Middle Eastern Marvels - Garden Plants – Muscari

Name – The name Muscari comes from the Greek word for ‘moschos’ meaning 'musk' and refers to the sweetly aromatic scent of the flowers. Sadly, many of the modern hybrids have lost this scent. The common name is grape hyacinth, apparently from the way their flowerhead resembles that of a hyacinth, although what ‘grape’ has to do with it is anybody’s guess!

Description – This is a small perennial spring-flowering bulb – it has thin strap like leaves and bluebell like flowers in shades of navy, purple, purple-blue, or white

Origin – Muscari are a plant that most people find more than easy to grow, although you do need to find a location where the soil drains well. If there are still puddles several hours after a heavy rain, look for another site as the bulbs will rot if they stand in water. Muscari like to be in good light - full sun or good light for at least three quarters of the day will produce the best blooms. Dig holes and plant the bulbs three to four inches deep and three inches apart – one good thing about muscari is that squirrels don’t dig them up and eat them! The bulbs are roundish, with small points on the sides that should be planted facing upwards. After blooming has finished for the season leave the foliage in place to store nourishment for next year’s flowering. Muscari will self seed and spread over time, is if crowding should occur, flowering will probably decline and it’s time to dig up the bulbs and separate them. At this point you might want to replant muscari interspersed with other low growing bulbs like early freesias to create an attractive border with contrasting colours.

Middle East muscari photograph by leyland_locals, used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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