Jan Bos in Costa Rica - why not?

Hi everybody! Just wanted to share a photo of my Jan Bos Hyacinth. I'm so pleased I forced it ok here. I was lucky enough to find 3 bulbs in Canada in early December, much reduced of course at Home Depot. I brought them back to Costa Rica, well hidden in my suitcase, and didn't get caught, lol! So I started their cold treatment in the fridge and now the first one is flowering. I potted them all up separately and am timing them so I can get the most mileage possible. They will sit on my desk beside the computer, where I can enjoy them. Unfortunately they will become compost after they've finished flowering. Anyway, I'm "tickled pink" with them!

vm

One more angle!

Very nice hyacinth, vanillaman - aren't they great?!

I've always loved them and hope I can get a lot more bulbs in the Fall to force here! Thanks SteveFtWorth.

Just want to update those old photos. I jumped the gun the other day, lol! Now Jan Bos is fully open and fully coloured-up. It is sitting in a better spot now too, right beside my computer!

Really pretty! I bet he spells great too!
;)

Mmmmmm, yes. You got that right lakesidecallas! It's amazing how old, familiar scents like that take you right down "memory lane" lol! They are like old friends.

Vanillaman,

I can't get your picture to display full size, but I can tell it looks gorgeous and perfectly formed. You must be Canadian originally being familiar with hyacinths as you are. I grow "Vuurbaak" which is similar to Jan Bos. I really love the deep pink/rose colored ones too...my favorites!

SteveFtWorth: That's too bad you can't enlarge the pic. Try again. I just tested it and works for me. Yup, I'm Canadian and know my Hyacinths pretty well. They were probably my favourite Spring bulbs and I had them growing on both sides of my front door. I'm not familiar with Vuurbaak so will check it out. I'm very pleased with how the forcing worked out. Thank goodness for fridges! I didn't realize that there was a Zone 7b in Texas. I always assumed it was warmer all over your State!

Vanillaman, too bad you can't order them for delivery to your home in C.R., or can you?? Yes, I love them too and grow tons of them. They actually do very well in our part of Texas and they return well for me. We get colder than many people think (especially at night in the wintertime), and especially to the north/west and as you go inland, the weather can be strikingly different from what you see in Houston or elsewhere along the gulf coast. It even snows here two or three times a year. It is easily sufficient for hyacinths to perennialize. Tulips are another matter though, and except for the species those generally don't fare so well. We also get less rain, about 35" annually, compared to Houston's 60", and it is relatively dry here during summer which is advantageous for most spring bulbs. Winter lows can easily average 15 degrees colder. Summer days are normally very hot here though. It is warm here relative to, say, Nebraska or Kansas, but definitely not Florida here! I am from Illinois originally and have been here for about 9 years.

That's interesting. It's similar to Costa Rica, that has quite a variation in climates, but mostly due to elevation. Both coasts are hot, hot, hot, all year round, but up in the mountains/highlands it's nice and cool. I'm in the mountains with coffee plantations all around me, at roughly 1500 meters. Don't know how many feet that is, but my climate is considered to be "Eternal Spring". Still, none of those temperate Spring bulbs could survive here, except by forcing them and of course that's a one time only situation. They are compost afterwards! I should start up a bulb forcing business here. I'm sure the Gringos and Europeans would love them and buy them up like hotcakes. My Supermarket carries cut tulips almost all year and a small bunch costs roughly $10! I could get that easily for a small pot of Hyacinths, Tulips, or Daffodils, etc. Now you've got me thinking, lol!

HI vanillaman,

Well it appears you forced it the right* way in soil (LOL- that's how I choose to do it) and maybe if you can get your hands on a bunch of bulbs you can somewhat mimic cyclic climactic conditions and get them to return each year with the refrigeration. I would think doing it in soil as opposed to just water you should be able to get them to return by simulating a suitable environment. Let me know if I can help get you some bulbs....just don't know what Costa Rican agricultural restrictions are regarding imports. Your "eternal spring" sounds wonderful - kind of like Mexico City or Bogota but at a somewhat lower altitude - sounds like you're at about 5,000 feet. Wonderful - you lucky dawg!

Yes, I'm very fortunate. Thanks for offering to help me obtain bulbs. It is extremely difficult to ship bulbs here, but if I had a business and Import Permit, that would help. Even still, everything I received would have to have a Phytosanitary Certificate and I would have to pay Costa Rican Duties! If I ever got serious with this idea, I would probably import bulbs directly from growers in Holland, who could comply with Costa Rican Import laws and also supply me with the quantities I would need at the best wholesale prices. For now just having fun, I think I'll order them in Canada and then go pick them up in the Fall.

Thanks again!
vm