear, almost flat.

Common mouse hyacinth flowers are blue, blue-violet, less often white

Liriope muscariformes

This species is popular with gardeners. Unlike mouse hyacinth, it is a rhizomatous plant. Planting and caring for Liriope muscari is often done at home in pots.It is distinguished by a vertical root system consisting of intertwined roots and cones. The Liriope flower has long, stiff, dark green, sword-shaped leaves that may have light longitudinal stripes. The peduncle can reach 60 cm, with purple or white inflorescences located on it. Flowering time is autumn.

Liriope propagates by seeds or division of rhizomes

When to plant muscari in open ground

The optimal time for planting muscari is autumn. Mouse hyacinth is winter-hardy, so the bulbs feel good in the ground even without covering. If the winter is without snow, you need to put a layer of dry grass or special material on the planting site.

When to plant muscari in the fall

Autumn planting of muscari is carried out from mid-September to early October in regions with early winter. In warm climates, planting time is from mid-October to early November. Experienced gardeners do this on the waxing moon.

Planting muscari in spring

In spring, plants are usually replanted when they have grown too much and interfere with other crops. Prepare a new place in advance and apply organic fertilizer. The muscari is carefully dug up and transferred on a shovel to the prepared area. A hole is formed according to the size of the earthen clod. After moving the mouse hyacinth, sprinkle it with soil and water it. Next spring the plant blooms as usual.

You can plant muscari bulbs in the spring. This is done after the snow melts, when the ground warms up to 5 degrees. Flowering will begin next spring.

Mouse hyacinth blooms the following spring after planting

Planting and caring for muscari in open ground

The plant is unpretentious, especially its wild species. Varietal varieties are more finicky and require more attention from gardeners.In general, growing muscari and caring for it in open ground does not cause any particular difficulties. The crop takes root best in cool weather, so autumn or early spring is suitable for planting.

Requirements for place and soil

For muscari, it is recommended to choose sunny areas, although placing it in the shade of bushes or trees is not excluded. It is advisable to plant mouse hyacinth on elevated ridges, since the delicate bulbs do not tolerate waterlogging of the soil, which happens in the spring when the snow melts.

The plant prefers loose, slightly acidic soils. Sandy loam is ideal. The soil must first be fertilized with compost or humus. It is problematic to grow muscari in clay soil, as well as in an area with stagnant moisture.

How to plant muscari

When planting mouse hyacinth, you must follow the following rules:

1. First you need to check for damage to the surface of the bulbs. Then they must be treated with a fungicide or manganese solution. The same product is used to water the holes 24 hours before planting.
2. The depth of the hole should be equal to three onions in height. This is approximately 7 cm for large specimens and 3 cm for small ones.
3. The distance between large bulbs is at least 10 cm, between small ones - from 5 cm. Small tubers can be planted in a bunch of 10-25 pieces, without observing the distance. In the spring, if necessary, separate some bushes.
4. Pour water into the holes and wait for it to be absorbed. Place humus or complex fertilizer at the bottom of the holes, then add a layer of coarse sand. After this, place the onion, sprinkle with soil, compact and water.

To propagate mouse hyacinth, children are separated from the mother bulb.

Aftercare

After planting azure muscari, care consists mainly of watering and fertilizing.During flowering, abundant watering is necessary, but without accumulating water. To prevent moisture from stagnating, it is necessary to provide the soil area with good drainage. Watering should be stopped as soon as the buds disappear.

It is recommended to feed mouse hyacinth with liquid fertilizers for flower crops, as well as humus or peat diluted with water. They are applied to the soil twice:

1. After the soil thaws in the spring.
2. When the sprouts reach several centimeters.

It is allowed to recharge again when buds and flowers appear. Some gardeners feed muscari with organic matter only in the fall. You can do without fertilizers, but then it will not bloom profusely and not for too long.

In addition to watering and fertilizing, mouse hyacinth requires weeding and loosening.

After flowering, which lasts 3-4 weeks, the flower stalks need to be cut off and the leaves left. If the bulbs are left in the ground for the winter, it is necessary to add potassium-phosphorus fertilizers to the soil. Leaves should be trimmed in autumn.

Most varieties of mouse hyacinth are frost-resistant, so they are not covered for the winter.

When and how to replant muscari

Muscari must be transplanted to another location every 6 years. During autumn digging, the mother bulbs are removed from the soil and the daughter bulbs are separated from them. Usually during this time about 30 of them are formed. The resulting planting material is placed in holes prepared in advance.

Planting and caring for muscari at home

You can grow muscari at home in a pot. For this purpose, varietal specimens are used. They bloom for about two weeks.

Distilling muscari at home

Mouse hyacinth, like many bulbous plants, is well suited to the winter flower production technique.

It is necessary to choose large, healthy bulbs. If they are purchased, they do not require processing and can be planted immediately.

You can use your own mouse hyacinth bulbs, which you need to dig out of the ground when the leaves have completely died. They need to be rid of soil residues, sorted, selected the best, dried at room temperature, and stored until September. You can wrap it in paper, cotton wool or place it in dry sawdust.

Then they are stored in a cool place for three months: the first is kept at +9 degrees, then at +5. 2 weeks before the end of the cold regime, the bulbs are placed in pots with substrate. They need to be buried about 2 cm into the ground so that the top is on the surface. After 2 weeks they are moved to the windowsill, where it is quite warm and light. Moderate watering is required. After 15 days, mouse hyacinth will bloom. After forcing it, it can be buried in the garden.

Hyacinth is often used for forcing for sale.

How to care for muscari at home

Mouse hyacinth loves good lighting. It can be placed on a sunny windowsill, where it will not suffer from direct rays at all. Windows facing west or east are best.

It is not advisable to keep mouse hyacinth inside a room, away from windows, unless there is good natural light throughout the day. In this case, it is better to place it near windows facing south.

When forcing at atypical times, additional lighting will be required.

Muscari are demanding in terms of living conditions. The plant needs a change in temperature.First, a transition from heat to coolness is necessary, then to cold, then to warmth.

Mouse hyacinth prefers moderate room temperatures and does not tolerate heat quite well. The best time for flowering is 16-18 degrees.

Muscari loves ventilation; stagnant air is not suitable for it.

During flowering, mouse hyacinth should be protected from strong drafts.

During the warm period, muscari needs to be watered often, but not abundantly. When it is cool, light watering is required. In cold weather, hyacinth is not moistened. Soft water suits the plant. The procedure must be carried out with caution; water should not get on the base of the leaves.

To cause flowering 3-4 days earlier, you need to water with warm water - about 30 degrees.

In hot weather, when the temperature significantly exceeds 18 degrees, it is advisable to provide high air humidity in the room, then the mouse hyacinth will bloom longer. To do this, place damp pebbles in plant trays or place a humidifier nearby. At the optimum temperature for the plant, high humidity is harmful.

Indoor varieties of mouse hyacinth, as a rule, are not fed, since they bloom for only 2 weeks. Feeding is allowed during the formation of buds. You need to apply a full dose of fertilizer suitable for bulbous crops once.

Diseases and pests

Mouse hyacinth is susceptible to some diseases and pest attacks.

Often, ants infest areas, which are carriers of aphids. As a result, entire colonies of this small pest appear. To get rid of aphids, you first need to fight the ants. In addition, you can treat hyacinths with a soap solution, which forms a protective film, which prevents the insect from spreading.This remedy is suitable as a preventive measure against other pests. To prepare such a solution, you need to grate laundry or tar soap and dry it. Then add 1 tbsp to 1 bucket of water. l. chips and stir. After watering, treat the muscari with the resulting solution from a watering can.

Another pest that attacks mouse hyacinth is the spider mite. It can be recognized by the fine mesh of cobwebs on the plants. Insecticides are used to combat it.

Muscari bulbs are attractive to field mice. To get rid of rodents, plants with thorns or a strong odor are planted nearby, which will act as a repeller.

Harmful insects not only destroy plants themselves, but also transmit pathogens. The most dangerous thing for muscari is mosaic caused by a virus. Plants affected by this disease have leaves that turn yellow and speckles and whitish stripes appear on their surface. Such specimens cannot be treated; they must be dug up and destroyed.

Muscari in landscape design

Mouse hyacinth is popular among gardeners and is actively used in landscape design. It is suitable for creating multi-tiered flower beds; they look good in rock gardens, in compositions with flowering plant species, and in decorative vases. Low-growing muscari are ideal for creating borders.

Muscari looks great with tulips and daffodils planted in islands. Spring flowers stand out spectacularly against the lilac-blue carpet of lower-growing hyacinths. You can see what muscari looks like in a flowerbed in the photo below.

Harmonious combination - orange hazel grouse and blue muscari

Conclusion

Growing muscari flowers in your garden is very exciting. It is especially joyful to see the result of your labor in the spring - a carpet of blue inflorescences.It’s a pity that the flowering period of mouse hyacinth is so short.

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