Hyacinths: planting and care in the open field, how to grow

Hyacinths - early spring flowers, planting and caring for them in the open field require certain rules. This bulbous culture is planted annually in the fall, before the onset of cold weather. Hyacinths bloom in April. In summer, the bulbs are taken out of the ground and dried in a hot and dry room. In autumn, they are again buried in the ground, and this is repeated every season.

Features and characteristics of a bulbous flower

Hyacinth is a bulbous perennial crop from the Asparagus family. The most famous species are Litvinov, Transcaspian and Eastern.They grow in Mediterranean countries and in southern latitudes. Hyacinth orientalis has been cultivated since the 15th century. More than a thousand different varieties have come from this species. Holland is considered the world center for the cultivation of bulbous plants. This country has ideal conditions for the development of hyacinth bulbs.

The hyacinth has an upright, thick stem, up to 14-35 centimeters high, and long, narrow, pointed leaves at the tip. At the top of the shoot, bell-shaped flowers (up to 36 pieces) are collected in a carpal inflorescence. Hyacinth inflorescence is snow-white, blue, yellow, crimson, blue, purple. Flowers can be double or single. Leaves and stem come out of the bulb. Bulb - perennial, dense, consists of fleshy lower leaves.

Hyacinth blooms in early spring (about two weeks). Pollinated by insects. Instead of a flower, a fruit is formed with seeds inside. After flowering, the stem with leaves dries up, and a bud appears inside the old bulb, blooming in spring.In addition to the inner kidney, tiny babies appear near the bottom of the bulb and in the axils of the bulbous scales. Grown up children can be separated and grown separately. True, they will bloom only after 3-4 years.

After flowering, the bulbs are dug up. Before autumn, they must be thoroughly dried in a hot room. In October, the bulbs are buried again. The same bulb can throw out a new peduncle in the spring for as long as 10 years. True, it is recommended to constantly change the landing site.

Popular varieties of hyacinth

There is a huge variety of hyacinths. They differ, as a rule, in the color of the inflorescences and the shape of the flowers. All plants reproduce by bulbs.

When buying, it is recommended to look at the size of the bulbs. Adult bulbs can be 4-6 centimeters in diameter. In terry and yellow garden varieties, they are even smaller.

Lilac and purple

In its natural form, hyacinth inflorescences have a lilac color with a purple hue and small bell-shaped simple flowers. Thanks to the efforts of botanists, new varieties of these plants have appeared. For example, Manhattan - with dark purple double flowers; Menelik - in the inflorescence there can be up to 35 dark lilac flowers with a light border; Royal Novi - on one brush - up to 45 large double purple flowers.

Blue

Variety Peter Stevenson - the bluest hyacinth 25 centimeters high. It has numerous, double, large, bell-shaped flowers.

General Kohler - hyacinth with pale blue double flowers. In the middle of each petal there is a dark strip, which, as it blooms, gradually turns pale. Flowers are large (up to 4.1 centimeters in diameter), with a sweetish aroma.

Pink

Anna Marie - up to 26 centimeters high. It has a loose inflorescence, consisting of numerous pink star-shaped flowers.

Pink Pearl - inflorescence densely strewn with pink, with a dark line on the petals, star-shaped flowers. This early flowering variety has a lush cone shape.

Yellow and orange

City of Haarlem - a variety with a straw shade of large flowers. The height of the culture is up to 32 centimeters.

Orange Bowen - apricot hyacinth with drooping flowers on long stalks. The height of the culture is up to 20 centimeters.

Reds

Yan Bos - cylindrical shape, lush crimson inflorescence. The flowers are small (up to 3 centimeters) with a light center.

La Victoire - a lush hyacinth with a rich crimson inflorescence. In one brush there are up to 55 flowers with a diameter of up to 2.9 centimeters.

What conditions are necessary for the growth and flowering of a crop

Before you plant a bulb, you need to find a suitable place for it. In the country, flowers are usually planted near the hedge, near the house or in the middle of the lawn - in a flower bed. The main thing is to place hyacinths away from shrubs and trees so that they do not obscure the culture and do not take nutrients from the flowers. To grow hyacinths, certain conditions must be created.

Illumination of the landing site

Culture prefers to grow in the sun or in a well-lit garden area. It is advisable to place the flower bed in a place protected from the winds. Hyacinths can be planted on a hill or mound so that when snow or rain melts, water does not accumulate near the bulb, but flows down.

Temperature conditions

Bulbs "hatch" at a temperature of 5-10 degrees Celsius. They bloom in April-May, when the air warms up to 15-20 degrees. By the end of June, hyacinth inflorescences have time to bloom, and their leaves turn yellow.In July, the shoots are cut, and the bulbs are dug up. After digging, the natural process of forming a new inflorescence begins. To do this, the bulbs need to provide a heat of 25 degrees. It is desirable to maintain this temperature for 2 months. Bulbs can be moved outside 1-2 weeks before planting.

In October, the bulbs are buried in the ground, where they will be all winter (at sub-zero temperatures). In the spring, after the snow melts, hyacinths will sprout and bloom.

Humidity

Culture prefers moderately moist soils. In heavily waterlogged soil, the bulbs begin to rot. Groundwater can occur at a distance of at least 55 centimeters from the surface. Reduce soil moisture with drainage or high mounds-ridges.

Soil composition

Culture prefers loamy or sandy soils of neutral acidity. Too clay soil can be diluted with peat or sand. The earth should be permeable and moderately fertilized.It is undesirable to use too fresh manure. You can fertilize the soil with rotted humus 2 months before planting. Hyacinths do not like acidic soil. To normalize the acidity, a little lime or ash is added to the soil. Optimal soil composition: garden (turf or leafy) soil, compost, peat, sand.

The subtleties of planting plants in open ground

After flowering, hyacinths are kept in a flower bed until July, then the bulbs are dug up and dried for 2-3 months, and in October they are again planted in holes. You can plant plants in a flower bed in the spring.

Timing

Bulbs are planted at the end of September or at the very beginning of October. If you plant hyacinths a little earlier, they will begin to grow in warmth, and then die in frost. When the bulbs are planted in November, they do not have time to take root before the ground freezes.

Spring

In the spring, hyacinth bulbs are planted only if, for some reason, they could not be planted in the fall.They are pre-dried at a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius for two months, then they are kept in the refrigerator for a whole week on a vegetable shelf. When the snow melts and the soil warms up to 5-8 degrees Celsius, hyacinth bulbs are planted in a flower bed. Landing is carried out in April. Pre-dig and fertilize the soil. Before planting, hyacinth bulbs must be irrigated with a fungicide to protect them from fungi.

Autumn

Bulbs are planted at the end of September or in October, that is, long before the onset of frost. It is recommended to plant hyacinths before November. Before frost, plantings are insulated. Peat and humus, dry leaves, sawdust or spruce branches are taken as mulch. In the spring, as soon as the snow melts, the mulch is removed, because the sprouts of hyacinths "hatch" early.

Technology and planting depth of the bulb

The flowerbed is prepared in August. They dig up the earth, add a little humus (half a bucket per square meter). Too clayey soil is diluted with peat and sand, enriched with phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. Nitrogen supplements are applied in the spring, during top dressing.

Hyacinths are planted in holes to a depth of 16-20 centimeters. There should be a distance of 16-25 centimeters to the neighboring flower. Small children dig shallowly. At the bottom of the hole before planting, it is recommended to pour a little river sand. The bulb is immersed in a hole and slightly pressed. Sand is again sprinkled on top, and only then the hole is covered with earth. This method will protect the bulb from infections and decay. After planting, the soil is irrigated with water, and a peg is inserted nearby for a guide.

Flower care

After planting, the crop must be properly looked after. The main thing is to prevent the soil from drying out too much and fertilize on time.

Irrigation

If it rarely rains, and the ground in the flower bed is very dry, hyacinths can be watered. 7-10 liters of water are consumed per square meter of land. Flowers are watered once every 3-4 days. Wet soil is recommended to be loosened.After flowering, watering is continued for another 2 weeks, then stopped and the plant is allowed to dry.

Feeding

Hyacinths are fed twice. The first time the plants are fertilized in early spring, as soon as the first shoots appear. Ammonium nitrate is added to the ground. The second top dressing is done before flowering. The soil is fertilized with superphosphate and potassium sulfate. Take one tablespoon of fertilizer per square meter of land. Top dressing is scattered over the surface, lightly sprinkled with earth and irrigated with water.

Transfer

Often, hyacinths are bought in the spring at the time of flowering. A flowering plant is usually not touched. True, if the hyacinth is left in a cramped pot, then its bulb will not accumulate nutrients. It is advisable to transplant the flower into a flower bed. Before transplanting, the earth in a pot is moistened, and the plant, together with an earthen clod, is moved to a dug hole.

You need to transplant hyacinth very carefully so as not to damage the roots. The procedure is best done in May, when the air warms up to 15 degrees. In July, the dried stem should be cut off, and the bulb should be dug up and dried.

Diseases and pests: control and prevention

If hyacinths are not properly cared for - do not weed, do not fertilize or plant flowers on too clay or acidic soil, they can get sick. Most often, this bulb culture is subject to fungal infections. Rainy weather and too humid habitat can provoke the disease.

Hyacinths will not get sick if they grow on fertile and moderately moist soil. Bulbs before planting, as a preventive measure, should be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate, a fungicide or a preparation containing phosphorus. Bulbs can get bacterial rot. Soil treatment before planting with 5% formalin or bleach saves from this infection.

Sometimes hyacinths drop flowers. This is not a disease, but a physiological feature caused by strong root pressure. A similar phenomenon may be the result of improper care. The loss of inflorescences provokes an excess of moisture in the soil, early planting of bulbs, drying of planting material at insufficiently high temperatures.

Hyacinths are often attacked by insects. Suffer from aphids, bears, flower flies, thrips, onion mites. Spraying with insecticides (Aktara, Medvetoks, Fitoverm) saves from pests.

How to care for hyacinth after flowering

Some gardeners practice removing flowers from the peduncle while still in the stage of colored buds. The green arrow is left, but it continues to function as an additional sheet. This technique helps to increase the mass of a young bulb, it accumulates more nutrients for the formation of a peduncle for the next season.Mature plants are allowed to flower naturally.

Cutting

Hyacinths are pruned after flowering, when the stem and leaves turn yellow and dry. Then the bulbs are dug out of the ground. If they are not dug up and dried, hyacinths will bloom much worse next spring. Bulbs are removed from the ground in early July. After that, they are cleaned, washed, carefully examined, and sore spots are treated. The bulbs are dried, the grown-up children are separated, sprayed with a fungicide. Store in a warm room at a temperature of 22-25 degrees Celsius until autumn. In October, they take them outside for 1-2 weeks, and then bury them in the ground.

Caring for winter

The bulbs planted in autumn are covered with a thick layer of mulch before wintering. The surface is mulched with dry leaves, sawdust, peat with humus, spruce branches. The thickness of the mulch should be 20 centimeters. In winter, the flowerbed where the bulbs are planted is constantly covered with snow.

Hyacinth propagation methods

You can propagate hyacinths with bulbs, babies. The seed method is used only by breeders. Flowers obtained from seeds do not repeat the varietal characteristics of the parents. Such plants bloom only after 5-7 years.

In practice, hyacinths are propagated by children. An adult bulb forms from 1 to 5 children every year. For some time they are not separated from the mother bulb. When the babies grow up a little, they are broken off and grown separately for another three years.

Cutting the bottom is another way of breeding. The onion is dug up in the summer, dried, and then the bottom is cut out with a teaspoon. On sections, after 2 months, new onions appear (up to 22-40 pieces). They will bloom only after 3-4 years.

Bulbs can be propagated by cutting the bottom. To do this, a cross-shaped incision is made on the very bottom. After 2 months, up to 15 children will appear. They take two years to grow before they bloom.

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