Hyacinths enchant the garden and home with their scent. The tubers of the hyacinth are frost hardy and can withstand low temperatures. Without a period of rest with low temperatures, the tubers would not sprout every year. If the tubers don't get frost, there won't be any flowers.
Can the hyacinth tolerate frost?
The hyacinth tubers are frost hardy and can tolerate low temperatures below zero. Without a cold period, they do not sprout in spring and do not produce flowers. In the open field they stratify by natural winter temperatures, in the pot a cold period can be simulated.
Hyacinth tubers are hardy
Hyacinths can stay in the flower bed all year round. Even in severe frosts, the tubers do not freeze. Therefore you do not need any winter protection.
No flowering without a cold phase
Frost is not only harmless to the hyacinth, without cold the tubers will not sprout the following spring.
Gardening professionals call this process “stratification.” It prevents the bulbs from sprouting in autumn and the above-ground parts of the plant from freezing in winter. Due to stratification, sprouting only occurs when the ambient temperatures rise again and there is no longer any danger to the leaves and flowers.
Hyacinths in the open field do not need to be stratified
You don't need to do anything to stratify the bulbs in the garden bed. This happens automatically due to the minus temperatures during the winter.
Very mild winters can, however, become a problem. If hyacinths don't come back, it may be because the tubers didn't get enough cold.
Simulate cold period
If you want to keep hyacinths in pots for several years, you can't avoid giving the tubers a cold period.
You can simulate the cold by placing the pot with the hyacinth bulb in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator and leaving it there for several weeks.
Another option 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
- Set up brightly
- Pour carefully
- Get used to warmer temperatures slowly
Hyacinths that have been grown indoors and are showing their first flowers should no longer be placed outside or even planted out on cold days. They can no longer tolerate frost.
Tip
Bulbs that you buy from specialist retailers have already been pre-treated. You don't need to stratify them, you can plant them straight away.
