DO HYACINTHS PREFER SUN OR SHADE?

Do Hyacinths prefer sun or shade?

Despite being under commercial cultivation since the 1500's, Hyacinths have remained a firm favourite with both gardeners and plant breeders alike. Today's cultivars are a fantastic collection of stocky, densely flowered specimens with some extraordinarily rich colouration. They are generally sold as forced bulbs in late autumn for flowering during the Christmas period. This is so that the heavy, luxurious fragrance can be enjoyed over the holiday.  Once flowering is over it is in the interest of the Hyacinth growers it is in the interest of the growers for you to throw them away and purchase new bulbs the following season but this is not necessary as they can be planted outside once weather conditions allow. This then begs the question of do Hyacinths prefer sun or shade?

To find the answer to this you only have to look at the environmental conditions that Hyacinths have evolved to survive.This is an area that stretches across the eastern Mediterranean from the north of Bulgaria through to the northern part of the region of Palestine. This region experiences low rainfall, subtropical temperatures and high levels of sunlight. Therefore is planting outside in the garden it is imperative that Hyacinth bulbs are planted where they can receive as much sun as possible.

That being said, when grown indoors as forced bulbs is is generally recommend to place in a room which is bright but does not receive direct sunlight as thi scan can cause the blooms to fade somewhat depending on the cultivar. So there you have it, do Hyacinths prefer sun or shade? Well on the whole yes, unless you are growing them indoors then its kind of yes.

For related articles click onto the following links:
BBC Hyacinths

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