People often associate Hyacinths with growing indoors on a windowsill, but these beauties are equally at home in the garden, and give beautiful and fragrant displays outdoors too. Crocus are not dissimilar, with their glorious scented blooms providing striking elegance to any garden. Learn how to grow these varieties in this guide.
Hyacinth & Crocus Bulbs
Both of these varieties are good to plant in rockeries, at the front of borders, or in shallow rockery or alpine bowls ready for their striking flowers that will appear around March. Hardy Perennials, Hyacinth & Crocus plants will flower year after year, with bigger and better displays as they get older.
On Receipt
Most Hyacinth & Crocus bulbs you buy will be packed and delivered in perforated polythene bags, and some may come with sawdust in the bags, to keep condensation at bay. Once received, if you cannot plant them straight away, it is always best to keep them in a cool, dark, moisture-free place and that’ll make sure they keep for a few weeks.
Planting Hyacinth & Crocus Bulbs
It is best to plant Hyacinth bulbs between September and December. Although you can get away with planting as late as December, it is best to plant as early as possible, so aim for early autumn. This will give the plants enough time to establish a strong root system ahead of the colder winter weather.
There is a simple rule of thumb when planting bulbs; Plant bulbs at twice the depth of the height of the bulb and four times their width apart. e.g 5cm tall bulbs need to be planted 10cm below the surface of the ground and 20cm apart.
Please check the bag for any additional planting instructions.
They are fine to plant even if a little green growth is showing, they’ll just need a good watering when you plant them, and then only when the soil is dry. Leave them in the ground once they die back – they’ll come back bigger and better each year.
Where to plant Hyacinth & Crocus Bulbs
Hyacinth & Crocus should be planted in full sun if possible but will be fine in a bit of light shade. Although they will likely grow in most conditions, the more sunny the spot the better the blooms will be once the plants finally flower.
Make sure the soil you plant the bulbs in is well draining and moderately fertile. Although they will grow well in borders, considering the need for good drainage, growing these varieties in pots is a great idea.
Hyacinth & Crocus Aftercare
Whilst all the energy that a bulb needs in order to grow is stored in the bulb itself, they will do better if you feed them with fertiliser when in active green growth.
Water frequently and if in pots ensure that the compost doesn’t dry out.