How to Grow Hyacinths and Tips to Extend Their Blooming Period

Hyacinths bloom in early spring and prefer full sun to partial shade, and they like fairly dry but not arid soil. They go dormant in summer and can only grow long-term in regions with cold weather. The main purpose of growing hyacinths is to enjoy their clusters of fragrant, colorful flowers.

More than 2000 cultivars have been selected and named so far, with flower colors in blue, white, egg-yolk yellow, pink, red or purple. Most cultivars have denser flower clusters than the wild species, with each flower stem bearing 40-100 or more flowers. Hyacinths contain alkaloids and can cause poisoning if eaten in large quantities, and the bulb is the most toxic part, so it should never be eaten under any circumstances.

How to grow hyacinths:

1. What kind of soil is suitable for hyacinths?

For hyacinths, you should choose sandy soil that drains well but is not dry. Generally, mix leaf mold, nutrient soil and sand in a ratio of 4:2:4. This kind of soil has high organic matter content and good granular structure. Just make sure the soil pH is 6-7. If you want to increase organic nutrients, you can mix in some bone meal.

2. How do you water hyacinths?

For growing hyacinths at home, just follow the principle of "water when dry, stop when wet." If growing them in the north, generally after the first watering at planting, you do not need to water again for 15 days; in the south, you do not need to water again for 30 days, because the south has high temperature and humidity. Sometimes because of air circulation the surface of the potting soil looks dry, but in fact there is still a lot of moisture inside the soil, and watering again at this point will do more harm than good.

3. How do you extend the blooming period of hyacinths?

1) Supplement hyacinths with vitamins. For example, you can use vitamin tablets. When the hyacinths are about to bloom, crush the tablets into powder and bury them around the potting soil.

2) After the hyacinths bloom, place the potted plant in a cool room with not-too-strong light, which can also extend the blooming period.

3) Keep the hyacinths healthy, such as by properly supplementing water and fertilizer, and avoid waterlogging so as to prevent root rot.

4) Increase the humidity of the air around the potted plant.

5) Maintaining a well-ventilated environment is very important.

Generally, doing the above points can make hyacinths bloom for as long as 30 days.