Imaginative home gardeners are discovering that the fragrant hyacinth with its rainbow set of colors need not be confined to formal beds as in Victorian times but lends itself to planting in many areas outdoors around the contemporary home.
And for winter enjoyment and indoor decoration, hyacinth bulbs may be grown in pots of soil or hourglass-shaped hyacinth glasses.
Though native to the Middle East, hyacinths have been grown in Holland for over 400 years.
Over the centuries, skilled horticulturists have made the culture and hybridization of hyacinths an exacting science.
This detailed regimen of growing procedures and techniques, informed by vast experience and close observation, has been handed down from generation to generation.
It is the secret of Holland’s production of fine bulbs.
Fortunately, the home gardener need not be such a perfectionist, for he purchases hyacinth bulbs which are “finished products” and which, if handled with a certain amount of general good-garden practice, will produce beautiful spring blooms.
Of course, you should buy good-quality bulbs from reliable dealers.
Garden Without Hyacinths
A spring garden without hyacinths is like a rose without a fragrance—beautiful but incomplete.
All gardens should contain some hyacinths; all, large or small, have a place for them.
When selecting a location for your hyacinths, remember that they need three to four hours of sun a day so that the foliage can ripen properly after blooming.
Informal groupings of five or seven bulbs will stand out like little moons against dark evergreens in your foundation planting or shrub border.
Small groups will add a fillip of color to the front of your perennial bed, key spots in the rock garden, or to your doorstep garden.
Edge your driveway with hyacinths in staggered rows two or three bulbs wide.
In groups of contrasting or harmonizing colors, they give distinction to a garden path or the perimeter of a lawn.
Beneath your featured terrace tree, atop a retaining wall, or at the corner of steps, their brilliant colors are especially attractive.
Combining Perennials With Hyacinths
Many early spring-flowering perennials combine well with hyacinths.
The golden-yellow Alyssum saxatile contrasts with the purples and deep blues.
The two types of bleeding heart, the dwarf Dicentra eximia, and the larger Dicentra spectabilis blend well with the pink or rose shades.
Polyanthus primroses, English daisies, violas, and pansies in variety form lovely combinations with many different-colored hyacinths.
When planning your grouping, select one or at most two companion plants to harmonize or contrast with one to three colors of hyacinths. Remember, the simpler the grouping, the more effective it will be.
Ground covers of myrtle or ivy act as a green base and frame for groups of white, light-yellow, pale-pink, and light-blue hyacinths, particularly when planted at the base of a spring-flowering tree whose blooms repeat the colors.
“Bedding” grades of hyacinth bulbs (from 5 ½” to 6” inches in circumference) are excellent for outdoor use.
They give flower spikes almost as large as the top-size “Exhibition” grades (from 6 ¾” to 7 ⅝” inches and up in circumference) because they grow more slowly and have a longer time to form a good set of roots to nourish the spikes.
The more expensive “Exhibition” grades are used for forcing indoors in soil or water, for growing in hyacinth glasses, or for a garden spot where a particularly spectacular and sturdy hyacinth is desired.
“Exhibition” Hyacinth Bulbs
The varieties listed below are available from one or more well-known bulb dealers in this country.
No one dealer will have more than a cross-section of these, but all have a good selection in each shade.
Enthusiastic gardeners who desire special or scarce varieties should order early.
These hyacinths may be forced, but those marked are easy-forcing varieties, especially suitable for indoor culture.
Pots of those marked “early” may be brought in from the first to the third week in January; those marked “late,” not until mid-or late February.
Old Time White
- ARGENTINE ARENDSEN: snowy white, large bells; early
- EDELWEISS: creamy white; broad spike, large fleshy bells; early
- L’INNOCENCE: pure white; large truss, loosely set bells; easy old favorite, early or late.
- QUEEN OF THE WHITES: pure white. Yellow, Salmon
- ORANGE BOVEN (SALMONETTE): apricot-salmon; compact truss.
- CITY OF HAARLEM: favorite creamy, lemon-yellow; large truss, fine form, and substance; can be forced after mid-February
- PRINCE HENRY: lemon-yellow; large, loose-set, shapely spike; scarce, good for pots, not beds.
Blue, Lilac, Mauve, Violet, Purple
- BISMARCK: porcelain blue; early
- DELFT BLUE: clear, shining, light porcelain blue; large, compact spike, fine substance; early
- DR. STRESEMANN: light, deep blue; large truss; scarce
- DUKE OF WESTMINSTER: large purple-blue bells, medium spike; scarce
- GRAND MAITRE: deep lavender-blue; an old favorite of fine substance
- KING OF THE BLUES: rich, dark indigo blue; compact spike; late
- LORD BALFOUR: deep mauve-violet, with darker stripe; a loose spike of large bells; late
- MARIE: very dark, blue-purple; rugged stem, brilliant in the garden
- MYOSOTIS: light sky-blue, tinged with lavender; large heels with silver centers; fine form
- OSTARA: finest, darkest blue with almost black stems; recent. Those who attended the New England Spring Flower Show will remember the large striking bed of OSTARA in Grand Hall
- PERLE BRILLANTE: very pale ice-blue; large bells
- QUEEN OF THE BLUES: clear, pastel azure-blue; old favorite; late.
Pink, Rose, Red, Maroon
- ANN MARY (ANNE MARIE): bright-pink, changing to salmon-pink as the flower ages; early
- CYCLOPS: deep cyclamen-rose to carmine-red; large fleshy bells, tall spike; new
- DISTINCTION: unusual ruby-red, tinged maroon; medium-sized truss
- FLUSHING: soft pastel pink; good substance; new, scarce
- JAN BOS: rich, bright crimson-red; early
- LADY DERBY: pale salmon-pink; waxy bells, nicely spaced; old favorite
- LA VICTOIRE: bright, shiny carmine-red favorite; well-filled, strong spike
- PINK PEARL: fine, clear pink; broad spike, large, close-set bells; early
- PRINCESS IRENE: Silvery, pastel, rose-pink; sport of PINK PEARL; recent, early
- PRINCESS MARGARET (CROWN PRINCESS MARGARET): soft, ice-pink; large truss of large bells; late
- QUEEN OF THE PINKS: lovely, bright rose-pink; compact spike; sport of KING or THE BLUES; late
When your bulbs arrive, open the package at once and set it in a cool, airy place until planting time.
Hyacinth bulbs should be in the ground by mid-October or early November before the first heavy frosts arrive.
In the South, of course, where the first frosts will be later, planting may be delayed, and the bulbs set 1” or 2” inches deeper.
Wherever you live, time your planting so that the bulbs will have a period to form necessary root growth before the ground freezes solid.
Hyacinth bulbs need at least 3 months of cold weather. Thus gardeners who live in tropical and subtropical climates had best not attempt to grow them.
These gardeners, however, may console themselves with the thought that there are myriads of tropical plants and flowers which we Northerners must forego.
Preparing The Bed For Hyacinth Bulbs
Before you plant the bulbs, prepare the bed well.
Light, rich soil with good drainage and plenty of nourishment is best for hyacinths, but practically any good garden soil will do, for it is quite easy to supply any missing quality.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Dig up and pulverize the soil to a depth of 12” inches with a spading fork.
- If it is heavy, lighten it by adding equal parts of sand and leaf mold or peat moss.
- To increase moisture retention in sandy soil, mix in peat moss.
- The bottom 2” or 3” inches of the bed work in plant food in the form of dehydrated or well-rotted cow manure, hone meal, or commercial bulb food.
Whatever food you use, be sure it does not come in contact with the bulbs.
A thin layer of pulverized soil or sand between the plant food mixture and the bulbs is a necessary precaution.
Plant the bulbs 6” inches deep, measuring from the soil’s surface to the bottom of the bulbs.
In warm climates and light sandy soils, plant 8” inches deep.
If you plan a large bed of hyacinths and want an orderly display of bloom, spade out the whole bed at once and set in your bulbs 6” inches apart in staggered rows or informal groups of five, seven, or more.
Bulbs should be 8” inches apart if you intend to interplant them with pansies, low annuals, or other flowers. Cover with soil and firm.
If the soil is dry, water thoroughly to the bottom of the bed, but do not let any water stand in the bed.
Hyacinth bulbs need a constant, even water supply during the root-growth period, but they abhor wet feet.
Hence the importance of good drainage beneath the beds and peat moss to help hold the water evenly in the soil.
Gardeners living in extremely cold sections should cover the beds with a light, airy mulch after the ground has frozen.
Be sure to remove the mulch at the first sign of green tips in the spring.
To keep your bulbs strong and healthy, cut off the flower stalks when they have finished blooming, but allow the foliage to ripen naturally until it is completely yellow.
If the bulbs are to be left in place, the ripening foliage may be tucked under a groundcover or an overplanting of annuals.
Give all your bulbs a good fall and spring feeding, working them into the soil in October and March.
Growing Hyacinths in Pots
When you plant hyacinths in pots for indoor forcing, set each bulb 1” inch from its neighbor.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Cover the bottom two-thirds of the bulb with soil.
- Use a fertile, friable soil mixture.
- Place pebbles or a piece of broken clay pot over the hole in the bottom of the pot.
Do not attempt forcing unless you can give the pots ten to twelve weeks in a sunken trench or cold frame or in a cool cellar where the temperature does not exceed 50° degrees Fahrenheit.
Remember that the bulbs must be rooted in the dark. Use a covering of soil or mulch outdoors; peat moss or newspapers indoors.
Examine the bulbs every few weeks to be sure they are not drying out. When, after about 10 or 12 weeks, the buds project up out of the neck of the bulbs, you can start to bring the pots indoors.
Give them a transition stop in subdued light and at a temperature of 55° degrees Fahrenheit until the shoots have “greened up” and are 6” inches tall.
Then move into the sun. For long-lasting flowers, keep the pots in cool locations (not over 70° degrees Fahrenheit).
The hourglass-shaped hyacinth glass is designed to hold one bulb. Fill the glass with water so that it almost, but not quite, touches the bottom of the bulb. Examine weekly and replace water as needed.
Keep in a dark, cool (50° degrees Fahrenheit) location until the roots are well formed, filling the lower part of the glass, and the shoots are up about 3” or 4” inches.
A bit of charcoal in the water helps keep it sweet. A paper cone set over the top of the glass helps keep light away from the shoot during the root-growth period.
Use the same transition-stage procedures as you did for hyacinths forced in pots. Coolness is important; cool growing means fine blooms.
44659 by Betty Blossom