A co-worker (who is organic - yea!) asked me about hyacinths (the flower, not the vine). Do they grow well here? Should be be in a container or planted in the garden?

Any help you can give me would be appreciated.

Yes the bulbs do well here and can be planted in pots or in the soil. The normal planting time is Nov-Dec for spring emergence.

The only thing to be worried about is if they buy the plants already growing. I've found that my Hyacinths will flower once and thats it. Sadly I made the mistake of buying them already blooming last year. Also they will come back but each year the bulbs will split and the blooms will be smaller and smaller.

After the bloom fades, you should trim the stems however you will want to leave the foliage until yellow to provide nutrients for next year's bulbs.