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Mixing hyancith colours
wakeshine
Posts: 975
Hi a bulb shop told me yesterday you can't mix hyancinth colours in one bowl. Has anyone else heard or have experience of this?
I have two different colours of the forced bulbs now. I wanted to put both in one pot. They said if you do that they do not grow properly. I have never grown hyancinths. After looking at photos online of the forced hyancinths in pots, they seem to not do very well anyway - lots of pics of hyanciths falling over, and I now don't really want to grow them. But I can't exchange them, I shall give it a go but but any advice on this colour rule please?
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Sorry I meant hyacinth throughout, not hyacinth.
I'm wondering if your bulb seller has a problem with the aesthetics of colour mixing.
My only thought is that different colours often flower at different times so you would not necessarily get a good display in one bowl.
Hi Wakeshine,
The bulb shop misadvised you, I'm afraid.
It is perfectly fine to mix different colours in the same container.
If they managed to get this piece of information wrong, I wouldn't trust anything else they have to say either!
A tip on the flopping over:
When you plant the bulbs, plant them with the 'nose' of the bulb just peeping out over the compost surface. Many people plant them with the 'shoulders' of the bulb poking out too and the bulb then has little stability, so the heavy flower stems just bend over.
One word of warning - in some people, contact with hyacinth bulbs can trigger an allergic reaction that consists of a maddening, burning rash. If in doubt, make sure you wear gloves!
Don't be disheartened by what you've so far heard or seen - hyacinths are a doddle to grow and smell heavenly when they flower!
The golden rule is to never over-water container-grown bulbs as they tend to rot, other than that, you will be fine.
Happy growing!
Thanks all. It wasn't to do with the aesthetics, it was something technical. They said it just adversely affects the bulbs and no one knows why! it could be the flowering at different times issue, in which case it would be better to put them separately I suppose, as it won't look very good to have half not flowering.
I have 3 of each now though - a dark pink and a light pink. We have this old big teacup planter which we were going to chuck out. Then we thought maybe hyacinths would look nice in there! The teacup is white and has dark and light pink flowers on it hence I chose those colours lol.
Pbff, thanks for that, I will make sure I wear gloves and not overwater them. The pot is 10 inches wide and 7 inches deep. I will plant them as deeply as possible but do they have long roots? Can't I just bury he bulb anyway? I have never liked those pots with bulbs sticking out, or is this a requirement?
Last edited: 26 September 2016 14:56:10
It is most likely to do with the fact that different colours, i.e. different varieties, flower at different times, and most people want their hyacinths in the same container to flower at the same time.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
No. Don't bury the bulb. You will need to use bulb compost as the container wont have drainage holes.
When they'e finished flowering, plant them in the garden for next year. You can bury the bulb then.
Last edited: 26 September 2016 15:55:32
Hi Joyce21 - I bought the bulbs on their own and my container does have holes. I really don't understand why when they're sold in containers the containers are so shallow and the bulb shows at the top. Why is this? The roots look quite big in photos, wouldn't you need to give the bulbs as much space as possible? Same with amaryllis. I put all mine into big 1 or 2 litre pots and they flowers brilliantly. I don't understand the concept of putting massive bulbs in tight containers.
Last edited: 26 September 2016 16:16:38
Wakeshine - the bulbs are only in the pot for a few months. It's the same with forcing other bulbs to have in the house Dec/Jan. as they will be planted out after flowering whereas the Amaryllis isn't planted out.