Grape Hyacinth

Colorful Combinations

Year after year, you can count on grape hyacinths to unfurl their grape-like clusters of tiny purple, blue, white, or yellow bell-shaped flowers shortly after the snow melts. Explore the many colors of grape hyacinth, including two-toned Muscari latifolium and the sky-blue flower spikes of ‘Valerie Finnis’. These tiny bulbs are inexpensive and easy to plant, so there is no need to limit your selection to just one variety. Plant three to five varieties for a vibrant display.

When pairing grape hyacinths with other spring bulbs, be sure to select early-blooming varieties. For example, choose daffodil varieties such as ‘Golden Ducat’ and ‘Mary Copeland’ which are some of the earliest to bloom. Great tulip planting companions include ‘Viridiflora’, ‘Triumph’, ‘Greigii’, and ‘Parrot King’.

Grape Hyacinth Care Must-Knows

Grape hyacinths are planted in the fall. Thanks to their small size (most grape hyacinth bulbs are the size of a blueberry), they need to be planted just 3 to 4 inches deep. They’ll look most striking when planted in large drifts of 50 to 100 bulbs. One trick to planting large numbers of them is to simply dig a shallow trench, arrange the bulbs so they are about 1 inch apart, and cover with garden soil. Water bulbs well after planting and cover the planting spot with a 2-inch layer of mulch, if desired.

After blooms fade, the plant’s strappy green foliage adds color and texture to the garden for several weeks. The foliage can be removed in early summer after it begins to turn yellow. One of the easiest bulbs to grow, grape hyacinths return for decades, needing to be divided only every three to five years. Keep in mind that grape hyacinths can spread quickly so it’s best to plant them where they’ll have room to ramble a little.

More Varieties of Grape Hyacinth

Muscari armeniacum

Muscari armeniacum bears small spikes packed with tiny blue bell-shaped flowers, sometimes tinged purple, that rise from narrow foliage in mid-spring. It grows 6 inches tall. Zones 4–9

Muscari azureum

Muscari azureum offers layers of open sky-blue flowers below clustered pale-blue buds, giving a tiered, two-tone effect to the bloom spikes. It blooms in early to mid-spring and grows 6 inches tall. Zones 4–9

‘Blue Spike’ grape hyacinth

Muscari armeniacum ‘Blue Spike’ is a selection in which each flower protrudes from the spike for a bristly, double-flower effect. This variety grows 8 inches tall. Zones 4–8

White grape hyacinth

Muscari botryites album is an all-white form with spikes of pearly flowers on a long stem that are good for cutting. It grows 6 inches tall. Zones 4–8

Muscari latifolium

Muscari latifolium is distinguished by the single broad leaf wrapped around the tall stem. The flower spike is a two-tone mixture of open lavender bells above tight blue buds. The plant grows 6 inches tall. Zones 4–9

‘Valerie Finnis’ grape hyacinth

Muscari ‘Valerie Finnis’ bears turquoise clusters of flower bells rimmed in a paler blue. It grows 6 inches tall.