Bulb Flowers
Growing the Common Grape Hyacinth
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Mar 1, 2005 - 9:21:00 PM

By KENT REED SWANSON

One of the first plants to appear in my family’s garden is the Grape Hyacinth (Muscari botryoides), and as such it is the harbinger of Spring for me. It’s been years since we planted them and they seem to be an awfully tough plant. We do nothing to encourage them and they just keep popping up year after year. I’ve always enjoyed its unique shape and color, and highly recommend them for a distinctive touch to your Spring garden.

You can check out some nice photos of the Grape Hyacinth and an article with more botanical information at the Iowa State University website:

ISU Extension, Grape Hyacinth: Small Plants with Big Impact

The Grape Hyacinth comes from the Lily family (Liliaceae) and grows with dark green foliage at the base with six to eight basal leaves. The flowers are an eye-catching purplish blue that grow in a terminal cluster of about 12 to 20 on a long stem. The plant will grow to about 6 to 12 inches upright.

In the early fall, plant this bulb about three inches deep and four inches apart in soil that has a good quantity of organic material mixed in. You’ll want to place this bulb in an area of your garden with full sun or partial shade. You’ll get a better effect planting them in large quantities.

When the buds first start to appear, go ahead and water deeply to saturate the soil to a depth of at least eight inches. As the foliage and blooms start to appear, you can water a bit deeper if your area doesn’t get much rain. Remember to keep water off the blooms as they will rot quickly if they remain wet for very long. A soaker hose will help with this problem.

If you enjoy this bulb, you can experiment with the larger Hyacinths, which in reality are botanical cousins of the Grape Hyacinth.


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