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I planted 5 bulbs, “Fragrant Hyacinth Mixture” Hyacinthus orientalis, last weekend. At 2 inches, they are not the largest hyacinth bulbs I ever bought. I bought them at a fund raiser. I kept telling myself it was for a good cause.
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It’s easy to see which end is up on hyacinths - pointy end up. You can even see some dried roots in the one upside down bulb in the picture below.
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I wanted to plant them with other hyacinths already in my garden. I can’t be certain exactly where the other hyacinths are. All signs of hyacinths are long gone. I didn’t want to dig up the old bulbs or worse, chop them into pieces with my shovel.
Years ago when I started planting spring blooming bulbs, I used tongue depressors in spring to mark the spots where I wanted to add more bulbs. It was easy to see where the empty spots were when the bulbs bloomed. Then in fall I knew where to dig. This year I didn’t plan to plant more hyacinths. The fund raiser changed that.
So I had to take a guess.
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I knew the spot I wanted would be somewhere in the mass of sweet alyssum. The alyssum self sows every year and camouflages the hyacinth leaves as they fade. I love the sweet scent of alyssum in the warm sun. I hated to pull them out before frost but I had to clean out a spot to plant the new bulbs.
Then I dug a hole about 6 inches deep. I placed the bulbs closer than the 4 to 6 inches apart recommended because I like to have a clump of blooms.
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After covering the bulbs, I watered well to settle the soil around the bulbs and dissipate the bulb odor from bulb eating critters. As a little insurance from marauding squirrels, I sprinkled the ground with cayenne pepper. It may not help but it can’t hurt.
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For some expert advice and interesting facts on planting spring blooming bulbs from Doug Green, click here and here.
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