The fragrant spring flower hyacinth is a rather capricious and demanding plant. However, subject to the rules of agricultural technology and taking into account the nuances of growing hyacinths, planting and caring for them in the garden becomes a simple and exciting activity.
Content:
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plant description
Hyacinth one of the earliest spring bulbous perennials, which belongs to the Asparagus family. The natural habitat of the flower is North Africa, the coastal regions of the Mediterranean, the Middle East, but most of the modern varieties and species were bred in Holland.
Hyacinth
The bulbs of the plant are formed from grassroots foliage in 4–6 years and have a dense structure, spherical shape. Tubers consist of scales: internal - dense and fleshy, and external - thin and leathery.
The color of the scales differ depending on the color of the buds:
- pink hyacinths have a lilac color
- in purple, blue and cyan - purple
- whites have a gray tint
colorful flowers plants
Leaves up to 25 cm long are narrow, grow from the base of the stem and are directed upwards.. The foliage is smooth and shiny, bright green. The peduncle grows up to 25–30 cm, ending in apical inflorescences in the form of a cone or cylinder. On each of them, 20-30 simple or double buds are formed.
The perianth looks like a narrow funnel with bent petals, it can be of different shades: from white, light beige to rich red, purple, pink. The fruits have the appearance of a leathery box with 3 nests, each of which contains 2 thin-skinned seeds.
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The preferred soil for the plant is loose, light: slightly acidic (up to 6.5 pH units) or neutral, consisting of a mixture in equal proportions of leafy soil, turf and pine bark. Acidic soil is limed with dolomite flour, slaked lime or chalk, and sand must be added to clay soil.
planted hyacinths
Drainage is very important for a flower, because it does not tolerate excessive moisture. For this reason, it is better to choose flat areas or slightly gentle slopes for planting, but not lowlands where water will accumulate. Groundwater should lie no closer than half a meter from the soil surface.
Do not plant hyacinth in the area where other bulbs or tubers have grown before. Leguminous plants can be called a good predecessor, which increase the level of nitrogen in the soil and protect the planting from the onion root mite.
Poor sandy soil with insufficient minerals need to be fertilized with potassium sulfate or magnesium - 45 g and 25 g for each 1 m2 flower bed, respectively.
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Lighting and temperature
It is best to plant a flower in an area with diffused light, where the sun's rays do not fall on the plant during the entire daylight hours.
blooming hyacinths
Drafts, cold wind and sudden changes in temperature are detrimental to the perennial, it is better to plant it near sprawling shrubs or trees. At the same time, close proximity to other plants should not be allowed - they will take part of the nutrient moisture from the flower.
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Hyacinth in the open field
Hyacinth seedlings, unlike many other ornamental plants, are planted in open ground not in spring, but in mid-autumn: from late September to mid-October. When planted earlier than this period, hyacinths may grow and not withstand the cold. A later planting will lead to the fact that the plant does not have time to take root and will die after the first frost.
Proper preparation of a place in a flower garden begins in August and consists of the following steps:
- Dig the soil to a depth of 1 shovel bayonet
- Apply mineral fertilizers - in the calculation of 3 parts superphosphate, 2 parts wood ash or potassium sulfate and 1 part dolomite flour.
- For fertilizing the soil, 10–12 kg of rotted manure or compost for every 1 m2 flower garden
Planting plant bulbs
To plant tubers, you need to dig holes or a trench 15-20 cm deep, pour a layer of river sand 5 cm into the bottom. In this case, the bulbs must first be drowned in sand (the so-called sand shirt), and then covered with soil - this way the tubers will be reliably protected from decay and infections. If the soil is dry, water it after planting.
Before planting, for the prevention of diseases and disinfection, hyacinth tubers are soaked for 30-40 minutes in a solution of a fungicide or potassium permanganate. It is advised to plant the bulbs at a distance of 15–20 cm from each other, and observe approximately the same distance between the rows. Small and daughter tubers can be planted more densely.
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Watering
Hyacinths are not too demanding on the soil moisture regime, the main thing is to prevent drying out. In summer, during the drought period, the plant needs a special watering regime: up to 15 liters of water per 1 m2. In this case, the earthen lump should be soaked 20–25 cm deep.
White and blue hyacinths
After watering the perennial, it is imperative not only to loosen the soil under the foliage, but also to remove the grass - hyacinth does not tolerate weeds nearby. To make their work easier, many gardeners simply mulch the soil under the plants.
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Lilac hyacinths
During the growing season in a flower garden with a perennial, fertilizers need to be applied three times:
- at the beginning of growth (20 g of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate for every 1 m2)
- during bud formation (superphosphate and potassium sulfate in a ratio of 2 to 1)
- after flowering (35 g each of superphosphate and potassium sulfate)
The feeding scheme can be summarized as follows: first, nitrogen (nitrate, urea) - for growth, then complex fertilizers (Crystalline) - for abundant flowering, and finally - potassium and magnesium to support the bulb after the growing season.
It can be dry top dressing - it is scattered under plants or in the aisle, and then the top layer of soil is loosened. Liquid fertilizer is also allowed, before which it is necessary to water the soil abundantly.In this case, the concentration of the solution should be less than in dry form. The plant responds well to humus, but manure is contraindicated for perennials.
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Hyacinth begins to bloom in late April - early May. The term can be shifted depending on the weather by 7-14 days, and the duration of flowering is only 1-2 weeks.
After the perianths and stems of the perennial have dried up after abundant flowering, they are carefully removed with a sharp blade or knife. The bulbs are watered and fertilized for several months until the foliage wilts. During this time, the tubers will have time to restore their strength to lay new peduncles, become larger in size and form baby bulbs.
At the end of June - beginning July dug up the mother tuber, removing the remnants of foliage, wash and dry in a dark, ventilated room for 7 days. The grown onions are separated, and the small fragile ones are left for the next year. The tubers are sorted by size and packed in paper bags or placed in containers in 2 layers.
hyacinth bulbs
Reasons why it is better to dig tubers out of the ground:
- you can inspect the planting material and discard dried, rotten, damaged bulbs
- the ability to separate babies for breeding
- to prevent the occurrence of diseases and pests
The first 2-3 weeks, the tubers are stored in conditions of high humidity and temperatures up to +30 degrees. Then they proceed to the pre-planting stage of storage: every 14 days the temperature is reduced by 5 degrees until they reach +17 degrees. In such conditions, the bulbs are stored until September, when it is time to plant them again.
The total storage time of tubers is less than 100 days. It is necessary to make sure that during this period babies appear on the mother tubers in advance: immediately after digging the bulbs from the bottom, the roots are removed.
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Transplanting, along with digging up bulbs, is one of the important steps in caring for a perennial. Staying in the same place in the flower garden for a long time, the plant shrinks from year to year, gives smaller buds, its immunity weakens.
If the gardener did not purchase hyacinth seeds, but their forcing, then when transplanting seedlings into open ground, the same rules must be observed as when planting. In addition, it is recommended to plant houseplants in the garden after flowering.
indoor hyacinth
Blooming hyacinth is undesirable to transplant, but in case of urgent need, this must be done carefully, by transshipment, trying not to damage the roots. If, during a change in growing conditions, the plant is still hurt, then its foliage will quickly turn yellow, and the buds will be dropped.
Another option for transplanting hyacinth into open ground is in the spring, when the likelihood of a frost return is at a minimum. In order for the bulbs to bloom in the same year, they are kept in the freezer for no more than 30 minutes before planting. At the same time, the soil after planting the plants must be protected from rain by covering it with a sheet of plywood or rotted foliage.
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Before wintering, for protection, the area with hyacinths in the flower garden is mulched with a layer of peat up to 5 cm thick, covered with spruce branches, non-woven material, humus, sawdust or tarpaulin.
spring perennial bulbs
In the spring, the mulch is removed, and the shelter is carefully removed, so as not to damage the small sprouts that appear early.
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Hyacinths in pots
Perennial reproduction is possible in two ways:
- seed. Suitable for breeding, not too labor intensive but time consuming
- Vegetative. Flowers are planted with baby bulbs that exactly repeat the varietal characteristics of the mother plant
When choosing propagation by seeds, the gardener should be patient: the plant will begin to bloom no earlier than after 5 years. Sow seeds in a tub, pot or container filled with homemade soil (2 parts humus, 1 part leafy soil, 1 part drainage). The first 2 years the seeds are grown in unheated greenhouses.
Natural reproduction is also quite slow: per year, the mother bulb is able to form from 1 to 5 children. Growing them in open ground takes an average of 2 years.
Why does the hyacinth not bloom?
perennial sprout
For some gardeners, despite observing all the rules of agricultural technology, the desired hyacinth buds do not appear in April-May.
There may be several reasons for this:
- After flowering, the bulbs were not dug up, but spent the whole autumn and winter in the ground. It is during storage in heat that a growth bud is formed in the tuber, resources are accumulated for subsequent flowering. Cold and wet soil does not allow the mother bulb to accumulate strength and becomes a favorable environment for pest infestation.
- Poor quality planting material. Before planting in the ground, the gardener needs to check each bulb for damage by rot, fungi, and mold. Aging tubers may also not produce color.
- Non-compliance with storage rules. If the bulbs were not washed, treated with an insecticide solution, the temperature, humidity and light levels were not observed, flowering may not occur.
- Too early or late landing. The bulb does not have time to adapt in a short autumn period and simply dies in the first frosts, therefore it does not produce flowers.
- Acidic and dense soil in the flower garden
- Treatment of a site with hyacinths with fresh organic fertilizers
- Deep and too dense planting of bulbs in the ground
- The abundance of weeds in the flower garden
There are also options when the peduncle that has already appeared above ground level dies off. This situation can be caused by:
- excessive watering or stagnation of moisture in the soil
- too early planting of bulbs
- planting was carried out in frozen soil
Diseases and pests
The plant is considered resistant to diseases and pests under conditions of proper care in the garden. The probability of a perennial getting sick increases with forcing and growing planting material in a greenhouse.
- Poor quality of planting material already at the stage of acquisition
- High soil acidity and high clay content
- Excess minerals in the soil
- Application of unripened fresh manure or manure
- Lack of pre-treatment and disinfection of bulbs and soil
- Too dense fit
flower fly
Pests dangerous for hyacinth and methods of dealing with them are collected in the table.
| Insect | The nature of the lesion | Fighting methods |
|---|---|---|
| Hoverflies (flower flies) | The larvae gnaw out the bottom and scales of the bulbs | Treatment with an insecticide (Aktara, Tabazol) during the growing season |
| Thrips, aphids | They suck the juice from the leaves, which is why they begin to turn yellow and dry out. | With a pronounced lesion - spraying with chemicals Fitoverm, Accord |
| Medvedki | Damage tubers | The use of drugs Rubit, Boverin, Medvetoks in the form of granules |
| Ticks | They bite into the bulb through the bottom, destroy the scales | Disinfection of planting material by lowering into hot water |
| Stem and root nematodes | Ugly growths form on the roots, the bulb becomes soft and rotten | The use of the Fitoverm chemical as a prophylaxis before planting (introduced into the soil and mixed). There are no methods to combat nematodes |
Features of home care
Hyacinths in a pot
Planting and caring for a perennial at room conditions are similar to the agricultural practices used in the garden. For rapid growth and abundant flowering of hyacinth, you must:
- At the bottom of the pot where the flower will grow, place a drainage layer of expanded clay or small pebbles
- Choose a soil special for ornamental plants or homemade from leafy soil, turf and pine bark
- As with planting in the garden, deepen the bulbs in a sand shirt
- Plant 1 bulb in one container in order to get a tall large flower, or several tubers that form a bouquet during flowering
- Do not completely submerge the bulbs in the ground - the tops should be visible on the surface
After planting, the plant is left to take root, placing the container in a ventilated dark basement or even in the refrigerator for 2 months. Then the container is brought into the house, and for the flowering period it is transferred to a place remote from the heating system.
Kinds
colorful hyacinths
There are 3 types of hyacinths, on the basis of which breeders develop new hybrids:
Oriental (orientalis). It grows in Turkey and the Arabian Peninsula. Peduncles are thin and tall, rarely arranged flowers have a strong pleasant aroma. Served as the basis for other species and varieties
Transcaspian (transcaspicus). The habitat is the mountains of Turkmenistan. During the flowering period, it gives several peduncles 20 cm tall, the flowers are light blue, up to 10 pieces per inflorescence. A distinctive feature of the species is fleshy, hairless, equal-sized leaves.
Litvinova (litwinowii). Its homeland is the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Characterized by wider, splayed leaves. The flowers are usually blue, with protruding stamens.
Varieties
Perennial variety Aqua Image
Varieties are divided according to the following criteria:
- Perianth shape (simple or double flower)
- Flowering start time (early flowers, middle or late)
- Color shade of the perianth
Depending on what color the flowers appear, different plant varieties are distinguished. The most popular of them are presented in the table.
| Color | Varieties |
|---|---|
| White | Carnegie, Elinnosans, Snow Crystal, Madame Sophie |
| Yellow orange | Orange Bowen, City of Harlem, Yellow Hammer |
| Pink | Anna Marie, Pink Pearl, Fondant, Lady Derby, Gertrude, China Pink, Rosalia |
| Blue | Delft Blue, Miozotis, Maria, King of the Blues |
| Purple, lilac | Bismarck, Amethyst, Blue Magic, Indigo King, Menelik, Lord Balfour |
| Red | Jan Bos, La Victoire, Woodstock, General Pelisier |
| Black | One-of-a-kind Midnight Mystic |
Terry flowers are represented by varieties: Madame Sophie, Grootvorst, Sunflower, Prince Arthur, Chestnut Flower, Edison and others. Varieties Pink, Blue and White Festival are multi-flowered - several flower stalks with large fragrant flowers sprout from one bulb.
Use in landscape design
Tulips and hyacinths
Hyacinths as universal flowers are widely used in the design of garden plots and public spaces, parks. The plant is used as a border along garden paths, and also as a supplement to undersized perennials.
The best color combination of perennials is with contrasting tulips and daffodils, whose growing season is the same. It is recommended to plant hyacinths together with flowers with a later flowering period, so that the plots are not empty after the stems dry.
Caring for hyacinths is easy and brings joy to gardeners, especially when the fruits of labor appear in the form of fragrant bright flowers. Perennial adorns any suburban area and looks original in bouquets.
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