Grape Hyacinth

Naturalizing bulbs multiply and return year after year. You can divide them in late spring after the foliage is brown but you can still see where they are.

Plant in sunny spots. It’s okay to plant under deciduous trees since bulbs will have plenty of light in winter.

Avoid over watering. If you lose bulbs, it could be that your irrigation system drowned them.

When planting: you can use bulb fertilizers, bone meal, or soft rock phosphate. William likes to spray with liquid seaweed and roll them in the fertilizer before planting.

Planting depth isn’t critical since the bulb will find it’s own center of gravity. We don’t experience frozen ground, so plant to cover with an inch or two of soil on top. It’s better not to go too deep, especially in heavy soils. Plant with the basal plate (you may see some tiny roots) on the bottom; pointed end on top. If you get them upside down, generally they’ll figure it out.


After flowering, let the foliage totally brown before you cut it off. Photosynthesis allows the bulb to gather nutrition for next year’s cycle.

Notes:  I don't remember when I received this, but it was one year as a housewarming gifts. I always take them and plant them somewhere in the garden and then forget about them.

I actually vaguely recall planting my new Spirea in 2018 and finding the bulbs. I figured they were dead, and just planted around them.  I was very surprised in spring of 2019 to see a purple bloom poking up between a rock and the spirea. So this year, I might just pull the bulbs out and replant them in their own spot.  Some notes I find say that they should be pulled out and put in the fridge for six weeks in the winter.  but I have done nothing with these bulbs and they bloomed...