Garden Varieties
These are all suitable for planting out in the garden, for a superb display in mid spring. All are very strongly scented. The flowers are tubular, and arranged on short, fat flower spikes. Each flower has a flared mouth, giving the flower spike a denser appearance. The foliage is lush, upright in growth and dark green.
Plant in sun or partial shade. They tolerated most soils, but avoid very wet areas to avoid the bulb rotting over winter. Bury to a depth of about 10cm - you should be able to see which way up the plant them, as the bottom will be flat and the growing tip at the top will come to a point.
Hyacinths will generally repeat-flower in the garden, especailly if grown in full sun. Leave the foliage on for as long as possible, and feed well to bulk up the bulb for subsequent years.
Hyacinth bulbs contain oxalic acid, which not only make them poisonous if ingested (don't eat them!), but can cause mild skin irritation. It is important to wash your hands after planting these, or always use gloves when handling.