March 10, 2021 · Bulbs / BULBS & TUBERS / Garden Review

Hyacinth care

Looking for information on how to care for my new hyacinth plant. I just bought at a local grocery store. It smelled and looked beautiful, but after a few days is dying.

The fragrant blooms usually last 7-14 days. The longevity of the bulb depends on how far along the plant was when you bought it. If it was in full bloom chances are that it is done blooming and is on its way out.

When purchasing bulb plants, pick ones that show a slight color but not open, this will give you more time to enjoy the whole blooming process.
It is best to keep them in a cool place away from heat and direct sunlight. The warmer the room the quicker it will bloom and die. Water when top 1″ of soil is dry.

How to rebloom a hyacinth
Once the plant is done blooming you can either toss the bulb or try to save it for future bloom.

Here’s what you need to do:
Cut off the dead flower stalk and allow the foliage to continue to grow until it yellows and dies back naturally. This will replenish the bulb with nutrients and energy for next year’s bloom.

Plant your hyacinth bulb outdoors when the soil can be worked and temperatures are above freezing . Pull out the entire root ball and plant it deep enough so the bulbs are 5-6 inches below the soil line. Choose a spot that does not get excessively wet in the summer or the bulb will rot.
Hyacinths like moist springs and dry summers.

*If the bulbs remain in the pot, store them through the summer and plant the bulbs outdoors in the fall.
Forced bulbs drain much energy out of the bulb and should not be forced to bloom again; instead plant them outdoors in the ground, fertilize in the spring and with a little luck, they may rebloom in 2-3 years

Troubleshooting
-Flower heads bending over (drooping) may be due to warm temperatures, low light or a watering problem.
-Forced bulbs can develop a shallow root system. Consequently when brought into a warm room, grow so fast that the flower head gets too heavy for the stem to support it.
-Short stocky flower heads can be the result of not enough cooling time.

– Hyacinth bulb is considered poisonous and deer proof.

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Useful reader questions

Re bloom hyacinth bulb I got a hyacinth in a vase full of water as a birthday gift. It has bloomed 2 (white) hyacinths and it is now starting to lean to one side with one of the blooms already turning brown…

Read Kelly discussion

blooming hyacinth in fall I live in Minnesota, Zone 4 and planted a blue Hyacinth potted plant this last spring after it had dried up. Now that I am getting ready to cover the perennials with leaves for the upcoming winter, I…

Read Marjie Elie discussion

My hyacinth is so pretty in its pot that I’d rather keep it there in the kitchen window area than plant outdoors. Can I do this without it dying? How would I care for it? Hi Karen Keep your hyacinth away from…

Read Karen T discussion

I live in East Texas and I just bought a beautiful hyacinth from my local nursery. It is in full bloom and I would like to plant it in a large pot to be placed outside. Will this work? How long will…

Read Katy discussion

13 Comments

Marjie Elie - January 4, 2013 at 3:20 pm

blooming hyacinth in fall
I live in Minnesota, Zone 4 and planted a blue Hyacinth potted plant this last spring after it had dried up. Now that I am getting ready to cover the perennials with leaves for the upcoming winter, I am noticing that the Hyacinth is now prematurely coming up and blooming lovely blue flowers. Should I remove the bulbs and plant them deeper or should I leave them alone and let the winter take its course and see if they re-bloom in the spring?

Hi Marjie
The problem is now that winter is approaching the blooming hyacinth may not have enough time to let the leaves die back before freezing temperatures kill them.
You can leave them and see what happens or dig them up, enjoy them indoors, let the leaves dieback and replant them when the ground is workable. Chances are they will not bloom the next season. I would leave them in the ground.

Reply
Winston - February 4, 2013 at 2:56 pm

Hi, I live in Singapore and have just got a pink hyacinth. May I find out take care of it?
It is starting to bend over. What should I do?
Thanks

Hi Winston
Try to keep your hyacinth in a cool place away from direct sun.

Reply
Katy - February 4, 2013 at 2:59 pm

I live in East Texas and I just bought a beautiful hyacinth from my local nursery. It is in full bloom and I would like to plant it in a large pot to be placed outside. Will this work? How long will it stay in bloom?

Hi Katy
Hyacinths, once in full bloom will last about a week depending on conditions. They will last longer if they are in cool temperatures and away from direct sun. It’s best to enjoy the flower. When its done blooming, replant it in the yard so that the leaves will continue to grow for a month or so. Like tulips, the leaves will then die back (turn brown) and the bulb will go dormant until next spring.

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Florida - February 4, 2013 at 3:03 pm

Grow hyacinth in warm weather
I have a potted Hyacinth and i live in Fl should i wait to put it out?

Hyacinths are a cool climate bulb and don’t grow well in Fla. as they need a cool dormant period and a dry summer to rebloom. In addition, unless grown in optimal conditions, a forced bulb is difficult to rebloom the following year. If you want to try, you will have to let the leaves continue to grow. Once the leaves dieback, store the bulb in cool temperatures. Repot in Oct-Dec. for Feb-April bloom. see http://hortchat.com/info/forcing-spring-bulbs. After all that, they still may not bloom.
**Cultural Notes: Flowers poorly in FL. Bulbs require chilling about 60 days at 40°F and 120 days at 50°F. Bulbs chilled in a refrigerator with ripening fruits may fail to bloom. The gas (ethylene) produced by ripening fruit can cause flower buds to abort. Plant bulbs immediately upon removal from cold storage. Discard bulbs after blooming and plant new ones each year.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg029#table_2

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Kandy - February 4, 2013 at 3:11 pm

reblooming hyacinth in pot
i got 4 hyacynths, each one has 3 bulbs. white, 2 blue and burgendy colors. now they are starting to die back. the white, burgendy, and 1 blue have sprouted baby plants on the main stalk and are now blooming. the white one is also putting up a large amount of new shoots around the pot. should i get rid of the dead flowerheads, also should i repot them, they are in 6in. pots now, some of the bulbs are sticking out of the soil. transplanting in the yard is not an option, so i need to know what size of container i can put them in.thankyou for any help you can give me.

Hi Kandy
There is little to none chance that the hyacinth bulbs will rebloom in a pot. You may get some foliage but no flowers.

Reply
Kelly - January 13, 2014 at 1:42 pm

Re bloom hyacinth bulb
I got a hyacinth in a vase full of water as a birthday gift. It has bloomed 2 (white) hyacinths and it is now starting to lean to one side with one of the blooms already turning brown while the other bloom is still white, after it is finished blooming how do I get it to rebloom its self again in the water vase?

Hi Kelly
Hyacinth will bloom once per season. When bulbs are forced to bloom most of their energy is used up and usually do not re bloom in a container but may come back if planted outdoors. So when they are done blooming, cut off the dead flower stalk and allow the foliage to continue to grow until it yellows and dies back naturally. You should pot it in soil until you can replant it outdoors. Plant your hyacinth bulb outdoors when the soil can be worked and temperatures are above freezing. This will replenish the bulb with nutrients and energy and it might bloom next year. If and when it does rebloom, the flower head will not be a large.

Reply
Rosemarie - March 11, 2014 at 12:42 am

Seed balls on hyacinth
My hyacinths plants are done flowering. The leaves are bright green with small ball growths on them. Do I remove the growths, or just leave them on the leaves until the leaves turn yellow?

Hi Rosemarie
The small green balls are seed balls. You can leave them and they may produce new seedlings in years to come or remove them.

Reply
Karen T - March 11, 2014 at 1:00 am

My hyacinth is so pretty in its pot that I’d rather keep it there in the kitchen window area than plant outdoors. Can I do this without it dying? How would I care for it?

Hi Karen
Keep your hyacinth away from the warm window. It will bloom longer. I’m afraid a blooming hyacinth will only keep for 7-10 days and then the flower stalk dies. All you will have left is the leaves, it will not rebloom this year. Enjoy your plant and after it is done blooming either plant it outside or save it (let the floliage grow until it dies back) then plant it outdoors for next year’s bloom. It’s easier just to plant it when its done blooming.

Reply
f. may - March 17, 2014 at 9:23 am

Hello, I planted my hyacinth bulbs in a one gallon nursery container and then put them in a large tub in the garden. Instead of digging them up I would like to leave them in the container. If I do this would I have to keep them watered, or think of them as if I had dug them up and keep them dry until next fall? Thank you

HI May
Water the hyacinths while the leaves are growing. Once the leaves turn yellow/brown let them die back and then you won’t have to water them. Since they are in a container, make sure that the soil doesn’t stay too wet as bulbs prefer a drier well drained soil.

Reply
Kristie Lacy - April 3, 2015 at 3:26 pm

I planted my forced hyacinth that was in bloom but we had a last frost some the flowers are dying but have new blooms and some the leaves are turning yellow with no blooms .what do i do to the dead flowers with new blooms and what should i do to the no blooms both have yellow leaves and its zone 7 in april

Hi Kristie
Leave the plant as is. All the flowers will eventually dry up and them you can cut the whole flower stem off. You can pinch of the dead florets just so it looks nicer. Let the leaves die back until they turn brown and then you can remove them.

Reply
1. Ellen - November 10, 2015 at 10:51 am
  
  My hyacinth is going to bloom and I live in zone 4 by Sioux City Iowa. Should i dig it up? Its going to freeze with rain and snow tomorrow.
  
  Reply
nikki R - February 4, 2017 at 2:41 pm

I received my blooming hyacinth for valentines day. I transplanted it from a water vase to a pot with soil. My bulb died back in December and i was getting ready to remove it from the soil but then it started to sprout almost immediately and so did some offsets. I didn’t think it would be good to separate the offsets when they just sprouted for the first time. Now they are all dying back. Do I try do hibernate them now or is there something wrong with them?

Hi Nikki
The best thing you can do is to Plant your hyacinth bulb and offsets in the ground. They may continue to grow and return next year.

Reply
Emilee Collins - January 14, 2018 at 9:25 pm

I got two live, budding hyacinths (pink and purple blooms) in December, but they were grown in water rather than soil. I don’t know a lot about working with bulbs, and I’m guessing the online guidance I’ve been seeing for hyacinths in soil may not be perfectly suited for my water-grown ones. They just finished blooming (here in mid-January) and all my sources are telling me to prep the bulbs for storage here soon. Any advice on how I should proceed?

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