The perennial hyacinths can live up to 15 years. The fact that they are usually only kept indoors for one season is because wintering them is not that easy. It's easy to keep spring bloomers outdoors for several years.
How do you care for perennial hyacinths?
In order to care for hyacinths for several years, they need a resting phase after flowering without watering or fertilizing, followed by an eight-week cold phase at zero to eight degrees Celsius. They can then be made to bloom again.
Keep hyacinths outdoors for several years
In the open field, the hyacinth also survives severe frost. In order for the onion to develop flowers for many years, the location and care must be right:
- Bright or at least partially shaded
- Loose soil without waterlogging
- Moist during flowering, preferably dry later
- Protection from voles
- Stop watering from May
- Do not cut green leaves
Voles can become a problem. They like the onions and eat large quantities so that not a single hyacinth is left. Plant the hyacinth bulbs in wire baskets to prevent feeding damage.
Make hyacinths bloom again in the house
Hyacinths only form flowers if the bulb or hyacinth in the pot has previously gone through a longer cold phase.
If you want to keep particularly beautiful hyacinths for several years, you must ensure that they rest after flowering. During this time the plant is not watered or fertilized.
After the rest phase, the hyacinth needs a cold phase of at least eight weeks, during which it is kept at temperatures of zero to eight degrees and in the dark. In technical language, this process is called “stratification”.
Stratifying hyacinths
To stratify the hyacinth in the pot, place it in a dark and very cool place. This can be a cool basement or a dry place on the terrace under a paper bag.
If both are not available, the hyacinth simply goes into the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.
The cold phase ends when the hyacinth begins to sprout. Then pot them in fresh soil and place the pot in a bright place that is around 15 degrees.
Tips & Tricks
When the hyacinth bulb is several years old, it produces fewer flowers and no longer becomes as compact. It then becomes more and more similar to the original form. Separate seed bulbs to propagate hyacinth and replace old plants.
