How to save hyacinth bulbs until next spring
Hyacinths - flowers from the bulbous plant family. Even 200 years ago, these flowers were very popular, two-color varieties of hyacinth were bred. This plant lends itself well to selection. Many gardeners believe that hyacinths are an annual crop, but the flower bulbs can be preserved and planted outdoors next spring. Hyacinths are well pollinated, therefore, after the second planting of the bulbs in the ground, the flowers can change their color if two varieties grew on the same flower bed.
If you want to store the bulbs until next season and plant them outdoors next spring, you will need to put the hyacinths at rest. In nature, the dormant state of hyacinth occurs in the fall, when the first frost occurs. At this time, the soil may freeze too much. Then the hyacinth bulb will rot and the flower will not form buds. To avoid rotting of the root system and the hyacinth bulb, the flower is artificially introduced into a dormant state.
Dormant period of hyacinths
Hyacinths can be brought to rest in mid-May. At this time, the leaves of the hyacinth turn yellow. If you notice that the hyacinth has already faded, and its leaves begin to dry out, then the flower is ready to enter the dormant period. From 1 to 15 May, depending on the variety, you need to reduce watering. Then they are completely stopped. When the leaves dry up, they are cut off.
You can cut the hyacinth bud after flowering, so that nutrients remain in the bulb, and the buds will bloom earlier next year.
After removing the leaves, the hyacinth bulb is dug out of the soil. The shovel should be kept parallel to the hyacinth stem. The bulb is carefully pry off so as not to damage the root system of the flower.
Then the bulbs with stems are placed in plastic boxes, which are placed in a ventilated cool room. The ideal storage space for hyacinth bulbs is a canopy with constant air circulation. After the dried hyacinths lie in the boxes for a week, the bulbs are removed to the cellar with a temperature of +4ABOUTFrom until next spring.
It is very important that there is no artificial lighting in the cellar or basement where dried hyacinths are stored, otherwise the bulbs will rot.
Before removing the boxes with bulbs in a dark room, cut off dried flower stems from them. After transplanting into the ground in the spring, when hyacinths are actively growing, humus or vermicompost is introduced into the soil at the rate of two buckets per 1 m2 landing area.