Friday, September 20, 1991 - North Shore News — 45

Se Spe os ee CTH

RS Re te SE SETS

Try combining hyacinths with other bulbs

{IF YOU have yet to get the
itch to plant some bulbs, !et
me tell you about the hya-
cinth.

Talk about a plant that has
almost everything: a huge range of
beautiful colors, a superb, almost
overwhelming fragrance, an
enormous display of flowers. and
a sturdy, weatherprcof nature.

The strong, thick central Mower
stalk of the hyacinth enables it to
withstand the heavy rains which
can visit us in spring. While the
tulips and daffodils are being
beaten into the ground, the stout
nature of these plants allows them
to weather the worst our climate
can deliver.

They also have history.

In Greek mythology, Hya-
cinthus was the son of King
Amyclus, and a= favorite of
Apollo, the Sun God and Zeph-
yrus, the God of the West Wind.
In a fit of jealousy, Zephyrus kill-
ed the lad and, after unsuccessful-
ly trying to restore his life, Apollo
caused the flower to grow from
the blood of Hyacinthus. Young
boys always seem to come to a
bad end in these Greck tragedies.

Now about that itch. The hya-
cinth produces a natural com-
pound which can cause miid skin
irritation. It’s generally not too
noticeable on toughened areas
such as your finger tips, but if
you were to brush your cheek with
a hand that had been in contact
with hyacinths, look out. Wear
some gloves and wash your hands
as soon as you are done.

The common garden hyacinth
found in the local garden shops

are hybrids of Ayacinthus orien-
talis which is a native of Eastern
Europe and Western Asia. Over
the 400 years since these plants
were first introduced into Western
Europe, many improvements have
been made in overall color, scent,
flower production and sturdiness.

The average price for a ‘‘Top-
size’ hyacinth may vary from
roughly 75 cents to highs of over
$!. You may consider this to be
rather excessive, but if you knew
the extent of the work that went
into their production you would
think it low.

The commercial cultivation of
hyacinths is an exacting science. tt
involves precise controls of
temperature and humidity as well
as enormous amounts of hand
work rather than work by tess ex-
pensive machines.

Bulblets are produced by scor-
ing the bottom of large bulbs in
mid-summer with three deep knife
crosses or by hollowing out the
bottom in a cone shape. The
traumatized bulbs are then set on
wire-mesh trays and placed in a
controlled environment where as
many as 80 smal! bulblets wil!
gradually form on the wounds.

The bulbs are planted out late
in the autumn where they will ap-
pear as clusters of grassy foliage
and a few flowers next spring. By
the middle of the following sum-
mer, the now dry, withered bulbs
are lifted and the dozens of tiny
bulbs are picked off by hand.
These are stored for the rest of
the summer then replanted in the
fall.

This process of lifting the bulbs
in summer, storing and treating

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OVER THE GARDEN GATE

them in the bulb sheds for two or
three months and repfanting in the
fall goes on for four to five years
before the bulbs are ready for
sale. Try doing that in your home
garden and then tell me how cager
you are to sell them for the cur-
rent market price.

RE RE

Anyhow, enough of the woes of
the poor little Dutch boy and on
with the examination of the hya-
cinth, Enamoured as 1 am with
these plants, I still believe they
can use a little help in creating a
nice display in the garden.

Planted alone, they have a
spiky, almost artificial character.
The addition of the softening in-
fluence of a less formal plant will
tend to enhance the overall ap-
pearance of your show. Try plant-
ing your hyacinths in combination
with other bulbs such as Triteleia
(ipheion}, Grape Hyacinth
(muscari) or Glory-of-the-Snow
(chionodoxa).

Even better would be to. sur-
round a grouping of hyacinths
with some low-grewing, spring
flowering perennials or rock
plants. Some good examples
would include Rock Cress (arabis
albida), Snowdrop Anemone
(anemone sylvestris), Creeping
Phlox (phlox subulata), Soapwort
(saponaria ocymoldes), Scented
Violets (viola odorata) or Sweet
Woodruff (asperula odorata).

ma.
a
Se

There are dozens of outstanding
hybrid hyacinths in a wide variety
of colors; here are but a few:

White — ‘Carnegie’
“*L’Innocence’’

Yellow — ‘‘City of Haarlem”
and ‘Yellow Hammer”

Pink — ‘Pink Pearl.”’ ‘‘Ladv
Derby"’ and ‘‘Queen of the
Pinks”

Reds — ‘“‘Amsterdam’’ and
‘Jan Bos"’ (more cerise pink than
true red)

Light Blue — “Delft Blue,’
““Myasotis’’ and “Queen of the
Blues”’

Dark Blue —
“King of the Blues”

As with most bulbs, the hya-
cinth prefers full or half-day sun
and a well-drained soil. Cut the
flower heads off immediately after
they begin to fade in late spring;
this will prevent the plants from
expending energy on seed produc-
tion. For best results, dig up your
plants near the end of July and
store them in a cool, dry location
until planting time in early Oc-
tober.

and

“Amethyst,”’

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