How to Fertilize Hyacinths
Available in a variety of colors, hyacinths brighten the spring garden with spikes of small blooms. Hyacinths grow from a small bulb that contains all the nutrients and energy necessary for a single season of flowering. After flowering, the bulbs continue to collect a new store of nutrients that will fuel growth the following spring. Fertilizing before you plant ensures a full first spring of bloom, and continued annual fertilization helps the bulbs refuel so the plants remain productive and flower well each year.
Break up the top 12 inches of soil prior to planting the bulbs in the fall. Use a hoe to loosen the soil in an established bed or turn the soil with a spade if the soil is compacted or hard.
Sprinkle 2 cups of bone meal over every 10 square feet of hyacinth bed. Bone meal provides phosphorous, which encourages healthy root development. Turn the bone meal into the top 6 to 8 inches of soil so it’s available in the root zone of the bulbs. Plant the bulbs in the prepared bed.
Water every 10 square feet of the newly planted bulbs with 5 tbsp. of 10-10-10 soluble fertilizer diluted in 1 gallon of water. Alternatively, work a 2-inch layer of compost into the soil prior to planting if you prefer to avoid chemical fertilizers.
Fertilize with 5 tbsp. of 10-10-10 soluble feed per 10 square feet in spring once the first hyacinth shoots emerge. Apply the spring fertilization before the hyacinths begin to produce flower buds. Alternatively, spread 1 inch of compost over the bed instead of using a chemical fertilizer.
Repeat the spring fertilizer application annually. Hyacinths don’t require fall fertilization once established.
- Hyacinths require digging up and dividing every two or three years or the bulbs become crowded. Apply fresh bone meal before replanting the divided bulbs.