ASK DIARMUID

Q

I was given some hyacinths for Christmas but they are dying now – should I get them planted outdoors straightaway?

A

I leave mine outside once they have finished flowering so they can absorb whatever sunlight is around through their leaves and replenish the bulbs. There’s no great hurry to get them in the ground but it is well worth doing so as they will come back – not as early as Christmas, but later in spring 2023. When they start to naturalise and you get that delicious perfume, it’s well worth the trouble!