Forced Hyacinths

This is a pot of Hyacinths that I bought at Wal Mart a week or so ago. They were just off the truck and just showing buds. Also quite dry..watered and here they are. Perfume my whole kitchen.

What a winter brightener for you in all that snow! I love their scent, it seems a shame to have them in the garden where you don't get the benefits of the scent, in cold climates anyway.

I have a pot outside with some showing buds, everything here is a month ahead of normal, last year we were a month behind.

I can almost smell them from here, thanks for the look in!

thanks wallaby. I keep them overnight in my spare unheated right now, bedroom, at night, so that they will last longer. Today after going to the dentist, I decided to give myself a treat. Went to the newly opened Home Depot store, actually not much of a treat. I bought a 75 watt, plant light bulb, which I needed, then came home.

It must be darned cold with no heating, but they like that, plants first comfort second.

What are you going to use the plant light bulb for? I think if I had been to the dentist I would have bought chocolate, but I can understand the need for a plant light bulb!

In my plant room, which is an 8ft. extension to west end of my triple wide, I have a skylight and under it a lighted plant stand that my oldest son made for me about 40 or more years ago. Clipped to the edge of the plant stand at the far end of the skylight is a plant light. Hope I haven't confused you. Anyway the bulb periodically has to be replaced. The spare bedroom, just has the heat register closed, so it is probably only 10 or 15 degrees cooler than the rest of the house.

Donna

How lucky to find those hyacynths ready to pot & enjoy Donna!

I've got a pot of them in my "plant refridgerator" now. I had a bad fall
(that is autumn) and didn't get them potted up 'til a couple weeks ago
so I am not sure when I can pull them out. I've forced hyacynth many
times but ususally give them a full 16wks in the pots (or water). This time
they'll have been in the cold since Oct but as bare bulbs. I guess I'll
see when they start poking their folliage up out of the pots as a hint.

Anyway - they sure are pretty & I can smell 'em from here. :-)
Tam

I hope you are OK Tammy, they will come along in good time.

Donna, it sounds like you have a good set up there! A proper plants person you are too!

I got 4 H Pink Queen this autumn from my local, they have been around in one or two catalogue in years past but not lately, now I'm seeing them again. I liked the delicate shell pink colouring so was pleased to see them, they had 8 babies growing from the bases so I took them off and potted up to grow on.

They are making huge flower buds! The one in the middle is a blue that was in a mixed growing pot I got last year.

You probably put them out in the light a little too early??

They have been outside since I planted them, I think that wasn't until into November. We have had mild weather and everything is a month early.

Wallaby they look very prosperous to me, bet they will bloom nicely. I usually pot up some bulbs in the fall but last fall at the proper planting time I still wasn't able to do much, still recovering from last surgery. that is why I had to resort to Big Box pots of bulbs., but I was happy with them.

Donna

Tam, I didn't realize the length for forcing indoors was about 16 weeks. Seems kinda long, at least compared to amaryllises. I have 3 in water, sitting on the breakfast room windowsill and they look the same as Wallaby's pic on 1/21, 6:09p. I got them for 50 cents at Lowe's bulb and vase.

Can't wait for the blooms.

I think you will find that bulbs bought for pots have undergone pretreatment to make them flower sooner. Those bought for bedding haven't been treated and usually flower later, but garden centres usually stock the forced bulbs when sold loose. And of course the weather conditions will make a difference.

Donna I hope your recovery doesn't take too long, the cold weather can be hard enough, I don't think I would cope well in your climate. This mild year has been a real boon for me to catch up on things. Pink Queen I think will have the biggest blooms I have seen, the blue one in the midlle is small but the bulb was bigger, it may need more recovery time. It hasn't had forcing treatment and is at a similar stage.

Voss - I believe they need to be cold for 16 wks. I'm not sure about how long they need to
grow roots. I know he said tulips need 5 wks at something like 42F to grow roots.

Amaryllis don't need the cold, in fact they like it warm to set bloom. I just went
to a talk by a guy who's won lots of ribbons for forcing bulbs at the Phila Flower Show. Let
me know if you are interested in the details & I'll send them to you.

Tam

Vossner,

8 weeks is sufficient for hyacinths. They don't have the same ultra long requirement tulips do. Mine come back every year in the ground and they are just starting to poke through with tips now, which is just about right for their early March flowering which is typical here. 8 weeks in the refrigerator should be enough if you're forcing them.

Hyacinths root well at 50F or a little lower - and they root better at warmer temps than tulips do though obviously they need some chilling, unlike Amaryllis which are tropical bulbs.

Steve

This message was edited Jan 22, 2007 9:21 PM

Hi Steve.

I have some in the ground that are at the same stage as wallaby's; such a strange winter. I had some in pots that were forced last year that I brought home from work when I was still at the flower shop (when the blooms were past their prime, I got to take them home). The pots sat out all summer, and it was late November before I remembered to put them in the ground. By that time, they already were showing their buds. I went ahead and planted them at the proper depth, but I'm curious as to what they will do.

first of all, hi everybody!
hmmm. I picked these up in the reject section of the store, so seriously doubt any chilling TLC was given to them. Makes it more interesting to me--I will be watching to see if they bloom or it's a total bust.

This message was edited Jan 23, 2007 10:37 AM

HI Wallaby - good to see you!

Steve, we have missed you, where have you been?

Looking forward to seeing all your Hyacinths!

HI Wallaby,

I moved recently - bought a new house on about 2.5 wooded acres northwest of Ft Worth, and finally got out of the suburban sardine can I was in! This area is growing so fast, and traffic is still terrible commuting to work (and about 10 miles farther), but at least we have some space. So, I have already started anew and have put in some gardens with bulbs and some perennials. The person who owned the house previously didn't do ANY landscaping, aside from the large trees already in the yard, so I have a blank slate to work with.

I have been on watching the posts but haven't had much time to post too much. Finally closed on the house I sold just this past Friday, so at least I don't have to worry about THAT anymore!

I usually plant some hyacinths in pots like you have, but this year I just have them in the ground. They are just starting to poke through now, and I have lots of narcissus leaves up as well. Too bad I'll miss the stuff at the old house as it was just starting to emerge as well! I am looking forward to seeing how it all turns out at the new house this spring.

Lucky you! A blank canvas is always best, but sometimes there is a lot of grass removal and ground improvement to do so not so easy, but somehow more satisfying having done it from scratch.

It's a shame you can't dig out those bulbs, I read about one person putting a clause in the contract that they could come back and get their plants!

Houses are going up everywhere here too, the traffic is not a pleasure but I try to stay out of it.

You might find some surprises popping up at your new place.

I agree about being satisfying doing it yourself. Much of our soil here is this terrible rock-hard clay...but I was surprised to find in many areas of the new yard a sandy loam which made things MUCH easier. I did leave lots of bulbs at the old house - but I did dig up some things, like my Silk Road lilies, and planted them here :-) However, the clause in the contract - well That is HARD CORE! I am not quite that obsessive! heheheh. Seriously, I can see after spending thousands and all the time and effort - one would not just want to lose all of it.

I did find a few clumps of daffodil-like foliage - I am sure it is some kind of bulb but not just exactly what yet. I guess I will find out this spring! I planted about 500 bulbs, generally hyacinths and daffodils, and a few tulips and lilies. Put some daylilies (some I bought and some I stole from the old house) and gardenia bushes in as well, and some peonies, and some crapemyrtles. I think it will look nice :-) I have more stuff coming this spring.

I would love to see pictures of your beautiful garden again too!

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 9:50 PM

Steve, I'm sure you have taken some pictures. Send some along so we can visualize your new place.

Donna

Congrats Steve! Wondered where you'd been lately. How exciting! Space and wooded too, can't wait to see pics of it all covered in color!
Neal

Congratulations on your new home, Steve.
Wondered where you have been. I also put in the sales contract when we sold our farm, that I could take as many or as little of my flowering plants and bulbs that I wished. People didn't like it, and at the time, I wondered as they had never planted a thing in their farm yard. Guess, they just wanted to show off when people came!!

Would you like some lily bulbs [excess] in the spring? I know that I have extra on some. Right now they are under 6" of that white stuff.

Thanks Donna, Neal, Maxine....

OK here is a picture I took in late November just after we moved in......

And Maxine - sure I'd love some excess bulbs!!!! Let me know what/if you'd like anything in trade. Very nice of you to offer them up!!

I will take some more pictures this spring - we have done some work to it already and I put some beds in. Lots more to do though!

Steve

Here is the front from the street.....we bought for the land and the big porch in the back...

And here is part of the back....

And one more - before we closed we sneaked in to the back yard on the weekend - no one was living there - and took a few. Back yard, wider angle.

Thanks for the pictures Steve, gives us an idea of where you live. Looks like a great place and lots of mature trees. My oldest trees are 11 or 12 years old.

Donna

A pool too! It looks wonderful Steve! Lots of scope on that slope to the pool for beds. It looks so peaceful, you must be over the moon with that.

Thanks Donna...and see your hyacinths attracted me to this thread to begin with! They are beautiful - I can't wait for mine now.

Yes I think I am going to really like it out here. At my old house (well I bought it new six years ago), which I REALLY liked, the land was flat and empty and devoid of matute trees. Everyone in the neighborhood had trees that were maybe 20 feet tops and there wasn't much of a canopy or much shade. Living in Texas for the past 8 years, I have learnt really quickly to appreciate shade, so I looked for a place with trees. Here in north central TX we're kind of in a transition zone - it's heavily wooded and piney east of Dallas, and open plains west of Ft Worth. We get about 35" of rain per year (average), comparable to Chicago....though the past two years have been very dry. This winter has been VERY wet thankfully.

Mine are all about 40 to 50 feet tall.....not huge, but they'll DO, trust me. They're all oaks and mulberries...so I planted some maples, hybrid poplars, elms, and willows to add some variety. I will have to be patient and let them grow and get big...don't plan on going anywhere so it will be great to see them develop. The yard is fenced all around which is really nice since we have a Yorkshire Terrier and two Schnauzers, and I don't have to worry about them when we let them go outside.

Thanks Wallaby! Yes it is very peaceful - nice not having neighbors right on top of us. I had a 50' x 100' lot where I was....and the houses behind me were all two-stories so they looked right into my back yard. Here you can go outside and drink coffee on the porch in your underwear and no one can see. I hear people before I see them :-) All of the neighbors here keep to themselves and it is very quiet. I am loving it! And we got a good deal on it.....DFW is very inexpensive by metropolitan area standards compared to other cities.

This message was edited Jan 25, 2007 8:40 PM

This message was edited Jan 25, 2007 8:46 PM

Sure Steve, I will share with you in the spring. Hope you took that peony that we traded for?
Yard and TREES look nice. I don't have hardly any trees on our 5 acres where the house is due to tornado hitting us in 96, but have since replanted lots. On the other 5 acres we own next to the first 5 acres there are some trees and brush, plus an open hay field. Mostly weeds, as we haven't reseeded the field with new alfalfa seed.

Steve, mature trees are great. At my other place where I lived for 50 years, there were many trees. I planted all of them except the 2 American Elms that were there when we bought. So again here where I have been for about 12 years I have planted all the trees. Have about 100 trees, ranging in age from 1 year here, to 12 years. A couple almost mature, Fraxinus augustifolia 'Raywood' is between 40 and 50 feet. And the Tilia tomentosa 'Silver Linden' is just about that tall, but doesn't have the spread of the Ash. I have planted more than 80 varieties of trees, not all lived. Have 6 varieties of Quercus, but they are except for the Bur Oak very slow growing.

So you can tell I love trees.

Here is a view of my 5 1/2 acres from the hill north of my house.

Donna

What a beautiful place Steve! The perfect canvas- all the hardscape and mature trees already there, just adding the fun stuff! Bet you're just bursting to go hog wild with bulbs!- I sure would be :)

I can tell Steve is bursting to go Neal, he sounds like a new person with all the joy in the world, I sense a huge weight lifted from your shoulders Steve. I don't know how I thought you had a weight on your shoulders but it seemed so, perhaps I am a veteran at having weights on shoulders.

It will be great to see your progress Steve, please keep us updated! I got a new bed done last year, and 'hope' or more correctly 'need' to do two new areas this year as I have too many mature plants in pots.

While your neighbours keep to themselves let them, some can be a PITA.

Donna you have done wonders, is the rest of your land over the fence, the piece of land up to the road? Land in this country is very expensive and restricted, I feel lucky to have 1/3 of an acre.

Steve!!!!!! I'm so darned excited for you. lovely crib.
rutholive, beautiful property. Same question as wallaby.
howdy neal

Ah yes....to lay by that pool in your underwear with cocktail in hand........perfect stress relief! LOL

Hey there Nery! Sounds like you've got lots of garden fun planned for '07 too. What do you have planned for your coop goodies?

I've mostly bought bulbs, callas, cannas, glads, tropical bulbs and plants to fill in holes in between roses. I didn't buy any lilies for 07 (excrpt Sumatra) waiting to see if the ones from 2006 will come back. I'm holding my breath with great excitement because there's a lot of green peeking out.

I'm excercising great restraint this year. If 2007 goes as I hope, then I will go on a major buying rampage for 2008. Then again, you know how Mother Nature is, throwing you curve balls every chance she gets.