The bulb forcing year starts in August/September buying bulbs. Then the bulbs quietly grow roots in the dark until the beginning of December when they are brought into the light and warmth and can begin blooming from Christmas day onwards when it is magic to have flowers and scent indoors in the middle of winter.
I force about 200 hyacinth bulbs each year. I try different hyacinth varieties from different bulb companies and compare how they perform. I'm always trying to formulate the best ways to force hyacinths and this is the documentation of my results. I also have a site devoted to hyacinth vases (www.hyacinthvases.org.uk). (please note that all text and images are copyright)
If you want to share, comment, ask a question: https://www.facebook.com/gardenwithindoors.org.uk/
Submitted by ju1i3 on 6 February, 2019 - 07:55
Submitted by ju1i3 on 28 January, 2019 - 06:49
Crocus in bloom mid-January 2019
hyacinths end of January 2019
Submitted by ju1i3 on 11 January, 2019 - 14:16
January 11th, hyacinths in bloom, after the Delft Blue hyacinths are past their peak, the next wave of hyacinth blooms
Miss Saigon hyacinths
Scarecrow
some purple crocus just opening
Submitted by ju1i3 on 5 January, 2019 - 04:54
an update on the January hyacinths which are looking better and better
the Sainsburys hyacinths on the other side, I needed small bulbs to fit in those Dartington vases
Apricot Passion hyacinths in Davidson bulb bowl
Ann Mary hyacinths in bulb bowl
Delft Blue hyacinths in a SylvaC pot
more Delft Blue hyacinths just starting to bloom
Jan Bos hyacinths
Caribbean Dream
bulb bowls with a variety of sizes of hyacinths, even though all the hyacinths in a bowl were started at the same time
Submitted by ju1i3 on 1 January, 2019 - 18:38
The Delft Blue hyacinths are really reaching their peak, the smell is exquisite
the bulb bowls a couple days later, Davidson bulb bowl with Apricot Passion hyacinths
Ann Mary hyacinths in bulb bowl
Jan Bos hyacinths in a repurposed tureen
Submitted by ju1i3 on 27 December, 2018 - 06:13
Delft Blue
Delft Blue close-up
sometimes the hyacinths bend over, I don't know why or what to do about it
White Pearl, Delft Blue and Jan Bos hyacinths in bloom
Jan Bos hyacinths
White Pearl hyacinths
some hyacinths in bud
hyacinths on Christmas day
some flowers and buds a few days previous
close-up of one of the Delft Blue hyacinths
close-up of some of the buds
Submitted by ju1i3 on 29 November, 2018 - 16:56
I've been taking lots of hyacinths out of the cellar the in the last 10 days, starting on November 19th. The time is different every year, going by how they look. The bulge of the flower must be out of the bulb.
Submitted by ju1i3 on 28 October, 2018 - 11:44
I checked on the bulbs yesterday and watered the pots. The vases generally don't need topping up as the bulb is like a plug limiting evaporation but the pots need watering - which is my least favourite task. I found myself wondering why did I have to plant so many bulbs!
crocus vases with large Dutch crocus bulbs, which I usually use for forcing, with curly roots developing, the odd vase has no roots like the 2nd from left below, these are just a selection
these crocus vases have straight roots developing from crocus chrysanthus bulbs which I guess I decided to try (I was starting so many I can't even remember now but I do know these were sold at Sainsbury's so easier to get than the large Dutch crocus which required a trip to the garden centre or order from Peter Nyssen)
Shorter and other troughs with the crocus chrysanthus bulbs
I dont' know why that one bulb has such a long stem shooting up
I don't know why these have leggy stems - or what to do about them. Does one bring them out as they are so developed or leave them to struggle in the dark??
Submitted by ju1i3 on 6 October, 2018 - 07:49
Scarecrow came to help me organise the final bulb forcing for the season.
I couldn't resist these vintage 1960s plastic hyacinth vases on ebay so a trip to the garden centre for a few more hyacinth bulbs.
while at the garden centre I also bought some muscari and iris reticulata bulbs and I still had a pack of crocus bulbs
those really small bulbs are needed for the Shorter and Son troughs, iris reticulata in both geese troughs and muscari in the rabbit trough
I guess those are shot glasses but they were on ebay with a hyacinth vase with the same design
muscari in the blue bird troughs, those 2 golden syrup tins on the right are rusted through so can't be used but I planted up the 3 on the left, previously the larger golden syrup tins were planted with hyacinth bulbs, these are smaller and need muscari or crocus
for some of the muscari bulbs, they are going in pots to stay in the garden, no more room in the cellar and some years the muscari doesn't bloom indoors any earlier than outdoors
Pages
