question for gardener types

[fox]

I now have a couple of hyacinths in a pot. When the blooms are gone, are these bulbs done? Or can I cut back the flower stalks and put some plant food in the pot and plant the things in the ground in the fall?

Comments

[kass]

I've done that with potted hyacinths, even planting them in late spring once the ground is thawed, and sure enough, they come back every spring. \o/

[reginagiraffe]

Plant 'em.

Hyacinths don't last forever. After a few years the flower stalk gets wimpier and wimpier, but it's worth planting them.

[onyxlynx]

Plant in good soil.

I planted hyacinths as part of a plot to have spring flowering plants in the backyard in less-than-optimal soil and light (summer was supposed to have marigolds, a dahlia, gladioli, and triffids hollyhocks but that didn't happen more than once) and attention, so there were crocuses, hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips. The hyacinths actually do last for a number of years; if I remember, they had to be replaced after being in the ground about 15 years. (The crocuses, planted in 1974 and only divided once, are still blooming.) Which reminds me that it's time to ask about the current batch of hyacinths, since I won't see them this year either.