Broad-leaved grape hyacinth
Muscari latifolium · Asparagaceae
A two-tone spike: dark, inky blue-black bells below and a tuft of pale, clear blue ones at the top. Each bulb has a single broad leaf.
- Size
- 8 in tall, 3 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid April to early May
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Bulb layer
A bed built around broad-leaved grape hyacinth
The planner designed this bed around broad-leaved grape hyacinth when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why broad-leaved grape hyacinth stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Dianthus 'Kahori' × 3, pink
- 2 Leadwort × 15, blue
- 3 Foxglove beardtongue × 3, white
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Caucasian scabious 'Fama' × 3, blue
- 7 Broad-leaved grape hyacinth × 10, blue
- 8 Schubert's allium × 2, pink
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- Near the front. At 8 in it stands ahead of caucasian scabious 'Fama' (24 in) without hiding it.
- 10 plants in 2 handfuls. In the gaps between other plants, which fill the space when the bulb is not in growth.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid April to early May.
- Opens the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- Leaves gone by midsummer. They die back and leave bare ground. A perennial that comes up late stands beside it, and grows over the gap.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Dianthus 'Kahori' flowers longest, for 17 weeks. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 53 to 47, left to right.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where broad-leaved grape hyacinth goes in a border
At 8 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: bulb layer. Small bulbs planted in handfuls of five or seven in the gaps between other plants, for colour before the perennials wake up.
The most distinctive grape hyacinth, and tidy, because its one leaf does not flop about as the others' do. It is not invasive.
- Two-tone blue at the front
- Underplanting tulips
- Rock gardens and pots
What to plant with broad-leaved grape hyacinth
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for two weeks.
- Tulip: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for three weeks; tall enough (18 in) to stand behind it.
- English primrose: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for five weeks; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
Questions about broad-leaved grape hyacinth
Does broad-leaved grape hyacinth need sun or shade?
Broad-leaved grape hyacinth grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does broad-leaved grape hyacinth grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does broad-leaved grape hyacinth flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid April to early May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Mid April to mid May |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 6 | Early April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Late March to late April |
| Zone 8 | Late March to mid April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should broad-leaved grape hyacinth be planted?
3 in (8 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 8 in (20 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many broad-leaved grape hyacinth plants do I need?
At 3 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 168 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 39 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 536 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as handfuls of five or seven, in the gaps between other plants.
In the bed above, the planner used 10 in two groups.
What can I plant to hide broad-leaved grape hyacinth's leaves after it flowers?
A bulb's leaves have to be left to yellow for about six weeks after flowering, to feed next year's flowers. Plant it among perennials that come up late and spread wide, and they grow over the leaves as they fade:
- Lady's mantle: 18 in tall and 24 in wide, in flower late May to early July.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': 24 in tall and 2½ ft wide, in flower mid May to mid September.
- Garden chrysanthemum: 24 in tall and 24 in wide, in flower mid September to late October.
What does broad-leaved grape hyacinth look like in winter?
Broad-leaved grape hyacinth is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.
More Muscari
- Grape hyacinth Muscari armeniacum
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 8 in (20 cm) tall, 3 in (8 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 in (8 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid April to early May; upright spires; blue, purple
- Leaves
- Medium texture, summer-dormant; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Asparagaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.