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Do my grape hyacinths have to go?

BerkleyBerkley Posts: 428
in Plants
I have a large collection of sempervivum in my rockery, which give me a great deal of pleasure. But they are now completely covered by grape hyacinths. These will disappear very soon of course - but are they harming the houseleeks - and if so, should I get rid of them? Presumably I'd have to dig everything out?
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  • chickychicky Posts: 10,325

    I wouldn't think they would compete - the muscari will die back down and lay dormant beneath the soil til next spring.  Sounds like a good combination to me image

  • chickychicky Posts: 10,325

    Forgive my ignorance, but how will they spoil the houseleeks?  Aren't they just like daffodils that you can plant things on top of for later in the season??

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 33,720

    I'm with Verdun. I agree they're an invasive weed. Pretty enough, but so are the flowers of bindweed, ditto Celendine are pretty in their way too, but weeds nonetheless.

    Devon.
  • davids10davids10 Posts: 894

    muscari will multiply quite beyond reason but if you rip the foliage off as soon as they finish blooming it slows them down considerably-i wouldnt be without them-and they make excellent mulch-the white muscari have good manners and are wonderfully pretty

  • LynLyn Posts: 21,366

    I read somewhere the other that the gardener gives them a hair cut, .just remove some of the leaves until you think its tidy.  The bulbs will still come up next year.

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • flowering roseflowering rose Posts: 1,632

    They do get a bit out of control and you can move them to other places otherwise they will take over.

  • TonksTonks Posts: 54

    I'd been thinking of removing some large clumps of grape hyacinths in a new border I made last autumn.  So I took them out and planted the area up with some free bulbs I got, including some called muscari.

    I have to admit I laughed when I saw them start flowering last week.  Another lesson learnt.

  • artjakartjak Posts: 4,167

    Oh Tonks... I think we have all done thatimage...and not just onceimage

  • BerkleyBerkley Posts: 428
    Thanks to everyone who showed interest in my problem. I was torn between the two different viewpoints expressed - but when I saw how the grape hyacinths were lying as a soggy mass over the houseleeks this morning, I knew it couldn't be good for them....I think I've pleased everybody: I must have removed about two million and probably left just as many behind! The whole operation took me four hours, but the sempervivum look happy again and I've replanted the largest hyacinth bulbs in an ideal (and isolated) spot. Many thanks again to all.
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