When Can You Put Hyacinths Outside?

Planting Bulbs

• Hyacinth bulbs require fall planting to prepare them for spring blooming. This means preparing a bed of loose soil to a depth of 12 inches and amending it with organic matter, such as peat moss or compost. Work the amendments into the existing soil. Dig planting holes to a depth of 4 to 6 inches. The Old Farmer's Almanac recommends planting hyacinth bulbs slightly deeper to a depth of 6 to 8 inches in zone 4 as a safeguard against freezing. Space the bulbs 3 to 9 inches apart. Close spacing creates a mass of color in the spring, while wider spacing allows the plant room to grow and naturalize over time. Position the bulbs into the soil with the pointed end up. Firm the area down with your hands, and keep the soil moist until the soil freezes. This encourages good root formation during the fall.

Planting Forced Hyacinths

• Hyacinth bulbs that have been forced for winter blooms can be planted in the garden after the blooms fade, as soon as the soil can be worked. Remove the faded blooms, leaving the foliage attached to the bulb, and plant the bulbs in a sunny or partially sunny location. Reblooming forced bulbs is always risky, but you may be surprised by large, showy blooms in the following spring.

Hyacinths in Containers

• Growing hyacinths in containers requires wintering inside in a cool location, if the soil freezes in your zone during the winter. Although the bulbs need exposure to the cold to promote blooming in the spring, they cannot withstand being frozen. By storing them in a basement or cool garage for the winter, you can overwinter them right in the container and set them outside as soon as new shoots appear in the spring.

Tips

• All bulbs require phosphorus to produce healthy blooms. This is best applied to the bottom of the planting bed before planting the bulbs. Apply 2 cups of bone meal and 5 tablespoons of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 10 square feet of the planting area, preferably below the bulbs. Mix it into the soil before planting. Mix the same amount of 10-10-10 fertilizer into the top few inches of soil in the spring when the first new growth appears.

  Keep the soil evenly moist, but avoid soggy soil because this may cause the bulbs to rot.

  Remove faded blooms, but do not cut back the foliage after blooming because the leaves continue to make food that is stored in the bulb for next year's blooms. Allow the foliage to yellow and die back naturally.