![]() Don’t cut back the foliage until it is yellow and withered. The bulbs then won’t put any energy into reproduction and the foliage will nourish the bulbs. You can encourage the growth of the bulbs (and thus the offsets) if the blossoms are deadheaded. Grape hyacinths can also be grown from seed, but it can take several years to produce blossoms. I’ll leave the tiny bulbs on the mother bulb for another year because they usually can’t make it on their own if separated too early. When in a container, I typically do it a little more often because it’s convenient to separate out the larger offsets. Division, Transplanting & PropagationĪbout every 3-5 years, grape hyacinths need to be divided and best done in later summer. All varieties naturalize very easily and create a wonderful blue/purple carpet of blossoms. They prefer sandy alkaline soil and appreciate bone meal in the soil. Grape hyacinth bulbs are best planted in a sunny location with excellent drainage (these flowers really don’t like soggy soil). So about every two years, I completely repot all of my bulb containers. However, even the best potting soil eventually becomes depleted and somewhat compressed. I have found that if you good a good potting soil, there is no need to add any fertilizer to the container. I live in a hot, dry region and virtually all of my bulbs come back. I know that many gardeners advise storing bulbs in a cool, dry location while they are dormant (which is a good idea) but I don’t have a basement or otherwise a cool location. When my container bulbs are dormant, I just set them aside under a shady tree. Container GardeningĪfter blooming and when the foliage begins to whither, I stop watering the containers. Regarding depth, typically bulbs are planted as twice as deep as their height (same is generally true for seeds too). However, in containers, I do plant them more tightly together. Place bulbs about 2-3″ deep and about 3-4″ apart. If we have a cool fall like this year, the shoots will begin to appear agin in late October. In colder zones, it may be April or later. In warmer regions like mine (9b), grape hyacinths will begin blooming in March. Though I’ve actually gotten a couple of white blossoms too. The blossoms are like a cluster of grapes and are so intensely purple (though some cultivars are more blue). Originally I planted them in the yard, but since they are so tiny, they seemed to get lost among the other flowers. I put them in a container in front of my kitchen window so that I can enjoy them every day.
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