What is hyacinth? This is an incredibly beautiful and versatile plant in many respects. In the garden, the flower blooms the very first and signals the arrival of spring. It is not only its rich palette of colors that amazes the imagination, but also the brushes collected in an orderly manner, consisting of terry or ordinary bells. For flower gardeners, a bouquet of cut motley panicles can often be seen even in a vase. And if you create a suitable microclimate for plants in the room, then you will no longer have to tear them off. In your house, these wonderful flowers will feel great on the windowsill in pots. The article will talk about the features of their growing indoors.
What is hyacinth?
First of all, it is an excellent representative of the flora with high decorative qualities. Its flowers come in a variety of shades: pink, white, burgundy, purple, violet, pale yellow and black. Hyacinth was originally intended for outdoor cultivation. Its name speaks for itself, since in Greek it means "rainy flower". Indeed, after the first rainfall on the background of spring soil, motley bells immediately open.
If we talk about what hyacinth is from the point of view of floriculture, then this is a universal representative grown for several purposes. It can be seen in summer cottages and house adjoining territories of private mansions. It is also grown for sale, since flowers can be preserved for a while and in cut form. Lovers of indoor plants successfully keep it on their windowsills.
Botanical characteristics of the plant
The original bush of the plant is a leaf rosette, from which a rather juicy stem comes out. The peduncle, depending on the variety, can be either high or stunted. Numerous bells tightly border the upper part of the stem, gathering in one brush. The leaf plates have a bright green color, a smooth surface and a fleshy structure. The nutrition system of the spring flower has the appearance of a bulb, consisting of succulent deciduous layers, tightly adjacent to each other. The plant stem originates at the base of the root of the root system.
The botanical characteristics of plants also depend on varietal characteristics. Although there are many hyacinths, according to official statistics, they are divided into three main groups:
- Oriental. This is the most popular flower from which many decorative varieties were obtained. Its habitat in the wild is Greece, Dalmatia and Asia Minor. The plant is distinguished by a thin stem and a rare arrangement of bells, a variety of colors and an alluring aroma.
- Trans-Caspian. Hyacinth with a fairly high peduncle, most often produces two arrows. The color is pale blue. In the wild grows in the mountains.
- Litvinova. An annual variety of different sizes. It stands out from the others for its bewitching beauty and wider sheet plates. Among this variety there are specimens with purple, blue and even with a greenish color of flowers. In vivo grows on the territory of Turkmenistan and Iran.
What do flowers like?
In order for hyacinth to develop normally in the home atmosphere and please the owner with its beautiful flowers, he needs conditions similar to garden ones. It cannot be concluded that there is too much difference between these methods, but there are some nuances and secrets. Experienced flower growers were able to understand the nature of this plant and learned to grow it in different conditions. Since this is a spring flower, the initial temperature when entering the pot with a bush into the room should be cool. He needs to provide good lighting, with the presence of necessarily sunlight.
The most necessary condition in the home planting of hyacinths is the agricultural technique, aimed at accelerating the development of the bush until the appearance of buds. Distillation of a plant is a complex of floricultural techniques that allows you to reach the peak of the most beautiful cycle to a specific period or date. Using this method, the plant will provide you with bright bouquets for the holiday or any event.
Those who are going to be engaged in growing a flower indoors constantly need to understand that sometimes it will be necessary to re-plant a hyacinth. At home, during the distillation process, the plant draws nutrients from the bulb and depletes it. For this reason, it is not always able to bloom repeatedly. Therefore, hyacinths must be sent for one year to open ground for recovery.
Basic techniques for distillation
Planting hyacinth in a pot in a home environment begins with this process. However, for the full development of the bulbs, the flowerpot should be filled with fertile soil. To create a substrate, it is necessary to take in equal proportions the following components: peat, sand, turf land, sheet soil. Everything needs to be mixed until smooth. Forcing rules:
- A drainage layer is laid at the bottom of the tank, then the substrate is filled up.
- Planting material is processed - excess husks and old root processes are removed.
- Bulbs are not immersed in the soil not too deep, 1/3 part. The rest should remain above the surface of the soil. Usually they already have a small green shoot on them.
- If when planting hyacinths at home several plants are planted in a pot, then they need to be placed so that there is space between the bulbs and the edges of the pot.
- When deciding to grow flowers in a long, rectangular container, you must also adhere to the optimal distance. It should not be less than three centimeters between the sprouts.
- Then the onions are watered, but not too abundantly.
- The substrate is covered with a layer of sand. This is necessary so that during the distillation period the plants do not rot.
Further observations
The method of distillation does not end only on planting hyacinths, and leaving in a pot for bulbs is also included in this process. In the first two months, sprouts should be in street conditions, which they will replace the cellar. In this room, the temperature usually does not exceed + 7-8 ° C, and this is what you need to distill the plants. Tanks are installed in packages with pre-made holes.
Now, the task of the grower is to control the moisture level in the substrate. It must not be allowed to dry. If the air humidity in the cellar or other room where the sprouts are not less than 90%, then they should be watered once for the entire period. When they rise to 5 cm, young plants are transferred to the room.
The first time sprouts need darkness. If there is no such corner or room in the apartment, then you can make caps from any opaque material and put on each hyacinth in a pot. Home care for plants will begin when the sprouts reach 10 cm in height. As soon as they are extended, they are removed from the devices that are protected from light and allow to develop in a new environment for them. It is better that the temperature at this time does not rise above + 15 o C.
The main nuances of care
The difficulty of growing a garden plant is mainly in its non-standard planting. Hyacinth in the home atmosphere, after all stimulating manipulations, is able to develop independently. The main thing is to carry out watering, top dressing on time and choose a suitable place for it.
These crops love loose soil. Therefore, after each, next fertilizer application, you need to fluff up the substrate. This should be done very carefully so as not to injure the bulbs.
During the maintenance of these perennials, some secrets were revealed to extend their flowering, which simply must be included in the rules of care. Hyacinth in a pot should be taken to a cool room at night, and returned back in the morning.
After the plant fades, the stem must be cut off and the leaves left. For another month, hydration and plant nutrition should be carried out. As the leaves wilt, watering is reduced.
The bulbs are carefully removed from the flowerpot and dried. If you plan a subsequent planting of hyacinths in a home environment, then they should be kept in the refrigerator. All onions must be carefully examined, remove the top peel from them, and discard the unfit. It is also advisable to disinfect them with a special solution. For processing, you can apply Fundozol. To exclude infectious lesions, planting material must be held in a tool with the obligatory presence of phosphorus.
Some gardeners practice growing these specimens in containers without a substrate by immersing the bulbs in water. In this case, the root system needs to create a suitable environment for normal growth and nutrition. A complex of mineral fertilizers is added to the water. The bulb should be located on the surface and only touch the nutrient solution with the bottom. Until the lower root shoots appear, it must be kept in a cool and dark place.
Since we are talking about growing plants from which you need to achieve the longest possible flowering time, then each stage of care should be considered in more detail.
Appropriate place
The ideal location for the flower would be the southeast or south side. Hyacinths have an increased need for sunlight, so they need lighting for fifteen hours a day. The only requirement is that flowers and leaves should not be burned. Flowerpots with plants need to be turned periodically for uniform hit of light. On too hot days, they must be obscured. If this is not possible, then it is better to temporarily remove the pots from the windowsill. Without following these rules, it will not be possible to admire the blooming tassels of hyacinths for a long time.
If there is no suitable place on the open window sills, then you need to create artificial lighting, thus ensuring proper care for hyacinths. In the home microclimate, plants will be luxurious if you follow the indicators of temperature and humidity.
Temperature
Before the budding period, it is expected that the bushes will adapt to the home microclimate and will be ready for change. In summer, you can put them on the balcony and open the window at suitable hours. From the time of the appearance of the first buds to the end of flowering, indoor plants need to increase the temperature. The optimal indicator on the thermometer is + 22 ° C. In no case should sharp changes be allowed in the microclimate - the flowers will look droopy and ugly.
Fertilizing and moisturizing
In order for hyacinth to develop at home no worse than on a flower bed, you need to moisten it in time and make fertilizers. It is impossible to grow these flowers without a competent approach in such matters. Of course, the drainage layer controls the flow of moisture to the bulb. However, it is important not to forget to pour excess water from the sump. It is necessary to maintain moderate humidity.
Water must not be allowed to linger in the axils of leaves and buds, as well as on the bulb itself. In this regard, watering must be done along the edge of the pot, otherwise the plant may rot and die as a result. Some gardeners carry out this procedure by immersion. In any case, this must be done carefully with the help of standing and warm water. Given these characteristics of the plant, hyacinths are not sprayed.
Hyacinth growth in fertilized soil occurs much faster. He needs to ensure regular intake of nutrients, it is also important for flowering. Here you can use universal tools for indoor copies purchased in garden stores. In the first days of a flower’s stay in the room, it must be fed with nitrogen and phosphate, during budding, with superphosphate with the addition of a small amount of potassium. The last fertilizer is carried out before the dormant period. Potassium and superphosphate are bred in equal proportions, mixed with water and plants are moderately watered.
Disease control
Suitable conditions for hyacinth serve as insurance against illness. Although it is extremely rare for pests and lesions of a fungal and bacterial nature, you still need to know about these problems in order to timely process the plant and possibly save it from death.
If yellowing of the leaves is observed, they begin to fade, the root system becomes rotten and rotting is noticed, which means that the insects have already attacked the flower and damaged it. For such cases, you need to have insecticides at home. Although the methods of control in each case are individual and there are drugs with a narrow focus, all types of pests do not tolerate phosphorus.
When the plants get sick, their leaves begin to dry out and blacken from the tip of the apex. Brown watery lines become visible, both on the stem and along the veins on the leaf blades. Hyacinth bulbs become covered with yellow spots and an unpleasant odor starts to come from them. Such a flower is almost impossible to save. It is necessary to eliminate even the substrate in which it grew.
Diseases are both viral and non-infectious. A common lesion is yellow rot.
Breeding
Flowers are propagated by several methods. These include: seed, by notching and cutting the bottom, through the children. The latter is usually practiced, since it is the simplest. The other two are used, in particular, by professionals and breeders.
In one year, the root system forms an average of three bulbs. They must be carefully separated from the mother and placed in another container. It so happens that it is impossible to tear the kids from the main bulb. Then they are planted and left together until flowering. Then they are separated. Using this method, flowers can be obtained only after two years.
Growing problems
Flowers with variegated tassels have established themselves as unpretentious and fairly hardy plants. However, in any case, problems during their cultivation may appear.
If the plant suddenly stops blooming, then you need to reduce the temperature regime. Do not forget that hyacinths are spring perennials that do not tolerate heat.
Due to the presence of drafts and excessive watering, leaves sometimes turn yellow. Hyacinths get used to a constant temperature, and when a stream of cold air falls on them, they experience stress. Therefore, when ventilating the premises, care must be taken.
Falling buds is the result of illiterate wetting. This means that water has fallen on the leaves. It is necessary to dry the plant and irrigate more accurately. It is important to ensure that the peduncle is always dry. Due to excessive waterlogging, flowers can even rot.
It happens that in general the plant looks normal, but the leaves are a little wilted. This may occur due to a lack of sunlight.
Conclusion
Now, what is hyacinth, you already know. In fact, this is a flower that not only professionals can grow, but also novice lovers of indoor plants. He is as handsome as unpretentious. And if desired, you can get bouquets with numerous bright flowers at any time of the year. Very original specimens look just grown in water, standing on a windowsill in transparent containers. In such pots, a bulb floating on the surface and a dense "spider line" of overgrown lower root processes are clearly visible.