When to Dig Up Hyacinth Bulbs for Storing
It’s important not to dig up your hyacinth bulbs at the wrong time, or else your bulbs may not have enough energy to sprout. Once the blooms have passed, cut off the blossom stalk to keep the plant from wasting energy on seed production. Keep the leaves and continue to water them as usual– the leaves are essential for storing up energy in the bulb. When the leaves start to brown, reduce your watering by half. Only when the leaves have died completely should you stop watering. When the soil has dried out, carefully dig up the bulb and remove the dead foliage. Curing hyacinths is very easy. Lay the bulbs out on a newspaper in a cool, dark place for three days. After that, store them in a cool, dark location in a mesh bag. They’re now ready to be planted in your garden in the autumn or forced indoors in late winter.
How to Cure Hyacinth Bulbs
If your hyacinths are growing outdoors, there’s no real reason to dig them up and cure them– they’ll come back naturally in the spring. However, if you want to move them to a new spot, there’s no reason you can’t. While your hyacinths are still above ground, mark their exact spot with a stake– once they die back, it will be very hard to find the bulbs. In autumn, carefully dig up the bulbs and lay them out on newspaper, then store them in a mesh bag. The process of curing hyacinths is just the same as with forced bulbs. They’re now ready to plant or force as you choose.
