Transplanting Hyacinth Bulbs from Pots to the Ground & More

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Have you found some good deals on hyacinth bulbs or received a potted hyacinth as a gift? These lovely, fragrant spring flowers look beautiful growing in your flowerbeds. As your flowers fade, or even before that, start thinking about transplanting hyacinth bulbs from pots to the ground.

I’ve purchased all of my hyacinths (scientific name: Hyacinthus) as potted flowers around Eastertime. After blooming, or sometimes while still in bloom, I’ve planted the bulbs out in my flowerbeds.

Consider these tips and steps for how to transplant hyacinth bulbs from pots or transplanting to a different part of the garden.

When is a good time to transplant hyacinths?

Most gardening advice strongly urges waiting until after flowers bloom to plant them in the garden. For hyacinths specifically, plan to plant them in the middle of the fall or early winter. Plant them any time before the ground freezes.

Hardy perennials also seem to do just fine when transplanted from pots bought at garden centers and nurseries. If you are transplanting hyacinth bulbs from pots to the ground, or even just moving them around in your garden, you can try replanting them before the flowers bloom or anytime thereafter.

It’s also possible to plant blooming Easter flowers in the garden straight from the flowerpot, although your mileage may vary.

Replanting Hyacinth Bulbs

Sometimes it’s necessary to replant hyacinth bulbs because they’ve grown in a poor location.

Here in our flowerbed, the hyacinths were doing just fine, until I accidentally planted a shrub right on top of them. I didn’t have their location marked and the plants weren’t visible above ground when I planted our spirea, so the two ended up tangled up together thereafter.

The poor hyacinth bulbs grew up from within the roots of the spirea. I successfully managed to dig them up, at least most of them, without hurting the shrub. After rescuing them, I was able to replant hyacinths elsewhere in the garden.

I used a large shovel for this task and loosened the soil all around the shrub, eventually popping it up to free the hyacinth bulbs.

I replanted several bulbs from my hyacinths in a different spot in the yard. When they bloomed, I was so surprised and happy to see how beautiful they came up!

Transplanting Hyacinth from Pot to Ground

When you luck into a potted hyacinth plant, absolutely be sure to plant it in the ground when it’s done blooming or at a time that is convenient for you.

Transplanting hyacinth bulbs from pots to the ground is easy and almost foolproof. Try these simple steps for replanting hyacinth bulbs:

1. Dig a hole in the flower garden for the hyacinths. Make the hole 4 to 6 inches deep.
   
2. Remove the hyacinth bulbs from the pot and loosen the soil a bit. Usually, you can place the whole thing into the soil as long as it isn’t overcrowded. If you wish to separate multiple bulbs, you may do so.
   
3. Place one or more hyacinth bulbs in the hole, pointy side up. You can plant clusters of hyacinth bulbs for an attractive mass planting or place them individually to stretch them further.
   
4. Cover loosely with soil to fill the hole. Use care around any exposed foliage or blooms.
   
5. Water adequately. Monitor the hyacinths over the coming days and weeks to pick up on signs of stress or signs of growth.

Transplanting Hyacinth Bulbs & More Tips

Consider these tips on transplanting hyacinth bulbs from pots to the ground or merely throughout the garden.

• Hyacinths can survive the winter outdoors in zones 4-8. If you live in a colder climate, plan to lift your bulbs and store them indoors over the winter.
  
• Consider keeping hyacinths in pots for flexibility. You can grow them indoors or outside. You can even winter them over in your garage or basement if needed.
  
• Force potted hyacinths to bloom by chilling them first. Plant the bulbs in containers and keep the temperatures consistently between 40 and 45 degrees for 12 weeks or more. They should bloom beautifully for you when moved to a warmer temperature in a room with good sunlight.

FAQ

By the way, if you found this post helpful, you might also like to check out our post on Transplanting Daffodils in Spring and Beyond.

Do you have any good tips on transplanting hyacinths in the garden? Feel free to hit us up in the comments with any stories, tips, or questions you may have. We love to hear from you!

Happy Gardening!

04.25.23 – Updated post to improve spacing. Added FAQ and 2 photos.