New Hyacinth Bed for Spring 2010

Hyacinthus orientalis Blue Sapphire


Another new one this year.

Awesome shots, Chris - you have a beautiful hyacinth setting - such wonderful color combinations. I especially like the new Bue Sapphire as well.

Here are some of mine today in my perennial bed...

You can see more among the daffodils

My "Blue Giants" with a couple Gen. Kohlers mixed in

Mulberry Rose starting to bloom again - 4th year

Chris, I'm the one that asked about the blue h. That Blue Sapphire is awesome!
http://www.dutchbulbs.com/store/hyacinths/12301

So, Chris, do you find that hyacinths that are recommended for zone 8 seem to do well for you for more than one season? or are you just treating them as annuals? . You are in zone 9, right, so am I.

Steve, the blue giant is on my list also.

Wow, really beautiful. I too like the Blue Magic, have to remember that, I always seem to get the purple blue ones never a true blue

.

Steve,

I love the way you have integrated hyacinths into your spring landscape with other bulbs and plants and hardscape. I tried to do some of that this year by adding the muscari and narcissus borders and last year by planting some mixed color clumps, but my early beds are more like botanic collections. I am thinking of planting some campanula posharskyana and some species geraniaums(both do very well here ) in and around the beds as a ground cover and to add more interest when the hyacinths are not at full bloom.

Chris

Vossner: So sorry. Replies are coming in so fast, that I am getting confused.

Yes, I definitely find that most hyacinths do well for more than one season for me in Zone 9. Almost all the hyacinths I have planted come back for at least a second season of bloom, then a few begin to dwindle noticiably by the 3rd year. I have quite a few that have been coming back for 8 years--some have dwindled in number and in density, but a few have split? or produced offsets and multiplied. L'innocence was the first one to do that about 10 years ago, and it was the one that got me interested in trying other hyacinths.

Chris

Thanks Chris! I love the look of all of them mixed together. Your gardens are so nice though and you have so many varieties.

I cannot remember what variety this is; 2nd year. I like the dark ones by themselves especially.

Nery, I agree with Chirs on the L'Innocence; if there were one I would suggest you try in a warmer zone, it would be that one - seems to still tower above the others and return well year after year when some others might be smaller/less floriferous.

Not sure what this is; almost looks like a festival hyacinth - bloomed in similar fashion last year now that I remember. I was worried when I saw the leaves come up this spring and I thought the bulb was just splitting up into tiny bulblets that wouldn't flower, but it still looks great!

Chris,

I noted your vole problems above. I used VolBlok/Permatil again with only my new lilies and tulips (No need to redo the ones from previous years) and although I have few vole trails around my baptisia australis (seems to be just a route) my tulips are all coming up - and I had terrible vole problems resulting in hundreds of bulbs lost. The other thing that is working very well are miniature tulips (I use WP Milner, which is actually a tiny Division 1 trumpet).

Stormy made a reference to using grit. Same theory. Permatil is expandable slate. I have beds that they had previously decimated that have been protected for five years with this stuff.

Rabbits, in my yard, are clearly hesitant to play around in beds with the miniature daffodils and leave tulips around them pretty much alone. For my roses, though, its hardward cloth. Funny the things we do to protect our gems.

Donna

Right End of new hyacinth bed

Today, there are a few changes and here are my random comments as I study this bed. Hope you don't mind my ramblings:

--small light pink just beginning to open in back row i Prince of Love--a double and new to me

---bright blue part open in front of Prince of Love is Isabelle--should be very full double when it is fully open. There are still several additional buds that are colored, but not even partially open.

--violet purple at front right is Violet Smith . Her color lives up to her name. Another new one to me.

---the light blue just to the left of Violet Smith in the front row was supposed to be Kronos which is a dark blue. So this is definitely not Kronos. I need to contact the vendor about this. Looks very much like another hyacinth at the left end (not in this photo) that was sent to me as Odysseus--a soft peach/apricot. Same vendor for both mistakes!!!

--I just noticed that this photo lets me compare the pinks of Apricot Passion (the light pink at the far left edge) to Fondant (the bright pink in the back at the far right edge).

--The apricot group between the deep blue Sapphire and the bright pink Fondant is Firelights. I noticed today that it has quite small flowers with narrow petals--adds to the frilly look. I still can't compare it to Gipsy Queen as she is still just buds (front row )

--Tulip Don Quixote sprouts are looking good (in the gap between the Narcissus Fortissimo blooms. They were shipped to me by mistake, but they didn't want me to send them back so I thought I might as well give them a try.

Chris

Chris, that picture is so pretty. The colors just jump right at you, so nice.

That is great that you got the whole bed to bloom in sync, Chris :-) I have "Apricot Passion" too - and I was wondering if I got the correct thing (got it about 3-4 years ago from White Flower Farm) but it looks exactly like yours. Beautiful setting, by the way!

Here are my "Apricot Passion" that have come back for the fourth year running now in a neglected, weedy spot next to the stairs to the backyard.

A second-year hyacinth patch in one of the back yard beds...

Some dark blue ones

Steve:
Funny , I was also wondering if I got real Apricot Passion or not. It was pinker that I expected. But seeing yours is the same I am relieved. I noticed that mine is looking more soft yellow pink rather than soft blue pink as it ages.

That's how Apricot Passion responds to neglect? Or is it Steve voodoo? LOL

SO gorgeous, I'm drooling. Thanks for all the lovely photos! Do you think if I sit outside and stare at my beds here in Zone 5, my emerging hyacinths will hurry up and bloom already? :-D

No, a watched plant never blooms! LOL

Hyacinth Prince of Love is FINALLY Blooming!

This is a pink double hyacinth. It is short and sweet--would be great for growing/displaying in pots. Of course it will probably grow taller as it ages. This year it is one of the last hyacinths to bloom, but I don't know if that will happen in subsequent seasons.

That is awesone, Chris, what a beauty! I have never seen a double H. in that shade of pink before.

I did snap a pic of my double white "Madame Sophie"...here it is - had to use my old camera since the new one's bettery went dead (surprise!)

Not a good picture - I'll get one with a better angle tomorrow. Some of the florets almost look like "triples"

Your hyacinths are all beautiful. Thanks for the show. I have three clumps and will be sure to put in some more this fall. Mine come back well every year and I had them for a long time. Good compost and some bulb fertilizer helped mine a few years ago.

Very pretty, Willow. Everyone should try hyacinths - not only do they add early color, but they smell great and perennialize well in many climates.

Here is "Vuurbaak" - this area does not really get enough sun but still returning after four years...

Steve and Chris, where do you get your hyacinths? Some I recognize as OHG, some I would guess B&B. Anywhere else. How are Scheepers' hyacinths?

Donna, you are so smart, right on all of the above!! Well except B&B; I buy most of my daffodils from B&B but not many hyacinths, and most of my hyacinths from JS but not so many daffodils. There have been years when I have used both for both though. I also buy from OHG every year and especially the more unusual ones - however to buy en masse from OHG can be really expensive so not my first choice for filling large swaths of garden.

Scheepers has EXCELLENT hyacinths (and also my first choice for tulips) and is my first choice for larger quantities (or Van Engelen if you really want a lot at a good prices, but it is essentially the same company). They used to offer hyacinths in multiple sizes but at least they still offer the "jumbo" collection which is 18"-19" bulbs. I don't like buying anything less than 16/17 and unfortunately B&B's are mostly 15/16 with some exceptions.

Donna, I listed my sources in a Jan 28 message near the beginning of this thread. I like larger bulbs too, but my first priority is to add or replace hyacinth cultivars, pretty much regardless of size. I get narcissus from B&B, OHG and also tazettas from Bill Welch (billthebulbbaron.com) who is nearby . Also tulips, amaryllis, and various little bulbs from Scheepers. Some tulips from Wooden Shoe Tulips.

Steve & chris, common sense would suggest the bigger the better re: bulbs, but w/ regards to hyacinths, is there a particular reason?

I would love to be able to visit Bill Welch. I plan to buy a mix from him this fall. I use the same sources as Steve and only for daffs as I'm too cheap to buy tulips as annuals and didn't know until recently that hyacinths may make it here in zone 9. The first ever hyacinths that I got as an experiment were from Bert b/c they were very reasonable and they were true to name.

sorry, posted my daff pic in the wrong thread. But I do have a ? for Chris:

do you cut your spent blooms? I know to keep the foliage but the dried up blooms are driving me nuts

I just pull my hands ups the bloom stems to remove the dried up flowers and leave the green stem. Not as icky as it sounds if they are dry or if you wear gloves. One hyacinth expert I read said that since hyacinths have so few leaves, the stem provides a significant amount of photosynthesis to store food in the bulb and develop next year's bud, and that was his suggestion. I don't cut many flowers, as the stems are so hollow and can't take up moisture so the flowers only last a day or so. The cut flower trade for hyacinths leave a portion of the bulb attached to the stem (they pare it down to be just the diameter of the stem attached. That is the best (only?) way for hyacinths to be able to take up water in a vase.

I do the exact same thing as Chris and for the same reasons Chris has mentioned. I leave the stem intact and once the florets have dried you can put your hand around the stem and from bottom to top kind of gently "swipe" the dried florets off. The more "green" you leave, stem or leaves, the better the return. Can be icky after a rain or if there is still much moisture left in the florets, especially with the darker varieties and Woodstock in particular can stain your hands. I guess I should try Chris' advice and use gloves!

BTW Nery, larger bulbs = bigger flowers and a stronger bulb generally, and I feel the bulbs will last through more subsequent yearly bloom cycles since they have more energy to start with. Sometimes the really big bulbs can be a disadvantage however I must admit, because the heavy stems particularly afte a rain can easily flop over.

Nery, you'll have to let us know what kind of return you get in your zone 9 garden! Didn't you say you also planted them yar before last in your garden at your zone 8 house? How did those return?

This message was edited Mar 20, 2010 2:36 PM

The ones at the other property in zone 8 returned very poorly. I remember I had City of Haarlem & Jan Bos, which should have done well. However, I'm not there daily and I just think they didn't get enough attention/care. I won't try again for a while until we start living there for longer periods at a time, which right now we don't anticipate.

I've given up on planting over there b/c it's very difficult to keep things pretty when you're a part time resident. All I have are trees, a tree gardenia, foundation shrubs and KO roses, which are indestructible. That will have to do.

I'll do as you & Chris say re: hyancinth flowers

Chris, my apologies for revisitng the hyacinth vendor question with you. I have in fact read your January message twice. I just didn't want to ask Steve only and make it seem as though I didn't appreciate your great choices.

I am pleased to hear that Scheepers are so good for hyacinths. Steve, I too have found them to be phenomenal for tulips. Their species tulips selection is huge, very reliable and very reasonable (McClure & Zimmerman is good for a large range of species too). And Scheepers selection of "best of the rest" is a destination every year. 8 kinds of camassia? Every allium you can think of? Every color of chionodoxa? Works for me.

OHG is great but wow they are pricey. I lost a few because of tough winters and the thought of paying to replace them, in the number I would like, is a bit painful. But his daffs rock. They multiply so rapidly that a group of five of them (especially Mount Hood and Mrs. Backhouse) turn into major gangs incredible fast. It's probably because I've never seen bigger daffs, and I've ordered from great places. His lilies have scary vigor too.

Well Donna you know you and I do all the same vendors - and like the same types of flowers - it is kismet LOL

Nery, I am sorry to hear about your poor hyacinth return. Also for future reference find a spot that stays really well-drained and dry - I know you all in E. Tx get a significantly more rain than we do, so wet soil may be an issue.

Here is "Amethyst" blooming today - these have come back very strongly for four years now and even appear to be multiplying.

My potted Muscaris

Hi, Chris,

Just went thru and re-read the whole thread for good ideas for my hyacinth order for next year (2012) since my garden hyacinths are blooming now and I want MoreMoreMore to complement and extend the vision! (I see B & B is offering an 'early order discount' but not so for Scheepers. They don't even have theirs listed yet!)

Thanks for all the many details and pics. I am infatuated with the Hyacinths in our garden this season because of your posts. Now, I'm wondering if you've made some kind of a spread sheet of the bloom sequences of the hyacinths?? I'm trying to do combinations along with daffs, muscari, magnoias, red buds and other spring bloomers and could save on mis-steps if I could get a handle on which are earlier, later, etc.

Thanks again. t.

T- I ordered some hyacinths from the fall bulb coop last fall (either Bleek or Sunshine) and got Miss Saigon and City of Haarlam. I am very impressed with Miss Saigon....it is a dark rose pink. I really like the color on it and it formed very nicely.

Below is a picture from earlier this week.

Yes, that Miss Saigon is a beauty. The color is stunning!

Irisluvr, just wondering, do you have any short (?) bearded iris that bloom along with your hyacinths and other early spring bulbs??