Keep hyacinths outdoors for several years
The hyacinth can withstand severe frosts outdoors. For the onion to develop flowers for many years, the location and care must be right:
- Bright or at least partially shaded
- Loose soil without waterlogging
- Moist during flowering, preferably dry later
- Protection from voles
- Stop watering from May
- Don't cut green leaves
also read
- How to care for the hyacinth in the pot when it has withered
- The hyacinth has faded - what now?
- The hyacinth is in bloom in spring
Voles can be a problem. They are fond of the onions and eat large quantities too, so that not a single hyacinth is left. Plant the hyacinth bulbs in wire baskets to prevent feeding damage.
Bring hyacinths to bloom again indoors
Hyacinths only form flowers if the onion or hyacinth in the pot has previously gone through a longer cold phase.
If you want to keep particularly beautiful hyacinths perennial, you need to take a break after flowering. During this time the plant is not watered or fertilized.
After the resting phase, the hyacinth needs a cold phase of at least eight weeks, in which it is kept at temperatures of zero to eight degrees and in the dark. In technical terms, this process is called “stratifying”.
Stratify hyacinths
To stratify the hyacinth in the pot, put it in a dark and very cool place. This can be a cool cellar or a dry place on the terrace under a paper bag.
If both are not available, the hyacinth can simply be put in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator.
The cold phase ends when the hyacinth begins to grow. Then pot them in fresh soil and place the pot in a light, around 15 degrees warm place.
Tips & Tricks
When the hyacinth bulb is several years old, it will produce fewer flowers and will no longer be as compact. It then increasingly resembles the original form. Separate the bulbs to propagate the hyacinth and replace old plants.
