Hyacinth - facts and care tips

• Hyacinths in a group

Hyacinths are beautiful to plant in a group with other plants and flowers, preferably together with small echeveria or mini poinsettias. Decorate with cushion moss or green moss, a rosette, a pixie or a star. Water when the soil has dried up around the onion.

• Hyacinths in a hyacinth vase

You can also put hyacinths in a hyacinth vase. Remove all soil, and rinse the onion. Take care of the roots. Fill the vase with water so that the roots reach down.

• Hyacinths in a window

Why not hang the hyacinths in a window? Wrap the clod of soil (which you have watered first) with green moss, and tie it firmly with a coarse string. Hang the hyacinths at different heights. Shower the moss a few times a week to keep it fresh.

• Where
  It prefers to be in a bright environment, but not particularly hot. Light and cool work best for the plant.
• Soil
  Most of us have hyacinths in pots around Christmas time. Based on this, it is normal potting soil that applies.
• Water
  Always water around – not on the bulb itself.
• Nutrition
  Hyacinth receives nutrition from its bulb, not from added nutrition like other potted plants. The size of the bulb therefore has something to say. The larger the bulb, the more nutrients it stores.

When the plant has withered as a potted plant there is no reason to throw it away – the bulb can still be used to grow new hyacinths.

When the stem has withered you can pull it up and leave the leaves behind. Now the bulb will receive water and nutrition until the frost leaves the roof. During this period the bulbs grow, and afterwards you can plant them in flower beds in a cool and bright place in the garden.

You can also plant the plant directly after flowering. When the onion with leaves is planted outside, the leaves will wither and give more nutrition to the bulb. You can't count on the hyacinths to grow and flower that same spring, but there are good chances that the following spring will give your garden beautiful and fragrant hyacinths when spring slowly but surely returns to our country!

For many, hyacinths are closely linked to Christmas, and this is not least evident in the large amount of swivels that are sold at Christmas. The fact is that hyacinth shares characteristics and growth with another popular plant from the Netherlands – the tulip.

Just like the tulip, turnip is a bulbous plant that is often grown on a large scale in the country. They have the same growth pattern since they emerge from the bulbs in the flower beds in the spring, and they bloom beautifully. In other words, turnip is a plant you will be able to use several times, so don't throw it away after Christmas - keep it in a cool, dark place, and plant it outdoors afterwards!

Hyacinths are popular potted plants in winter. When December approaches, you can also buy onions in the shop, preferably ones that have reached different stages of development. If the bulb has not yet started to bloom, it can be difficult to tell what color the flowers will be, but you can often see it on the pot it is sold in. Hyacinths are easy to get nice, and it is of course possible to plant the bulb yourself and be creative with the various arrangements in the pot.

Place it in ordinary potting soil and make sure that the drainage is good. Make sure the bulbs stand steady and avoid getting water on the bulb itself when watering. After this, the hyacinth should be left as bright as possible, preferably in a cooler place.

You can also grow a hyacinth in a glass or in a glass jar - an exciting and great way to grow. To succeed, pick up the bulb and brush away as much soil as possible. If you don't get everything off, you can rinse off the last of it with water. This is when you have to be careful, because you have to find a glass where the bulb can hang above the surface of the water itself. Fill the glass and place the bulb in such a way that the roots reach into the water. Here you have to make sure that the bulb itself is not standing in water. After a while, the roots will grow and produce a beautiful tangle of many fine and small, white roots. Top up with water when it gets low.

Hyacinths are available in a variety of colors and shapes. The actual flower on a whorl is funnel-shaped and many of them sit in a dense cluster on a stem. The plant itself is straight and cylindrical and grows straight up from the bulb.

The hyacinth excels with its extensive clusters of beautiful and fragrant flowers which can be blue, white, purple, red or pale yellow. Hyacinths can be grown both outside in a flower bed and in a pot or glass indoors, and it is perhaps the potted plant we Norwegians have adopted the most.

There are many reasons to let hyacinyths be a beautiful spring flower that gives the flower bed a beautiful appearance, while at the same time spreading its delicious fragrance. Although this plant is synonymous with Christmas and the Christmas season for most people, it is very useful in several ways at different times of the year. It can be planted alone in a pot, outside among many other plants or why not try growing chives in a glass?

Turn hyacinths into something more than just a welcome and appreciated Christmas plant, because this onion plant has a lot of untapped potential!

• The hyacinth was already cultivated in Roman times, and was written about as early as 700 BC.
• Since the 17th century, the hyacinth has been cultivated for commercial purposes, and for a while it rivaled the tulip in popularity in the Netherlands.
• There are around 150 different types of hyacinths that have different properties.
• Around 11 million of this popular plant are sold every December.
• Hyacinths are divided into a scent code system where certain scents are more than others.
• The hyacinth got its name from the Greek god world. The beautiful youth Hyakintos was killed by a discus, and Apollo created a flower from his blood, called hyacinth in English.