Hyacinths are widely used in landscape design and to decorate villas or private homes. It is impossible not to like an onion flower for its gentle and charming flowering in spring. The plant also pleases with a variety of shades: pink, red, white, blue, purple, lilac, yellow, orange. Blossoming usually begins at the end of April or beginning of May. In general, growing this flower crop on your plot is a real pleasure. If you want to know when and how to plant hyacinth bulbs in the open soil, then this article is for you.
1 When planting hyacinth bulbs in the open soil in autumn
1.1 Hyacinth planting dates for the 2019 Lunar Calendar
2 How to choose quality hyacinth bulbs
3 Step-by-step instructions for planting hyacinth bulbs in the open soil in autumn
3.1 Where best to plant hyacinths: Choose a place
3.2 How to prepare the ground before landing
3.3 Preparing bulbs for planting
3.4 Direct planting of hyacinth
4 What to do after landing: rules of care in autumn
When to plant hyacinth bulbs in the open soil in the fall
Like any other culture, hyacinths need to be planted at the most appropriate time. If they are planted too early, they will move upward due to the warm, favourable conditions and die in frosty conditions. And if you do it too late, the onion will not have time to take root and will die out at freezing temperatures.
When is it better to plant hyacinth bulbs in autumn, in what month? On average, this is done in September and October. Be sure to plant in the open soil for 3-4 weeks before the first autumn frosts. The optimal time is also determined by the soil temperature: t the soil should drop to 7-10 degrees at a depth of 15 cm.
In different regions of Russia the terms of planting hyacinth bulbs differ in autumn:
In the Middle Stripe (Moscow Region) it is better to plant it at the end of September;
In Siberia, in the Urals, in the North-West (Leningrad Region) the procedure should be performed in the first half of September.
In the South (Krasnodar Territory (Kuban), North Caucasus) - to plant in the first half of October.
Hyacinth planting dates for the 2019 Lunar Calendar
By choosing when to plant a flower crop, you can also be guided by the cycles of the moon. But first of all, of course, you have to rely on weather and climate conditions.
Planting time for hyacinth bulbs in the autumn of 2019 according to the Lunar Calendar:
Favorable days:
August: 4-6, 18-23, 28, 29;
September: 1-5, 7-10, 17-24, 26, 27, 30;
October: 4-7, 9-12, 15-17, 19-21, 23-27.
Unfavorable days:
August: 15th, 16th, 30th, 31st
September: 14, 15, 28, 29;
October - 14, 28.
How to choose quality hyacinth bulbs
To enjoy the beautiful flowering in the next season in spring, you need to choose a quality planting material. Buying good hyacinth bulbs for autumn planting will help you with the criteria for quality planting material and the following tips:
The bulbs are healthy and have no signs of disease, pests, stains, mechanical damage, dents or mould.
The planting material is dense and elastic to the touch.
The size of an onion is 4-6 centimeters in diameter.
The diameter of the planting material is one and a half times larger than the diameter of the dome.
It is better to buy the material shortly before planting, that is, at the end of August.
Where better to plant hyacinths: Choose a place
The more suitable the area you choose for your bulb crop, the more beautiful and lush the flowering will be. The following tips will help you choose the best place to plant your hyacinths in autumn:
A warm culture prefers sunny, warm areas that are well lit during the day.
The place should be protected from the winds, especially from the north side.
The plant does not tolerate stagnation of water, so it is necessary to avoid lowlands, overwetted areas, places with excessive groundwater or moisture stagnation after precipitation.
The place should be flat, or even better, with a slight slope, so that water from rain or snowmelt flows off immediately, rather than accumulating near bulbs.
It is not advisable to plant hyacinths too close to trees and shrubs, and now more in their trunk circles. Otherwise, the flowers will suffer from nutrient deficiencies or be shaded.
The ideal soil for planting hyacinths is fertile, light, loose, well-drained, watertight soil.
The land on the site should have a neutral reaction, the plant does not tolerate acidic soils. Under no circumstances should hyacinths be planted in overwetted areas, otherwise the bulbs will begin to rot, become ill and may easily die. Heavy clay soils should also be avoided, but if there is such soil everywhere in your garden, you should take measures to improve the quality of the soil, as described below.
Prepare the soil in advance, approximately 1-2 months before planting the hyacinths in the open ground, so that the soil can settle down. Or at least 2-3 weeks in advance. If you do this shortly before the event, the earth will settle with the bulbs, and the resulting roots will break off.
Prepare the ground on your site for planting hyacinths in the fall as follows:
First of all it is necessary to dig up a site on depth about 40-50 centimetres.
To increase soil fertility it is necessary to apply organic and mineral fertilizers. As organic: compost or humus (1-1.5 buckets per square meter). As mineral fertilizers: superphosphate (60 g per sq.m.) and potassium sulfate (30 g per sq.m.), magnesium sulfate (15 g per sq.m.).
Further actions on preparation depend on features of a ground on your site (besides fertilizer application):
If the soil is heavy, clayey, you need to make river sand (1 bucket per square meter) and still preferably lowland peat (1 bucket per square meter).
If the soil is too light, sandy, then you need to add lowland peat or sod earth, or humus leaf (1 bucket per square meter).
If the soil is acidic (pH below 6.5), the soil should be deoxidized. For this purpose, you can use a special deoxidant (according to the instructions), you can buy it in the garden center. Or use, for example, dolomite flour (at pH below 4.5 - 500 grams per square meter, at pH 4.5-5.2 - 400 g, pH 5.2-6 - 300 g).
After applying any substances (e.g. humus, compost, peat), the area must be dug up again.
Open the soil with a rake and level the soil.
Pay attention! If the ground water is too high on your plot (above 50 centimetres from the surface of the ground), it is necessary to make a good drainage or make a high bed.
Preparing bulbs for planting
Before planting in the fall, you need to prepare the hyacinth bulbs. First of all, carefully inspect them, the specimens affected by the diseases should be discarded immediately. It is not recommended to plant them because they will infect healthy bulbs.
Also, as a preparation for planting hyacinth bulbs should be treated by soaking them in a solution of fungicide, for example, you can use "Maxim Dachnik", "Fundazole". Soaking will help to eliminate pathogens, increase immunity against diseases.
Important: Prepare the fungicide solution and carry out the treatment strictly according to the instructions to the drug!
Direct planting of hyacinth
To plant hyacinth bulbs in the open soil correctly in autumn, you need to follow the planting pattern:
The first thing to do is to make holes. But before you get down to business, you need to know how deep and how far to plant hyacinth bulbs:
The depth of planting is determined by the height of the bulb - you need to multiply the height by 3 (for example, if the height of the bulb is 4 cm, you need to multiply the height of the bulb by 3, it turns out to be 12, it is the depth of the hole). However, if the soil is light, you can add 2 cm, but if it is heavy, on the contrary, you can reduce the depth of the hole by 2 cm.
The distance between the wells for planting hyacinth bulbs is 15 centimetres from each other. If the bulbs are small, the distance can be reduced to 10 cm.
The distance between the rows is about 20 cm.
Tip: If you have many bulbs of the same size, you can make one common trench or pit instead of single holes and place bulbs in them at the optimal distance.
Pour sand on the bottom of the hole or groove in the river sand, with a layer thickness of about 3-5 centimetres.
Tip: If you have not applied fertiliser to the soil in advance, it is advisable to make the hole 3 cm deeper and place three centimetres of compost or humus on the bottom of the hole and then a layer of sand.
Place the hyacinth bulb in the well on the sand with the bottom of the bulb facing upwards. You don't need to press it into the sand, just put it straight!
Fill the bulb first with sand and then with ordinary earth. "Sandy shirt" will prevent the bulb from rotting, reduce the likelihood of disease, and improve drainage.
After planting the hyacinth, irrigate to improve soil contact with the bulb and for faster establishment. If the ground is wet and the weather is wet, rain is expected, you can avoid watering the soil at all.
Video: How to place hyacinth bulbs in the open soil in autumn.
Tip: If you have high ground water or heavy, clayey soil, it is better to make the ridges high about 20 centimeters. They will not accumulate moisture, they will be better warmed up. And also they differ the best moisture and air exchange.
What to do with after planting: rules of care in autumn
Hyacinths are bulb crops that need quality and complete care. Otherwise, they will not be able to answer you with lush, beautiful and long flowering. However, the plant needs to be cared for actively in spring and summer, and in autumn, after planting the hyacinth bulb, there is generally no need for care (except for a few moments).
As mentioned above, you should irrigate immediately after planting. However, if the weather is rainy and the soil is wet, you should not water the soil.
With the onset of the first frost, the hyacinth bulbs should be covered and mulched outdoors for the winter. If you live in the southern regions with warm winters, you can not hide, but for regions with cold winters (Moscow region, Siberia, the Urals) to carry out mulching and shelter is necessary.
For mulching, dry peat, overflowing sawdust, humus and dry fallen leaves can be used, for example. The optimum thickness of the mulch is 7-10 centimetres. The top can be covered with spruce legs. In spring, when defrosting the soil, remove the mulch and cover from the hyacinths immediately.
And already in spring it is necessary to provide regular care to hyacinths: soil loosening, removal of weeds, watering, top dressing (early spring - nitrogen fertilizer, before flowering and during - potassium fertilizer). And after flowering of hyacinths it is necessary to cut off inflorescences.