At this time of year, I always assume the last thing most people want to hear is the word Christmas.
Me? I'm not all that fussed about Christmas itself, despite loving the time off with family. I LOVE winter though. Call me strange, but there's nothing better than crunching across the lawn on the way to the nursery. Being at home with our fires lit, mugs of tea in hand, all our animals tucked up in their beds and the nursery locked up for the evening.
Plus, really, there's nothing more bracing than walking the dog in truly horizontal rain to make you feel infinitely more human. I think it must be something to do with the quality of the air...
However, this is not about my particularly peculiar love of wet weather and poor Disco, who is forced to come out with me - being a sight hound he is NOT a wet weather dog. It's about how to fill your home with beautifully scented Hyacinths and how to troubleshoot when they aren't quite doing what they're supposed to!
Hyacinths
No matter how much I love them, I can't actually have scented flowers in the house as they give me terrible migraines. Silly really, a horticulturalist with awful hay fever..
Nevertheless, if you are growing Hyacinths for Christmas, you need to plant them in mid-to-late September for them to obediently flower at some point during the festive season.
If, like me, you use them as Christmas presents, my advice is to plant them in early-to-mid October so they come into flower after you've given them away.
"We love this idea!" I hear you say, thinking about all your plant-loving friends who would adore a whimsical Hyacinth basket for Christmas.
But what do you need to make this happen?
Here are my top tips, along with a few troubleshooting notes to help if things haven't quite gone to plan in previous years.
Always use Prepared Hyacinths
If you are planting for indoor displays, always use prepared Hyacinths.
For outdoor use, you can ignore almost this entire article...
Hyacinths need to go through an extended period of cold in order to flower properly. Bulb growers therefore "prepare" selected bulbs by chilling them for exactly the right amount of time to encourage flowering when you want it.
What can you grow them in?
You can use:
-
Glass Hyacinth forcers
-
Bowls filled with bulb fibre and moss
-
Tumblers with cocktail sticks supporting the bulb
-
Even waxed bulbs (although I find this one slightly macabre for some reason!)
-
A shoe? Well... now I'm being facetious.
Honestly though, whatever you think would look good with bulbs flowering out of it will probably work.
Personally, I love finding funny little bowls and glass jars in charity shops that have a fabulously shabby-chic look.
Planting Them
Place the bulbs into your chosen container, leaving the top (the pointy bit...) exposed so it can shoot away nicely. I generally leave half the bulb above ground level.
If you are growing them in water-filled glass containers, don't completely submerge the bulb. You only want the very base of the bulb to touch the water.
Water them.
Strangely, this is a point I seem to need to remind people about rather often, especially with shrubs, but it's probably worth mentioning here too!
If your Hyacinths are in glass jars, change the water occasionally. If they're in compost or bulb fibre, don't let them dry out completely.
Where Should They Be Kept?
Start them somewhere cool, dark and frost-free.
A garage or cupboard in an unheated room is ideal. I empty out my spare-glass-jars shelf in the utility room cupboard for this and it works perfectly.
Hyacinths usually take around 10–14 weeks to flower when forced in this way.
It really is that simple!
Troubleshooting
"My Hyacinths always flop over!"
They're being kept too warm.
Your house is much warmer than spring would naturally be, so try to keep them as cool as possible (without freezing them).
"My Hyacinth bowls always look messy."
I used to find this happened when I mixed different colours in the same container.
I recommend using a single variety per pot. Even if there's only a week's difference between them starting to flower, some can look a little ragged by the time the others are getting going.
"My flowers are always really short."
They've been brought into the warmth and light a little too early.
Unfortunately, there's no fixing this once it has happened, but at least you'll know for next year!
A Final Tip
Try planting several different pots of bulbs to display together.
I love a table arrangement of Hyacinths mixed with pots of Muscari. It's a very cute and rather whimsical combination.
I just recommend keeping them in containers that have something in common, whether that's a colour, texture or material, so the display still feels tied together.
