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Polyanthus Crescendo® Mixed F1 Hybrid
36 plug plants + 6 FREE £11.99
Fuchsia Lady Boothby - world's only
climbing Fuchsia - 3 plants £6.49
Black Bamboo
Phyllostachys nigra
restrained in habit
5L pot was £34.99 - now £17.95
Fuchsia Hardy Collection
9 plants 3 of each for £8.99
Perennial Bumper Pack
36 plants - £19.99
Clematis Old Favourites Collection
3 young plants £8.98
Clematis The President
classic climber, long
flowering period
1 plant £6.49
Clematis montana Mayleen scented
1 plant 7cm pot
£6.49
3 plants
£12.98
Pansy Waterfall F1
25 plug plants £9.99
Cyclamen Coum Album - Woodland Cyclamen (White)
3 tubers £5.49
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Nothing surpasses the first
hyacinths for scent, It's like time travel for the nose having wonderfully fragrant
hyacinths in full bloom in the middle of the winter, it always seems like
the greatest luxury. Plant 3 or 4 of one colour per bowl. Don't be tempted to
mix
 different varieties as the chances are they won't flower all at the same
time. I tend to go for the blues and whites, which as well as being my favourite
flower colours, are reliable. Be sure to get bulbs that are "prepared", meaning
they have had a period of cold already and when potted are convinced it's time
to wake up for spring. This is not necessary when planting outdoors.
Outdoor hyacinths are best
planted near to the house where you will see them and smell them, even the
large varieties are very close to the ground. Alternatively I plant them out
of the way but near a path, there's a large patch now at the bottom of the garden
near the compost heap, (no, not to get rid of the smell), but for cutting and
bringing into the house. I can't ever remember buying a hyacinth bulb and planting
it into the soil directly, all of ours are ex-container grown ones that spent
their first year in the house.
If you start before about the
middle of September (but the sooner the better), you can have flowering Hyacinth
bulbs for the house in flower at or just after Christmas. If you
can get them planted before November, then they will have a chance to start
growing before it begins to get very cold which will help them to flower all
the earlier, they'll certainly be up early in the new year and long before the
outdoor ones have woken up.
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There are two key points to
remember:
 1/ Use prepared bulbs
- these are large bulbs that have been subjected to a period of cold before
you buy them, this convinces the bulbs that winter has just happened and so
it's time for them to start growing again. Such bulbs should only be
used for containers intended for the house over the Christmas / winter period
and not planted outdoors.
2/ These are temporary plantings,
so you can plant the bulbs very close together, almost touching, for
the maximum density of flowers. Buy the largest bulbs you can afford,
smaller ones just don't perform as well and the smallest may produce lots of
leaves but no flowers at all. After flowering plant them in the garden as soon
as you can, they won't perform as well next year, you need to start with large
bought ones again.
Bulb fibre is often recommended,
but is only really necessary if the bulbs are to be planted in bowls without
drainage. I've always treated bulbs like any other container plants and use
ordinary potting compost in containers that have drainage holes and get excellent
results.
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Hyacinth Care
Plant - In containers,
borders or beds NOT naturalized in grass.
Depth - 5-8" of soil
above the top of the bulb, less in clay, more in sandy soils.
Depth in containers
- The top of the bulbs should emerge from the compost, broad and shallow
containers are most common and popular, but after much experimentation I
have found that container grown Hyacinths do much better in deeper containers
- a normally proportioned plant pot is fine. The deeper the roots go, the
higher the flowers and leaves seem to reach too. Moss can be used to cover
the bulbs from about half way up to almost the tip.
Cultivation - after
flowering, remove seed heads so not to waste resources, water once with
double strength liquid fertiliser, plenty of it to reach the bulbs and roots.
Leave leaves to die down
naturally - don't tie the leaves, cut them or otherwise damage them in any
way, this is when the bulb is built up again for next years flowers, any
interference will stop this and give smaller, weaker or blind flowering.
Leave at least 6 weeks for the leaves to do their job, if possible don't
touch them at all until they are completely brown and shrivelled and can
be pulled up with little resistance.
Container cultivation
- if the containers are to be brought indoors, grow them on somewhere cool
but sheltered an unheated greenhouse, conservatory or similar is ideal. Let them
grow as tall as possible before bringing them indoors as they may get leggy
and even not flower if brought in too early. They will last longest in a
cool but bright position. Support will probably be necessary.
After the flowers are over,
put them outside in a sheltered position and grow / water / feed as normal
for bulbs. They will not perform as well the next year, so don't
even bother trying, bulbs for indoor containers should be bought fresh each
year. When the leaves have died down, they can be left to dry out and planted
in the garden in the autumn as outdoor bulbs. They won't be very good in
year 2, but will be fine from 3 onwards.
recommended varieties
Daffodils / Narcissi |
Tulips
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