Some haycinth questions

I have a good number of hyacinths, I noticed as they are coming up and beginning to flower that some are not as large as they once were. I know they are gtting older and that is to be expected. I have read some conflicting information about what tot do with them now. Some websites say fertilize them, some say dig them and toss them after they are done blooming, and another said dig them and pull off any off-shoots or cut them in quarters and replant. I am not sure what to do???

I do want to move some of them around after they go dormant would that be a better time to fertilize them rather than now? What kind of fertilizer is best for hyacinths?

First my disclaimer: :>) I grow hyacinths in a zone 9 climate--sunny, dry summers and warm, wet winters. Most of my experience has been with seeing hyacinths spontaneously split into smaller non blooming bulblets that eventually grow to produce blooms. I have also seen big blooms get smaller and less dense and finally disappear despite my best efforts. However, I have some hyacinths that have returned for over 7 years. See the DG Bulb forum thread on Hyacinths as perennials.

Without the perfect conditions of Holland your bulbs may never return to the perfect , dense drumsticks that they were the first year they bloomed, still, I think fertilization will help your bulbs and the blooms get larger but it may take a couple of years?! The flower for next season is influenced by how the bulb is treated during this growing season. You can use typical bulb food that you would use at planting time or any general purpose flower fertilizer, preferably organic--just apply it around the base of the leaves and water it in. The idea is to make nutrient rich soil for the roots not to just give them a quick shot of nitrogren.
Timing: I would apply some now while they are green and growing so that the bulbs can use it as they store food and make the flower embryo for next season. Also to maximize the amount of photosynthesis that produces stored food in the bulb, gently remove the florets after they wilt, but leave the flower stalk/stem. Hyacinths have so few leaves that the green flower stalk contributes a significant amount of photosynthesis.

Although this sounds a bit unorthodox I would reapply some slow release fertilizer,organic preferably, next fall before the ground freezes. Even though I don't get frozen ground I apply a layer of bagged organic soil mix as both fertilizer and mulch in the fall. I have dug down and found bulbs with new roots already showing in Oct., and the fall/winter rains will deliver the nutrients from the soil mix to these roots. Since the roots will be growing for a several months underground before the green shoots appear you want them to have adequate food in the root region at that critical time.


Don't bother to apply fertilizer during the summer when the bulbs are dormant. They won't have roots to take up the fertilizer until the fall. However, another strategy is to dig up the dormant bulbs this summer, dig in lots of organic stuff to improve their soil and then replant. Pretty labor intensive, but the direct way to give them the rich soil hyacinths love.


I would love to hear from you next year on how/if this works for you so keep some notes.

Chris



This message was edited Apr 17, 2008 9:33 AM

Has anyone had experience in forcing hyacinths? How long do the bulbs have to be precooled before forcing? I live in southern PA, now in an apt. I potted some bulbs advertised as pre-cooled, put them in an insulated cooler on the porch,but bring them in when the temp goes in the 20's. they are sprouting, but how soon
should I bring them in for a full bloom ? I tried one in a hyacinths glass in water , it showed some blooms,but was stunted---think i forced it too early.
Dale

Hyacinths decline naturally everywhere as the years go on, but I have had the experience also of having many if not most last for many years if not in a looser form, even here in TX. Holland's climate is not really "perfect" for hyacinths; Dutch breeders do a lot of special breeding and prepwork to obtain the huge, dense spikes we see today and for purposes of propagation, but it's not a naturally occuring phenomenon. Actually hyacinths are not native to NW. Europe at all but rather to Turkey and the Caucasus, areas with cold winters and dry, fairly hot summers.

Dale, hyacinths can become stunted if forced into warmth and/or light too quickly. I usually force mine in pots of soil in the refrig. if you have room. I have some in pots outside as well and I leave them outside all year round and they have returned fairly well, though we do not get as cold as you do. Still, we do get nights in the 20's during the winter and even high teens a few times, and so far does not appear to have bothered them. I have read that once the rooting process starts taking place that the bulbs themselves undergo a chemical process that provides them additional protection from cold temps that a bare, dormant bulb wouldn't have. If you get below the 20's I might make efforts to insulate them.

A neighbor donated a pot of hyacinths to us. They have already bloomed and are fading, so my question is what do I do now? Let the foliage die back and dry out the bulbs, store for the summer and plant next fall? Help.

If you let the foliage die back too soon they may not have enough stored food to bloom next year.
In order to build up strength to bloom next year your bulbs need to spend 5-6 weeks in partial sunlight (outdoors is best but a sunny windowsill or under a fluorescent light will also work). Some recommend that instead of cutting off the bloom stem that you just remove the dried flowers and leave the green stem which will act like another leaf to store food in the bulb. Keep watering the bulbs , and after 5-6 weeks the leaves will either begin to go yellow naturally or if the weather is OK you can move the pots to a partially sunny place outdoors and let them finish out their cycle. Once the leaves have gone yellow and brown you can stop watering and finally let the bulbs dry out --then they can go into storage for replanting next fall.
Chris

Chris: Thank you. I have placed the pot of hyacinths in my sunroom which is somewhat unheated but not frigid, so I'll keep them watered and do as you say. I should know this, but I'm not in the habit of forcing bulbs for indoors other than the odd amaryllis.

I have recently read that adding bone meal to bulbs with help them..it's a nutrient that they lose over time. It's also a good idea to add bone meal when planting new bulbs.
Hope this helps, I am not an expert but I am trying this myself this year.

Whenever I have had hyacinths indoors I keep them growing until the foliage dies off naturally then I plant them in the garden. I feed them with ordinary organic fertiliser then they reappear each year.

Cindy: Yes; adding bone meal to your planting hole before putting in any bulb helps tremendously. I have always done this.

I bought some hyacinth bulbs in a new color..red..I gave two out of the 4 to friends & kept 2..& they are already starting to come up. I put soil over them though as we are still in cold weather. we just had a warm spell there for awhile..all my bulbs are coming up so i hope this freeze won't kill them!

they get smaller flowers because the bulb has plit they will get bigger again you may want to dig them up and space them out that is what I do and I also let them go to seed and dry out naturally since that is how they get the nutricians to build blooms for the next year when the seeds are dry I just plant them and in a couple of years they bloom also

thanks scicciarella....where would I look for the seeds as I have never done this before.

the seeds are on the stem after the flower is finished leave it alone after about two or three weeks you will see what looks like a large seed each one will be a seed on its own just let dry out and plant

I know that many do not like the look of the plant and cut it back and that is why the blooms will suffer it needs to dry out on its own and when its yellow it will pull out of the ground easily you will see the seeds plant them and compost the rest

COOL scicciarella....I always let my bulbs die off naturally so I will be sure to look for the seeds. It's goign to be fun as I've never done it before! Thank you.

your welcome I do it with tulip and dafs to also allium all spring flowers make seeds and usually they will take two or three years to mature and the old one split and all is well with more flowers hahahahha

Hello there,
Wow, you all are a fount of what I hope to be awesome information as I too am new with forcing anything but paperwhites!! I am going to submit that I, like Cindylove, was not aware--with the exception of the Allium family--that Spring flowers produce seeds that can be planted; and am going to keep an eye on the Stunningly Beautiful, deep-sky blue Hyacinth which has not finished flowering and which still has the stalk on it. Also, I chilled 10-mixed, butterfly daffodil bulbs in the butter compartment of the refrigerator for 5-6 weeks and they have reached *at tallest* about 7-8" tall in their pot; so, they should bloom pretty soon (3 weeks maybe...don't really know, but. they are sitting in a south-facing windowsill with a heater down below to keep the soil the perfect temperature) so will also watch for those to make seeds if that variety makes seeds. Is that the case and; how big/how many are they to be when ready for removal? The other questions about the seeds mentioned that I, as someone without a degree in bulbology or a certificate in bulbing, has about these seeds (whose existence were unknown to my Father who did teach me about the annual division of the previous season's bulbs) are as follows: What do you do with these seeds if you have nowhere to plant them (i.e. a formal garden)? Can someone else just put them into the ground, at what depth, how far apart, and will they then bloom the following year if planted this year?

Just so that I've got the clear picture; after forcing bulbs in those 3-4" round bulb pots that bulb growers include in those bulb-forcing kits; is it possible to then allow them to finish out their growing season in there by allowing them to naturally turn yellow, dry up; and then remove the bulb(s) from THOSE pots and put them away for storage until next season?

Ok, I'll stop typing now because my hand is thoroughly numb and so it's like typing with a hand on my right and a two-by-four on the left; not a pretty icture and very slow going to be sure! Thanks for answering whatevever you can as bulbs are Dutch to me! :-) LOL However, I am learning to speak their language thanks in large part to you!

Thanks every so much! Your help is greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,
Thor

you will have to take a cotton swab and hand polinate and then keep watering till the seeds apear and the pod turn fat and yellow which will happen after all the flowers dry out and allowed to fall as the plant goes dormant take the seeds and put them on a plate in a sunny window for about three weeks and then they are ready to plant, I would just plant the bulb and the seeds outside at that time so the mother will come back next spring and the seeds will just make greens for the first year and a small flower the second year the third year it will make a flower just like the mother

I started with one of each color that I could find and now have a huge bed of blooms every spring

The leaves of Dutch Hyacinths suffer when the first hot days come....
Then, the leaves are likely to wilt before due time (before they have restored the size of the bulb which has been rather exhausted by the production of this, ummh... drumstick). Thus, the trusses of flowers will be smaller the next season. In The Netherlands, a cool, humid winds from the NorthSea is blowing, and the sky is generally somewhat cloudy, and this prolongs the "green" season for Hyacinths, and the same advntageous effect applies particularly for their famous Dutch Tulips. Another part of the secret of them "BigBulbs" are sandy, well draining soils combined with a high groundwater level.

Dear Haweha,
Wow, that is good to know because, where we live, if we plant bulbs outside next year...in spite of being in a cold zone (5a now..gotta change it in my stats) we live near the Wachusett Reservoir and are at the windward end of it near the top of the Clinton Dam, so we get similar winds about the time when tulips and hyacinths are naturally finishing their blooms as it blows off one of if not the largest water supply for Central and N. Central Massachusetts, so I guess that explains why the tulips, daffodils and outdoor-grown hyacinths bloom so brilliantly up here on the hill. THANKS so much for the input, it definately puts a new perspective on things, to be sure! :-)

Sincere Thanks,
Thor

yup, great info here! I was wondering the same things.
I have a hyacinth that is not looking so hot already.
I'll just let it do it's thing and then dig up after it's died down.
The others are looking fine.
I am thinking of just digging them up and refrigerating them later on.
These are in front of my mailbox & I like to keep it nice & flowering all year.
I think I had portulaca last year there.

Oh boy, now you did it; sparked another set if questions, that is;
CAN you just dig up the bulb once the foliage has died, refrigerate it, and then re-force it after a period of time? And, if this works, how long do you need to keep them dormant in the fridge before "forcing" them in a pot again? Thanks oh founts of hyacinthal information! LOL :-) [Seriously though!]

Most Sincerely,
Thor

P.S. 2RacingBoys: That picture is EXACTLY the color and size of my forced hyacinth that I got for Christmas this year while in the hospital! :-)

2racing, you can leave hyacinths in the ground in your climate and no need to pull them up. They key to return is well-draining soil and especially drier soil during summer to avoid rot.

While it is true that Dutch coastal soil/climate is favorable to bulb production, the huge spikes you see on hyacinths that we get first year are bred into those plants by special propagation/production techniques and are not a naturally occurring phenomenon. Hyacinths are actually native to the Caucasus/areas of Turkey and the natural plant is much spindlier than the Dutch hyacinths we buy that are imported for Hollant. Most hyacinths in Holland are grown commercially in a limited area of the province North Holland, on the North Sea.

I lived in Belgium near the Dutch border for a couple of years (keep in mind these two countries are on a size scale similar to new England states for perspective) and the hyacinths in our garden were no different than one sees here and in subsequent years the bloomstalks thinned out just as if planted in a North American garden. The Dutch use special compost mixtures in their coastal sandy soil in the growing regions and deadhead the bloom stalks immediately after blooming in order to achieve the dense spikes the following year after harvest and sale, so the plant is not expending energy into seed production. They pull the bulbs immediately upon foliage yellowing in July. Allowing the plant to go to seed causes it to expend its energy producing seeds and not towards a bigger, more floriferous plant each year.

The Dutch also cut hyacinths at the basal plate to produce offsets for greater, quicker reproduction and intentionally injure the mother bulbs to effect this.

I think while the mild Dutch climate and soil is favorable to solid flower production due to the lack of heat spikes and harsh conditions, the climate there is actually very similar to what one sees in the US Pacific NW through southwestern CAN here in North America, from northern OR through southern BC.

if you use good fertilizer in the ealy spring just as the foliage is seen coming out of the grownd and fallow each week the bloom will be much thicker and richer also keep that up until the foliage start to die back
mine bloom like crazy every year with thick huge blooms

Hyacinths from seed--who wants to experiment?

I have to admit that I am skeptical about growing hyacinths from seed--not questioning that it can be done, but just about the speed to bloom time and the quality(e.g. trueness) of the blooms. I am proposing to test this with a simple experiment--I'll collect and plant some hyacinth seeds from one variety as soon as my hyacinths produce them this year and then I will make notes and take photos of what happens in the next couple of years. To be sure that I am looking at only the seedlings and not some leaves and blooms from split bulbs, I will plant my seeds in a separate area, away from my exisiting bulbs. Results to be posted on DG each year. Maybe I should set up a separate Hyacinth Propagation thread for the results.

It would be even more useful to DGers if a few of you would be willing to do the same experiment so we could compare results in our different zones. It should be pretty easy-- plant a few seeds, keep track of a few dates and take photos to post. Are there any of you who would like to join this? :>)
You can contact me via D-mail if you prefer.

Chris

I have been doing it for years and they always come true to the parent plant and are actually exactly the same

Hi Mona,

That's good to hear! Which varieties? Do you have some photos and some dates(e.g. seed planting date, date of first bloom from those seeds ) that you could post? Would you be willing to join the experiment this year by doing another planting and share photos and notes with fellow DGers over the next couple of years? Since you have been so successful, I know many of us could benefit from the details of how you do it.
Chris

since I moved last year and I couldnt take my garden with me lol
I am now starting over from mostly seeds I collected
ok so if the seeds are planted the same year so collect dry and plant
they will only make green the next year
the second year a small flower stock
and the third year like all over bulbs
they will be mature and provide a good flower stock that will keep
improving if properly fertilized for many years of enjoyment

will look into the pictures I am sure I have some but with over 20,000 pics on memory sticks it may take a few days ok

mona

a good way of multiplying your plants is to pull them out in the fall and pull off all the babies ( small imature bulbs) and space them out since they will take all from the mother plant and it will start to make babies again ( fall is late fall october is the best month)
the bulbs multiply and then they get to crowded which means lack of water and nutrients for the plant this will be quicker to bloom than the seeds