QUESTION:
My hyathense (sp?) are coming up — well one of them is blooming. How long do they bloom in when should we cut them? I’m dying to smell them. How tall do they get? (I butchered the spelling of the flower so badly that it didn’t come up on the spell check!)
Karen
My Name is April M. I am a retired Horticulturist from the Chicago Botanic Garden and a Member of the Dunesland Garden Club. I will answer your question about the bulb called ‘hyacinth’.
To answer your question – ‘when do I cut it’? Well, hopefully you have already cut it and have enjoyed the scent. They don’t remain as a cut flower for a very long time, but they’re great while they last.
Hyacinth
The variety you have (if its tight blooms are on one head) is named Hyacinthus Orientalis or Floris Hyacinth. Each hyacinth is different in color and height. But usually the bloom is as high as it will get. If you planted them last year, they will be great! Sometimes the 2nd year they won’t be as good.
Some people lift them out of the garden after the leave fade, dry them, store in a cool, dry place and replant them in the fall to get great blooms yearly. But if that’s too much trouble, I’ve seen some beds come back for years, as long as you remember where they’re planted and don’t have the bulbs sitting in water.
They don’t stay in flower for long, but they are great when they are in bloom. From experience, I have had one set of hyacinths in a small bed for the last three years and they have bloomed yearly.
Happy Gardening to you,
April M.
April – Horticulturist