ju1i3's blog

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.

The hyacinths need to be checked to see if they are ready to come out of the dark. The bulge of the flower needs to have moved out of the bulb. These seem to be ready. I'm surprised I have so many (18) ready to come into the light when they were started so late.

Even though the general length of time to keep the hyacinths in the dark initially is 12 weeks, it could be less. Check the bulbs and go by how they look. Of those first 18 out of the dark, 3 have been in the dark for 7 weeks, 9 have been in the dark for 8 weeks and 4 for 9 weeks.

Of the first 18, 7 are Anne Marie (usually the first in bloom), 5 Pacific Ocean (I haven't used these before but seem to be early), 2 Delft Blue, 2 Sainsburys, 1 Splendid Cornelia and 1 Caribbean Dream.

the hyacinth flower can be seen between the leaves of the emerging stem, the others will be similar even if the flower is not visible, the shape of the stem shows the bulge of the flower

these hyacinths are not ready to come out of the dark yet

these hyacinths are not ready to come out of the dark yet, although the one front right is on the edge

As well as checking the hyacinth bulbs to see if they should be taken into the light, they should be checked for water levels but I find they generally don't need topping up. The vase below is typical. The bulb has acted like a plug to prevent the water evaporating

the more open vases have evaporation, I topped up the square vase on the left which had gone down to half full, it also shows the different growth rates of different bulbs and the problems of containers with more than 1 bulb, some bulbs are ready, some are not

I've brought those 18 hyacinth vases into the house. If I put many more on this windowsill Victor (or any of the other cats) won't have room to sit on it. The hyacinths really shouldn't be by a radiator but I have limited space.

this amaryllis bulb has two fat flower stems (on either side of the leaves in the centre) emerging after only 2 weeks

a week later

I saw Sainsbury's had a new hyacinth vase for sale so had to get a closer look. It's a little late to be starting hyacinth bulbs (14-11-2017) but I had to see this new product.

I didn't notice the colour when it was inside the box - it's not very nice. I thought it would be quite basic and it is. Convenience is the main thing going for it.

I filled it with water to just under the bulb and put it in the cellar with the rest of my hyacinth vases.

yes, there are still hyacinth bulbs at the garden centre, this was my last vase needing a bulb

while at the garden centre I saw they have some huge amaryllis bulbs and made an impulse purchase, it is so large I think it's too large for this amaryllis vase

I was away for a week in October and didn't have time to finish all my bulbs - quite unlike me as I usually do them immediately in September to increase my chances of Christmas flowers but this year is a bit later. Going to Korea for my son's wedding took priority. I have 10 hyacinth bulbs left.

a quick look in the boxes in the cellar and I have 9 vases left to use

I forgot that pickle jar, that will take that last bulb

I do have at least 1 more vase but no more bulbs. If I have time I'll pop down to the garden centre and see if they have any more bulbs. I know Sainsburys is out of stock.

Of course, when I was in Korea I wanted to see if they sold hyacinth bulbs. Some spent dried bulbs in a basket outside this flower shop/cafe was the closest I could find. At one point they had hyacinth bulbs in Seoul - intrigued to find out more.

close-up of one of those baskets at the front