Muscari for Spring Blooms after Crocus

by Susan Stager, Fairfax Master Gardener

Muscari armeniacum

Muscari armeniacum

Do you prefer your spring bulbs to be bold and showy, in lots of colors? Or subtly delicate and mostly blue? Between muscari and hyacinths, you can have either, or even plant them together. Butterflies and bees pollinate these non-native plants.

Asparagaceae muscari, or grape hyacinth, grows to 6 to 8 inches tall and has small, slender stems and grass-like foliage, with a cluster of usually purple or deep blue, bell-shaped flowers at the top. There are varieties in white, pink or yellow. They are hardy in zones 4 to 8 in the U.S, and native to Europe, the Mediterranean, Central Asia and the Middle East. The flowers look like upside-down bunches of grapes and have a light, somewhat musk-like fragrance, hence the name, from the Greek word for musk. As members of the asparagus family, these bulbs are planted in the fall, bloom from early to mid-spring and naturalize and spread quickly. You may find the leaves poking up in the fall, but don’t be alarmed. Muscari will be sending up new leaves again in spring with their blooms.

mass planting muscari

Muscari mass planting, Keukenhof Gardens, The Netherlands

Asparagaceae muscari will need full sun with four to six hours per day, but can withstand partial shade with two to four hours of sun. They are tolerant of chalky, clay, sandy and loamy soils and prefer acidic to neutral pH. Excess water will cause bulbs to rot. Plant the bulbs 2 to 3 inches deep and about 2 to 3 inches apart. The plants will naturalize over time.

Plant muscari with hellebores that bloom earlier in late winter to early spring and provide structure before the muscari peak. For six to eight weeks of spring color in a garden bed, plant daffodils in the back, tulips in the middle, muscari in the front and creeping phlox along the edge. The hellebore foliage will hide the older, yellowing leaves of the muscari. Allow the muscari foliage to yellow and fade away. This will allow the plants to produce energy for next year’s flowers. The muscari can also grow in the garden with hostas, heuchera or daylilies, which will leaf out later and hide the muscari’s fading leaves.

muscari alaska

Muscari ‘Alaska’

Muscari can also brighten the area under a tree by growing them in a carpet and planting them in groups of 20 or more bulbs in a drift for a blue river effect. You can add tulip bulbs in pink, white or soft yellow for contrast. If mixed with daffodils, the yellow and white flowers are attractive against the blue background of muscari, for a cottage-garden look.

For planting muscari in pots, use a well-draining potting mix and raise the pots off the bare ground or patio. This also protects your glazed pots from cracking.

There are no serious diseases or insect problems with muscari and hyacinths. Aphids and spider mites may be seen, and the yellow mosaic virus can occur. The plants are deer and rabbit-resistant. It is not uncommon to see bees visiting the flowers since they are a favorite source of pollen in spring when little else is blooming.

Muscari macrocarpum

Muscari-macrocarpum

There are about 40 species of muscari. The following are among the most popular:

  • M. armeniacum are bright blue, the most common species. The ‘Safier’ cultivar has green tips.
  • M. latifolium produces two kinds of flowers, darker blue and closed at the bottom and lighter blue and open at the top, with a broader leaf.
  • M. azureum has flax-blue flowers that open wider and have a white fringe. The ‘Alba’ cultivar has white flowers.
  • M. botryoides, meaning “like a bunch of grapes,” has the ‘Album’ cultivar which is white.
  • M. comosum, the tassel hyacinth, produces a loose spike of purple-blue flowers that looks like a tassel rather than the typical bunch-of-grapes flower shape of most muscari.
  • M. aucheri ‘Ocean Magic’ and ‘Alaska’ have flowers that are blue at the bottom and fade to white tips, evoking ocean whitecaps and all the colors of the ocean. ‘White Magic’ is another white muscari.
  • M. neglectum, starch grape hyacinth, is widespread in nature and has a deep blue color.
  • M. azureum does not taper at the top, giving a plumper and fuller look.
  • M. macrocarpum produces rare yellow flowers.