PlantFiles: Grape Hyacinth
Muscari armeniacum

I love this plant. I have to dissagree with the negative Colorado poster, at least for my area. Considering the winter we had here if anything this spring would have been ugly for this plant, but they are all beautifully green all the way to the tips, and I have never seen them as the other Colorado poster describes. That is sad to hear, I am just north of Denver and they are very healthy, abudant and fully green. It is one of my favorite plants, I just wish they bloomed longer.

Here in Colorado the foliage dies back and can be trimmed late summer, but these bulbs sprout new leaves in the fall instead of spring. Spending harsh winters above ground, the tips (and often half the length of the leaves) always wither to yellow and brown, so in the spring when the gorgeous flowers appear, they are sitting in a ratty bird's nest. I realize the bulbs could be dug up and replanted every year but what a hassle!

Although it's not a major complaint, I also wish they wouldn't spread so prolifically. Many of the new shoots don't bloom and end up looking like regular grass infesting the garden. And grape hyacinth can be tricky to remove if you ever decide to, because there are *lots* of small bulbs that are easy to miss, and sometimes they grow right up next to or under another plant that could be damaged by digging.

I have read so much about this little plant, and the one common word used by many authors is "invasive"! So what? So are dandelions and clover! This is such a welcome and refreshing sight in early to mid spring, I don't mind if it gets a little invasive. At least it grows carefree, blooms a bunch and brightens up the beds and lawn just when needed. From the information gathered, it comes to us from Armenia, therefore the species 'armeniacum'. The bees seem to love them as much as I do.

Blooms late April to early May in my garden.

Grape Hyacinth is a nice, sweetly scented flower, that even though it spreads rampantly, isn't in the way. If you decide to get rid of them, it is a daunting task. My information says it is hardy in zones 3-11.

This little plant has naturilized all over my 1/2 acre here just a few miles south of Kerrville, Texas. Came up and is flowering in late february. I have never planted any, they came with the place when I bought it. I didn,t recognize them and they have always been cut down with the weeds and grass in previous years. I plan to dig and pot them and see what the results are.

Spreads like wildfire.

For someone who likes neat, orderly little rows of plants, you may want to think seriously about putting these in a pot and pulling the offspring that will escape anyway.

I've seen them spilling over the edges of raised beds and covering the ground at old homeplaces.

Virtually foolproof in z7, I love this little bulb. I like the carefree way it naturalizes and the waves of color it produces each Spring.

This is a very pretty bulb. It can be used as a border plant as it can spread rapidly. I bought 50 of these bulbs and they are all flowering now. It is a great sight. Other bulbs in my area which recieves very little rain come back stronger and more numerous year after year. pokerboy.

While Tulips come and go and Daffs catch a late freeze and melt.
These little ones have endured and spread.
Blooming like clockwork for 18 years here at least.

Clay soil, under Maples, drought conditions and floods they keep coming back.
Brilliant blue w/ a nice heady aroma they are tops.
If you plant only one Spring flowering bulb this is my candidate.

This plant reproduces two ways - many offsets develop, and self seeds freely as well - thus the "invasive" label, true, but a very welcome invasion. To increase more rapidly, dig clumps in midsummer after flowering as plants are then dormant, foliage dies down. Replanted bulbs will develop fall foliage and carry it through a severe winter, then flower in spring. I can't have too many.

Nice interplanted among taller spring-flowering bulbs, especially 'Angelique' pink tulips. They can be invasive (I spent a couple hours digging up clumps in my yard this spring), but when corralled in a bed, they make a nice, traditional sign of springtime.

Plant bulbs 2 inches deep in the fall or division, can be invasive.

Conical racemes of slightly fragrant, tightly packed, bell-shaped, royal blue flowers having a thin white line around the rim of each bell are borne on 6-9" scapes. Each bulb produces 1-3 flower scapes. Clumps of narrow, fleshy, somewhat floppy, basal leaves up to 12" long appear in autumn and live through the cold of winter. Flower scapes emerge in early spring. Good cut flower.