How to Grow Hyacinths in Water? Detailed Guide to Methods and Precautions
Growing hyacinths in water is a very widely used method for planting hyacinths today. Although it cannot provide as many nutrients as soil cultivation, it allows you to fully observe the growth of the entire hyacinth plant. However, since the hydroponic method cannot let the hyacinth absorb nutrients from the soil, we need to supplement the hyacinth's nutrition from other sources when growing it.
How to Grow Hyacinths in Water
If you grow them in plain water, change the water every 7 days; if you use a hydroponic nutrient solution, replace it every 10-15 days depending on how cloudy it becomes. Either way, keep the water in the bottle clean. You can grow the hyacinth in a specially made glass bottle shaped like a gourd, and in the upper section you can admire its flower cluster. After about 20 days, the roots will sprout in a completely dark environment, and then you can take it outside to receive sunlight.
Hydroponic Hyacinth Growing Methods and Precautions
1. Wash and trim the roots
After you buy the bulb, its surface will have a purple protective layer, or even a small amount of soil, which we need to clean off so it does not affect the water quality of the hydroponic setup. First rinse the bulb clean under a gentle stream of water, then peel off the purple skin until the white part is exposed. In addition, the roots should also be cleaned up. Before the bulb reaches your hands, it has certainly traveled across the ocean, and you never know how much mold it carries (of course, you cannot see it), so the old roots at the bottom should be cut off as well. Old roots generally look black and dirty, while the new roots grown in water are white and beautiful.
2. Disinfect and sterilize
After the hyacinth bulb is washed white, it is still not completely clean and also needs to be disinfected. Mix the prepared carbendazim with water, soak the bulb for 15-20 minutes, take it out, blot the water dry with a paper towel, and let it dry naturally in a cool place. After one day it can be planted.
3. Place the bulb
For hydroponic hyacinths, you only need to place the bulb in the container. Generally the bulb is 2-5 mm from the water surface, and the amount of water should not be too much. Before rooting, make sure the roots have enough growing space to breathe.
For hydroponics, you can choose a glass cup with a diameter similar to the bulb, and of course a container with a hydroponic basket is best.
4. Precautions
① Changing the water: For hyacinths grown in plain water, change the water once a week; if using a nutrient solution, replace it every 10-15 days. The specific timing can be based on how clean the water in the container is.
② Disinfection: During the hydroponic process, it is strictly forbidden to fill the water to the top. After two months of care, place the hyacinth in a wide-mouthed glass bottle and add a small amount of charcoal to help disinfect and prevent rot.
Hydroponic Hyacinth Care Methods
1. Place the hyacinth in a cool, dark, well-ventilated location with the temperature kept between 9°C and 13°C, and check once a week to see whether water needs to be added.
2. When the flower bud grows 8cm out of the bulb (after about 10 to 12 weeks) and the glass bottle is full of roots, you can move the hyacinth into a warm room.
3. In an environment kept at 17°C to 20°C in your home, you will enjoy the process of the buds growing and coloring. But do not place them directly near a heat source, so the beautiful hyacinth flowers can stay open longer.
4. After flowering, you can plant the bulb in your yard. In summer you can use the glass bottle for cut flowers, and in winter you can buy a treated hyacinth and reuse it.
Key Points for Changing the Water of Hydroponic Hyacinths
When growing hyacinths in water, note that there should be a distance between the water surface and the bottom of the bulb; do not let it submerge the bulb.
When changing the water, the water level should not be too high. If using tap water, let it sit first before use. You can appropriately add some nutrient solution to the water.
Note that during the growing period, the hyacinth grows slowly. After it has grown roots, when changing the water you only need to keep the water level at a position where it can touch the roots.
Changing the water is a very necessary step when growing hyacinths in water. There are two points worth noting about changing the water: one is the frequency and timing of water changes; the other is that the water needs to sit so that the chlorine contained in it is released, and at the same time some nutrient solution should be added to the water.