Hyacinths enchant garden and home with their fragrance. The tubers of the hyacinth are frost hardy and can withstand sub-zero temperatures. Without a rest period with low temperatures, the tubers would not sprout every year. If the tubers don't get frost, there won't be any flowers either.

Hyacinths do not mind frost at all; they even need it!

Hyacinth bulbs are hardy

Hyacinths can remain in the flower bed all year round. Even in severe frosts, the tubers do not freeze. They therefore do not need winter protection.

No flowering without a cold period

Frost is not only harmless for the hyacinth, without cold the tubers will not sprout in the following spring.

Gardening experts call this process “stratification”. It prevents the bulbs from sprout in autumn and the above-ground parts of the plant from freezing in winter. The sprouting only takes place through stratification when the ambient temperatures rise again and there is no longer any danger to the leaves and flowers.

Outdoor hyacinths do not need to be stratified

You don't need to do anything in the garden bed to stratify the bulbs. This happens automatically due to the sub-zero temperatures during the winter.

However, very mild winters can become a problem. If hyacinths don't come back, it may be because the bulbs haven't gotten enough cold.

simulate a cold spell

If you want to keep hyacinths in pots for several years, you cannot avoid giving the tubers a cold period.

You can simulate the cold by placing the pot of hyacinth bulbs in the crisper of your fridge and leaving them there for several weeks.

Another possibility is to expose the pots to the cold on the balcony or terrace for several days.

Hyacinths grown indoors do not tolerate frost

After the frost period, the first green tips appear. Now the hyacinths will continue to sprout in cool temperatures if you touch them

  • Set up bright
  • Pour carefully
  • Get used to warmer temperatures slowly

Hyacinths that have been grown indoors and are showing their first flowers should not be placed outdoors or even planted out on cold days. They can no longer tolerate frost.

tips

Tubers that you buy in specialist shops are already pre-treated. You don't have to stratify them, you can plant them right away.

Category:

Vegetable garden