Hyacinths Spring 2009

I know I am probably jumping the gun, here, but walking around my garden this week I found hyacinth sprouts poking above the ground. I start to get a bid giddy at the prospect of the first hyacinths. The early bloomers for me include the following Hyacinths: Splendid Cornelia, Bismarck, Mirtilos, Madame Sophie, Anna Marie, China Pink , L'Innocence and White Roman (if I still have any?) . Mirtilos sprouts are so big that I can see the bud down inside!

I have also planted some new beds including 5 hyacinths that are new to me: Minos, Skyline, Raphael, Grace Darling and Prince of Love. What new ones are you trying this year?

I am waiting for the first bloom to post a photo. Please share photos of your Hyacinths.

Chris

This message was edited Feb 18, 2009 3:20 PM

you are very lucky mine will not make an apperance for two or more months lol zone 5 post pics when they bloom so the rest of us can enjoy also

Scicciarella,

I should have photos in a very few weeks. I can see the green buds on a couple of the earliest ones, already, but they are stil down below the surface level.

I saw your post on another thread about hyacinth questions and I was impressed that you have had success growing hyacinths from seeds. I have never tried this. How long from seed planting to first bloom? Is it several years? Do you get a lot of variation in the seedling blooms? Dutch hyacinths are so highly hybridized that I suspect they would not come true from seed. Still the fun of seeing the surprises might be worth the wait.

The common method of propagation is to core the bulb or cross cut the basal plate up into the bulb, lay them in a tray, keep them warm and wait for the tiny bulbils/bulblets to form at the base of the cut layers, and then grow those bulblets on for 3-4 years. This way they come true to the parent. I have never tried that, either, but have been wanting to give it a try next early fall. Some of my bulbs have a tendency to split --I think it is encouraged by our warm, dry conditions--maybe they are just forming bulbils spontaneously. Then I get some non blooming sprouts for a couple of years and eventually they bloom again, but I have noticed that sometime doubleness is lost. I have not dug these up to really verify what is happening, just my observations.

Chris

usually the second year you will get a small flower the first year only the green but if you plant the seed in proximaty to the adult plant it will look like extra green

Hi Chris,
I have hyacinths coming up too, and a couple have visible buds. I'm in 8b, so not too different from your climate. I planted:

L'Innocence
Jan Bos
Peter Stuyvesant (sp)
Blue Jacket
Delft Blue
Gypsy Queen
Woodstock
Fondant
Marie

All in various combinations and configurations.

I also notice that a handful of mine from last year are coming back. Those were Fondant, L'Innocence, and Jan Bos.

In addition to the hyacinths breaking ground, I have daffodils poking up and tulips. The tulips are about 6-10" tall and most already have big buds!

Cmon spring!

MiniPonyFarmer,

You've got a great selection of hyacinths there. L'Innocence and Fondant are strong repeaters for me, too. They are also some of the earliest ones. Marie is a later one so don't worry if you don't see sprouts for a while.

I saw my first hyacinth bloom, yesterday. It was Spendid Cornelia that has been there for over 7 years. I would like to get a photo, but it is really in some deep shade back under a shrub that has grown a lot since I orginally planted the bulbs. I think I will try to do a bit of strategic pruning to give those hyacinths some sun.

Chris

or you can wait till the hyacinth is dormant and move it to a new location just remember to use bulb powder when transplanting and it will be fine

Hi Chris,
Wow, that is encouraging that some of mine may return reliably. I am new to hyacinths, and last year was my first try with them. So, after reading how unpredictable they can be, I figured there would not be any this year, and I bought more. Seven years is a lot longer than I expected!
Laura

as long as you go cold enough in the winter they will always return they are just like tulips and allium and dafs I just love them and just keep adding in the fall when ever I see them on sale I purchased some late last fall and didnt get the change to plant them so they are in the garage I will put them in early this spring they will just bloom later
they are in the very early blooming catagory

Scicciarella, I'm curious about your plan to plant your overlooked hyacinths this spring.
My sister in Norfolk, Va just asked me this morning what to do with the hyacinth bulbs Santa brought her for Christmas.
I thought the right answer was probably to make an addition to her compost pile.
But do you think she can plant them now? Spring hasn't really broken there yet, but will be soon.
She says they've been in the garage, so cool, but I doubt frozen. I thought they may need freezer time.
Any suggestions?

just put them in the garage they like it cold if its not cold dont know her zone
if the bulb is still firm even if it a little dry its ok

if its not cold enough in there she can plant them and enjoy them blooming inside and then plant them outside later to enjoy them outside next year

Fondant blooming yesterday.

Edited to add: This was last year's bulb, returning for its 2nd show.

This message was edited Feb 9, 2009 8:03 AM

what a beautifull pic my are buried under 5 foot snow drift so wont see them for at least 6 to 7 weeks

MiniPonyFarmer: Nice photo of Fondant. Also the first hyacinth photo of the year--Congratulations!! Thank you for sharing it.

We've been having a bit of cold weather and rain (much needed as we are way behind in our annual rainfall for the 3rd year in a row), and I haven't gone out between the showers to check on my hyacinths. I know I have some buds that were showing in the established beds, but not sure if any are fully open, yet. The new beds I planted in Dec are visible from the house, but they just have a few green shoots.

Chris

I love them have them all over my gardens because of the smell of them

Very nice hyacinth, MiniPonyFarmer - mine are emerging but not any real blooms yet. I love Fondant and it looks great with Delft Blue. I have had many in the same place for several years and mine return each year as well. Maybe someday I'll have as many varieties as Chris! LOL I was on a business trip for several days to Atlanta and I know the DFW area received a couple of days of nice rainfall - and I returned today to find lots of things here in TX at my home starting to bloom or emerging from the ground.

mine are going to be buried under snow for ever wince a drift formed right on that particular flower bad lol two feet melted in the past two feet but still have three or four on my hyacinth lol maybe by may I will see them lol

Hyacinthus orientalis L'Innocence

an heirloom variety . Planted in mid Dec and blooming today. Hy o L'Innocence is always one of the first for me, but this clump was newly planted in Dec and is blooming even earlier than the others that have been in for years. Although this is from the 1860s it is still fairly available today. It is also in the parentage of many other hyacinths including Mme Sophie and Ben Nevis--which are both double flowers.


Chris

Hyacinthus orientalis Marie (not Grace Darling )


--another heirloom. This one is rare and not often available. The flowers are not quite open fully, so I took this photo to show the back and base of the florets. I'll try to get another photo when the bloom is fully open.

This message was edited Feb 25, 2009 11:11 AM

wow nice ones love the colors

Very pretty hyacinths, Chris.....I love L'Innocence and have that variety also.

Here is a pink one that's been in the ground a few years starting to bloom.

I bought a bad with a dozen for very cheap last november they are starting to get soft this week end I have to plant them so they can start to root probably in a large low pot for the deck so I can see them bloom when ever spring actually makes it

mona

GREAT information on Hyacinth cultivars--especially which ones do well

1)
Report on testing 17 hyacinth cultivars in 3 climate zones (Ithaca NY--zone 5), (Long Island NY--zone 6) and (Clemson, SC--zone 7). They also tested the effect of sun vs partial shade in all 3 zones.

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/faculty/wmiller/bulb/No4Oct2004.pdf

2)
I also read that the RHS is conducting a field trial of Hyacinths. There is a recent article in 'The Garden" Mar 2008. p 184 Article is called "Hyacinth Heaven" which has some wonderful photos taken at the National Collection of Hyacinths . Wish I could find out more about the their field trial of hyacinths.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Learning/Publications/pubs/garden0308/hyacinths.htm

Chris

Chris,

I read that study a year or two ago as well....the only thing about it was that all of the "climates" they used were east coast with relatively high rainfall amounts. I know drier soil especially during summer seems to improve return. Would have been nice for them to have expanded their survey to central and western climates both north and south to see all of the variances.

Here is another hyacinth blooming today -

^_^




This message was edited Feb 22, 2009 5:08 PM

they do amazing all over canada good to zone 3 and they need the cooler winters in order to rebuild blooms for the next year so I would thing they would do fine anywhere that has enough frost and cold to keep them dormant for at least three month and then they would come back but to much dry and heat in the summer could dry them out and kill them

im zone 5 and they multiply like crazy by bulb spliting and by seed also

They don't like our Chinooks but I have a plan ^_^

just make sure the soil where they are is free draining so a mix of compost and sand so they do not sit in water and freeze that is the only thing that will kill them

Steve:
I agree, it would be great if some organization would conduct a well designed comparison trial of hyacinths in dry summer locations for comparison. The bulb catalogs, based on the reccomendations from their suppliers, don't even suggest zones above 8 for the Dutch hyacinths. I think there are several DG gardeners in dry summers areas of Z 8 and 9 who have had similar experiences to yours and mine , but our results don't qualify as scientific. Still that's one of the benefits of DG--gardeners sharing info with other gardeners.


Here in my Z9 garden We have been having some more rain, but I hope to be able to get out tomorrow and get some more photos of the newest blooms. It's great to see everyone's photos and interest .

Chris

the reason the do not suggest about 8 is because the winters are not cold enough to send the plant into dormancy

the heat of the summer shrinks the bulb and dries it out and kills it
if the summer is wet enough it may survive and bloom again but without the dormant cold stage it will not rebuid blooms for the next spring

I think it is a shame that many Zone8-9 gardeners needlessly miss the gorgeous scents and colors of hyacinths in their spring gardens because they think of them as annuals or expensive short lived potted plants.

I currently have more than 50 varieties of hyacinth in my garden and I agree that not every hyacinth variety is happy here in Zone 9. But based on my personal experience in Zone 9 I have 2 hyacinth varieties that have been coming back for more than 10 years and many others that have been coming back for 5 years. Yet, our winters have only a few nights at or below freezing , and our summers are completely dry. I don't know why, but it seems like there are some varieties that perform quite well in these conditions. A study by a professional/academic horticulturalist might result in a list of recommended varieties which would encourage more gardeners in these zones to give hyacinths a try.

Chris

Here, here, clap, clap. I also think there should be more studys on spring bulbs in different growing conditions.

scicciarella,

I don't think there's really any rule that says hyacinths won't succeed in zone "8" - in fact "zones" are very broad categorizations and really only refer to the lowest temperature an area can be expected to hit during the winter and don't explain all of the vast variations we all experience. Many areas of the west coast are in zone 8 including much of Washington and Oregon - and actually the Netherlands and UK are largely in zone 8 and some areas of the UK or Ireland are actually in zone 9, and most spring bulb breeding takes place in those areas esp. Holland.

Hyacinths also do not need the extended cold that, say, tulips do, and after I did a lot of reading on the subject and solicited advice from some experts, I found that hyacinths actually root at a somewhat warmer temperature than tulips and thus perform better farther to the south. Like Chris I have had hyacinths return for years and have some in pots that I have had for 5 or 6 years that still return each year though looser than in the first couple of years. I find my hyacinths begin rooting in September here when it's still quite warm, and have even seen it as early as late August believe it or not when I dug some up. Hyacinths are actually native to areas of Turkey/the Caucasus that have cold winters but fairly hot and dry summers. One of the keys to good return is not only some winter cold but dryness during summer and that also helps tulips return, as well. The flower for the following year actually forms during the summer after bloom and not during the winter.

I have found the white ones (both L'Innocence and Carnegie), Delft Blue, and some of the pinks return bigger and better than some of the others. Well-draining soil is vital for strong return in my experience but the great majority of my hyacinths seem to return well in spite of our very hot summers. I think that deeeep planting (6-8") in well-drained soil helps. I would like to see a more comprehensive study as Chris suggested on a wide assortment of conditions and factors, but I know mine perform better than the ones at Clemson (which is much wetter/more humid) but which is also in my "zone" so I really don't see that as a good benchmark.

I agree with the deeeep planting. I have had much better success with bulbs in our drought conditions since I starting planting them deeper.

good, dahlianut, I want to see some hyacinths out of you next year!!

I'm definitely putting some in in the fall Steve and what will be will be.

since your problem is dryness deep and good compost will make it a lot better, I always plant them deeper than directed but not tulips since they go deeper on there own the babies are created at the root line so every generation of babies brings the plant two inches deeper so after 6 or 7 years they are over a foot deep that is why you should always allow tulip to go to seed and reseed them since those will be more shalow, when they go past 18 inches on their own they will no longer blooms only grow greens but if you reseed they will always bloom

I plant my tulips a foot deep and they are magnificent every year. Different soil and climate conditions makes for different planting methods ^_^

Mulberry Rose in its third year by my side door....

I like this one...

Another from OHG...