ju1i3's blog

the final wave of my largest and best hyacinths (ignoring those in the Dartington vases at the back and the 3 in the bulb bowl that haven't grown), February 2nd, I should have topped up the water in the vases on the left!

Of the other vases that were languishing in the cellar until recently, I had 9 vases left in the dark until January 25th when I took out 4 and then I took the final 5 out on January 29th when I thought - it's time. None of them have the stem with a bulge indicating the flower is out of the bulb but either they'll grow and bloom or that's it for them this year.

I forgot to take a pic of those 4, or even note the date, but while processing a pic of my cat Victor (looking so sweet asleep on the table) I saw they were in the background so that was lucky.

then those last 5, I remembered to take a pic on their way from my cellar (only accessible from outside) into the house

A week later for those in the previous pic or a few days after those above and some have grown remarkably well and look well on the way to blooming this season but some look well and truly stuck and I don't imagine they'll be doing anything further. The black pot on the left I now realise is not one of the final 9 but it has no roots at all and I don't think it will grow further without any.

then just 3 days later, they are catching up fast, a bloom and fat buds

and a couple days later, they are looking great: (left to right, not including those in the background without buds) Delft Blue (buds), Caribbean Dream (darker purple), Sainsburys (front, buds), Delft Blue, Ann Mary, Anne Marie (buds)

a few days later and they've really blossomed

this is one of my few complete failures; thinking about it, I haven't had many failures this year

Sadly this GP Tye vase got cracked and I only discovered it at the beginning of the forcing season when I put a bulb in it and filled it with water which leaked out.

This is the crack in the vase. Not sure how it happened. The squat vases generally seem pretty tough and sturdy. (It's been sitting outside - unuseable but too good to throw away, gosh I sound like someone on Hoarders).

The hyacinths seem to be blooming in waves and this wave is exquisite. The amaryllis has a new bud as well. I cut off the 2 stems with wilted flowers so all the amaryllis bulb's energy will go to this new flower and not making seeds.

There is some overlap with the vases and bowl in these photos but I wanted to include my ginger cat, Victor, who's so often sitting on that chair - and it's a beautiful sunny day.

Blue Jacket has been a successful hyacinth this year. It has a stripe on the petals. Not that long ago, two of the bulbs in this bowl weren't blooming at all but they're catching up - at least to all be in bloom, to a certain extent, at the same time.

Pacific Ocean flowers are a bit small - but that purple-black colour is intense. Most have finished already and the smell is nothing special so it's all about the colour with this one.

here it is in comparison to other varieties, left to right, Delft Blue, Miss Saigon, Delft Blue, Pacific Ocean, Sainsbury's unnamed

Delft Blue is a great performer. This is one of my best flowers this year.

not quite as large, but still beautiful

As noted already, I love the fat hyacinth buds, bursting open, with colour and scent. I don't know when I first smelled a hyacinth or where they were but I know it was when I was a child and the smell takes me back there and it means SPRING. Sadly, I have no photos of my mother's garden from that time but sure it had hyacinths.

I use this Charles I vase as a hyacinth vase. January 30th is the day he was executed so I will pause and think of him. What comes to mind is "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely" - and I'm thinking of Oliver Cromwell not Charles.

a few days after that pic below, 25th January

those two hyacinths in the middle are some of my best this year, both Delft Blue

I love the emerging buds

as noted, bulblets need to be cut off with some roots, but in this case there are no roots

I'm assuming cutting it with some of the basal plate will be enough and some roots can grow from it.

The two small clear vases, above and below, are Dartington. I'd seen them on ebay but hadn't realised how small they were in comparison with other vases. I don't have many bulbs left to experiement with but it was challenging pushing two in. In future, I can use small bulbs.

the next wave of flowers and buds, 21st January

I love this shade of purple, Blue Star hyacinths

more Pink Elephant hyacinths in this bulb bowl

another bulb bowl with Blue Jacket hyacinth bulbs

Pink Elephant hyacinth on the left, rather pathetic ??? on the right

hyacinths in bloom upstairs

lots of buds, ready for the next wave of flowers, January 17th

some of my best flowers a few days previously, January 12th

Blue Star hyacinth flower, one of the best this year

Delft Blue hyacinth, one of best this year

these are wilting but I wanted to remember how these were some of the best flowers this year: Delft Blue and Caribbean Dream - and it's actually sunny today! (January 17th)

I've had a number of hyacinths in bloom so far this season so I'm already disposing of spent flowers. I generally accumulate the spent bulbs and plant them in one go when they're all finished and the weather is better to plant them in the garden. The vases on the table I just took out of the dark. They don't look very ready to come out but unless they come out soon they won't bloom this season.

while I was going through those spent hyacinths I found this one had a second stem yet to bloom, I cut the wilting stem off and put the bulb back in a vase to allow the second stem to bloom

I cut off that wilting stem and put the bulb in a vase

these are still in the dark in the cellar, even smaller than the ones above

I printed out my spreadsheet to update it while checking the hyacinths, Victor promptly sat on it

I have run out of room on the windowsill (want to keep a bit in the middle for a cat to sit) so I've had to put the latest vases out of the dark on the table. None of these are as developed as I'd like but it's so late in the season now I'm worried about them having time to bloom.

from that bulb bowl above, the hyacinth on the left is one of (if not "the") best this year, Blue Star (I think), in the middle Miss Saigon, the other 3 disppointing failures, no roots and on the right rotten:

although the two on the left look ok from above

These are Pink Elephant hyacinths. I haven't used them before. The stems are a bit sparse but they're interesting looking. They are not "prepared" but seem to have been forced just fine.

the hyacinths develop at such different rates

some of the bulbs have bulblets I didn't notice when I started them, this one is well-developed

I have tried planting bulblets in the past but without any roots they won't develop any and grow. I carefully cut off some of the bulblets with roots attached.

I potted the bulblets up.

two of these hyacinths have double stems

different shades of bluish purple

I only noticed Stitch, a neighbour's cat sitting on the fence outside while processing this photo

Jeffrey, a neighbour's cat, making himself at home

Victor having a drink outside where water has collected and Bear (Stitch's son) on the right

Stitch in her favourite position

The black and white vases have Caribbean Dream hyacinth bulbs, the bulb bowl Blue Star hyacinths and the uranium Rimac Fancy vase on the left a Delft Blue hyacinth.

a few days later and those Blue Star hyacinths are fully in bloom

forced hyacinth bulbs can shrink, as this one, and it's dropped through the hole

This is such a gloomy January I've had to use flash to photograph the hyacinths. Caribbean Dream hyacinths in the black and white vases on the left. Delft Blue in the vases at the back; Blue Star front right.

moving to the downstairs windowsill

fantastic blooms from this amaryllis bulb which has 2 stems: 3 large flowers on each; the bulb bowl on the right has 4 out of the 5 Splendid Cornelia bulbs in bloom; that one bulb hasn't grown - why??

view of the bulb bowl from the other side

bulb bowl with Miss Saigon hyacinths

This hyacinth bulb has 2 bulblets growing from it (usually it's just 1 if there're any) and 1 is so developed it's blooming. I usually remove any bulblets I notice so any energy from the bulb goes to the main flower, not developing a bulblet. In this case it's useful to make sure the shrinking bulb (all the bulbs shrink when forced) doesn't drop into the vase which has quite a large opening. The bulblets can grow and develop on their own if planted - but only if a bit of the basal plate of the bulb capable of growing roots is attached when they are removed from the parent bulb.

vases out of the dark January 3rd

the gardenwithindoors meets the gardenwithoutdoors: I noticed the fox in the garden in the background while I was taking photos of my hyacinth vases on the windowsill

the best way to say Merry Christmas  (all Peter Nyssen Anne Marie hyacinths)

the day after Christmas

a few days after that

an amaryllis in an amaryllis vase

a second hyacinth in bloom, a week before Christmas so will definitely have some in bloom on Christmas day

the scent of this one is pure spring

my first hyacinth is in bloom (December 18th)

Most of these are starting to show their pink colour. In my experience pink hyacinths are usually the first in bloom.

the amaryllis is getting tall; I hope that low vase will keep it from falling over as they often do

I think the hyacinths I took out of the dark the last few days may be my final ones out before Christmas. The shoots are a bit anemic as they've been in the dark but they green up after a few days in the light.

these came out of the dark a couple weeks ago and have really greened up

of the ones just out of the dark, the two on the right don't have very good roots but they're still growing

I don't know why some hyacinth bulbs just don't get going with roots

I just took this hyacinth out from the dark today (Dec 6th). It shows an ideal shape for the stem of the hyacinth when it is ready to come out of the dark. The bulge of the flower has clearly grown up out of the bulb.