Hyacinth is a surprisingly beautiful and bright perennial flower of the Asparagus family, the name comes from an ancient Greek legend: Hyacinth was a favorite of Apollo, they often competed in sports and one day Apollo threw a disk at Hyacinth, which hit him to death. Wonderful lilac flowers later grew from a drop of blood on the grass; the flower was named in honor of the deceased young man.
Homeland is North Africa and the East. The Netherlands is popularizing hyacinths and the country is called the center for the cultivation of these flowers.
Botanical description of the plant
Bulbs are stiff, composed of watery scales. The peduncle has no leaves and reaches a length of up to thirty centimeters, as soon as it fades, it immediately dries out along with those that grow vertically. In the very corner of the upper bulbous leaf, a kidney is born, a new hyacinth will grow from it next year.
The flowers are collected in a conical shape. Perianth has slightly bent lobes of flowers, funnel-shaped, painted in bright colors. They differ in texture on terry and smooth. Seeds are in the fruit.
Water hyacinth and other species and varieties
There are 5 main types for decorative cultivation. The average price of hyacinth is 180-200 rubles.
| View | Description |
| East hyacinth | All known decorative plant varieties are cultivated from it. Peduncle with blue and yellow flowers, the aroma is strong and pleasant. |
| Hyacinth Litvinova | The leaves are gray, divorced in different directions, wide, flowers are blue, cut, stamens stick out. |
| Hyacinth Transcaspian | It has one or two stems up to 20 cm long. The leaves are succulent, flowers are blue, located on a racemose. |
| Mouse hyacinth | A variety of plants belongs to the hyacinth subfamily. Rare flowers of white, blue and purple hue. They have a strong and fragrant aroma. This species is propagated by autumn division, since in summer enough bulbs are formed. |
| Water hyacinth (water) | This variety grows in tropical countries, the leaves are in a rosette at the base, swollen in shape. The flowers are blue, pink and purple. At home, a wild plant grows heavily in a pond or any other body of water, making it difficult for steamers to move. It can be bred as a decorative appearance in the middle lane. Also used at home in an aquarium. |
Varieties by color scheme
Hyacinth has many colors. By color, varieties are distinguished into separate categories and have their own names and descriptions.
| Color scale (grades) | Description |
| Blue |
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| Purple |
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| Whites |
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| Pink |
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| Red and yellow |
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Hyacinth: planting and care in the open ground
Planting flowers is completely dependent on climatic conditions.
| Landing place | The timing |
| Moscow region | The best months to plant a plant are late September – early October. If it is very cold, you should cover the flowers with special material. The film can be kept for no more than 3 weeks, otherwise the roots will sprout. |
| Leningrad region | Plant in open ground in late September - early October. If you plan to shelter flowers, then the planting can be postponed to the end of October. |
| Ural | Flowers are planted in mid-September, the main thing is that the soil does not freeze, otherwise the roots will not germinate. |
| Siberia | Disembarkation is made at the beginning of September. Until the bulbs are completely rooted. Flowers should be covered with a film. |
In order for hyacinth to take root during planting in the winter or autumn, it is necessary to keep in mind several special planting of flowers in the ground, depending on the season.
Autumn planting is somewhat different in winter than what is described in the table:
| Parameter / Season | Autumn | Winter |
| Choosing a place in the garden | It is undesirable to plant hyacinths where any bulbous plants used to grow. The site to choose is not very lit by the sun, it is desirable that for several hours it plunges into partial shade. | It is worth choosing a protected plot of land from the wind, the light should be diffused and not bright. |
| Soil, fertilizer | Pour fertilizer into the wells and add drainage from coarse sand, the layer should be about 4 cm thick. | Suitable land of low acidity. If the plot has acidic soil, then you must first lime it, and add sand to the clay soil. Before the procedure for planting hyacinths, the earth must be dug with humus. |
| Bulb selection and preparation | For planting, you need to choose medium onions and withstand them for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. | Before planting, place in a fungicide solution. |
| Landing | Plant a large and medium bulb to a depth of about 15 cm, a small 8 cm. Before planting the material, sprinkle the hole with coarse sand and press the bulb, then fill it with earth. The distance between the holes is about 10 cm. Pour from a watering can. | Large bulbs are planted to a depth of 17 cm, and medium to 13 cm. The distance between the flowers should be 15-20 cm. If the planting bulbs are small, you can plant them more often. |
| Top dressing | Feeding is not required, nitrogen fertilizers are used only in spring and summer. | You do not need to fertilize, enough humus in the hole. |
| Care | Hyacinth should be watered as the soil dries. Moisten the soil by 20 cm and slightly loosen the earth around. During frosts to cover with a film, but after 4 weeks of landing, they are not afraid of cold anymore. | A prerequisite for care is to cover the plant with plastic wrap so that it successfully tolerates wintering. Also, the site can be covered with leaves, humus or peat layer, removed in the spring. |
After flowering
For transplantation, you need to dig a plant after flowering in the summer and keep it until the fall. In the fall, transplant to another place. As soon as the hyacinth stops blooming, it is advisable to wait two months for it to recover.
Bulbs must be stored very carefully and carefully, young inflorescences are born in them. Once dug up, they must be dried for seven days at high temperature in a well-ventilated area.
To clear the roots of clods of earth. There are two stages of storage of planting material: at elevated temperature and pre-planting.
In the first stage, the bulbs are heated at a temperature of +24 degrees for several months, then a month at +16. Humidity is important to keep high to avoid drying out. Before planting for a week, take it outside so that they adapt to the climate.
Forcing and growing a house
Step-by-step instruction of distillation:
- Drainage is poured at the bottom of the pot, after the earth.
- The distance between the holes is at least 4 cm.
- After watering, the ground is covered with sand, so the root system does not rot.
- Holes are made in the bag and a container is placed there, after which it is put in a cool place for several months.
- Watering is carried out 2 times a week, provided that the room is very high humidity.
- After 2 months, the sprouts are placed in a warm and darkened place. As soon as they reach 10 cm in height, they are placed in the light. For home cultivation, it is necessary that the temperature for the first time does not exceed +16 degrees.
After the primrose, the pot can be placed anywhere, but it is advisable to protect it from drafts.
Breeding
Hyacinth dilution is extremely slow. Basically, to accelerate the process of reproduction, they resort to stimulating the bulbs in the following ways:
- Cutting the bottom. Large bulbs are dug up, washed and dried. After 7 days, the roots begin to fall off, then an incision with a wedge is made with a sharp knife, the bottom and kidney are removed. After planting material is laid upside down in the container, sprinkled with charcoal and covered with a bag. After 3 months, the beginnings of roots and sprouts appear.
- Scales. The bulb is divided into 4 parts and the scales break off from below. Stacked in a bag of sand. They hold one and a half months at +22 degrees and the same number at +18.
- Incision of the bottom. An incision is made at the bottom in the shape of a cross, sprinkled with charcoal and left in a warm room. As a result, 15 new onions appear.
- Cuttings. It is carried out in the presence of a bud on a flower. Take two leaves at the very base and plant them in a medium container with 4 cm coarse sand. They put it in a strong plastic bag and keep it warm under high humidity.
Diseases and Pests
Hyacinth is exposed to diseases and parasite attacks. The main ones are presented in the table.
| Disease / Parasite | Lesion feature | Ways to fight |
| Flower flies | Gnaw a plant underground. The leaves begin to fade, the flower does not grow. | To process with special preparations: Tabazol, Aktara. |
| Thrips | Suck the juice of the plant. Foxes turn yellow, flowers fall. | Spray with insecticides when neglecting and propagating aphid colonies: Accord, Akarin. |
| Onion tick | They feed on onions in storage. They become loose and rotten, do not give roots. | Defuse bulbs by immersing them in hot water. |
| Stem nematode | The bulb becomes soft, the affected flowers do not grow and die. | Before planting hyacinths, pour Fitoverm on the soil. |
| Variety. | The bulbs die off, dark spots appear on the leaves, they can also turn yellow, fade. Longitudinal stripes form on the flowers. The plant stops growing. | Destroy affected plants. |
| Yellow rot | Brown and yellow stripes appear on the leaves, after which they turn black and die. The plant starts to smell unpleasant. | Dry the bulbs thoroughly before planting and store in a ventilated area. Destroy already diseased plants, it is best to burn. |
| Penicillin rot | The whole plant is covered with green spores of the fungus. Gradually rotting. | Observe cooling mode before boarding. Spray the flower with a copper-containing solution. |
| Gray rot | Yellowish spots appear on the leaves, turn brown over time. The affected parts of the flower are covered with a gray coating. | Disinfection or soil change. Spray with Topaz. |
Mr. Dachnik recommends: Popular varieties of hyacinths for the middle lane
The flowering period in the middle lane is from May to June. Not all varieties are suitable, only the most unpretentious and stable varieties can take root:
- Amethyst;
- Queen of the Blues;
- Myozotis;
- Gertrude;
- Yellou Hammer;
- City of Haarlem.
