Eruption
17 February 2010Over the last few days, my hyacinths have begun their annual reëmergence. ![[image of three sets of leaves poking above the soil line of a large pot]](wp-content/uploads/2010/02/hyacinth_20100217.jpg)
When I dug them up on 23 November, I found five ordinary bulbs, one conjoined pair, and a pitiful little thing that might not even be a bulb. ![[image of three sets of leaves poking above the soil line of a large pot]](wp-content/uploads/2010/02/bulbs_20091123.jpg)
I replanted them (including the pitiful thing) that same day, with better placement in the pot.
Originally, I had just one plant, which had been forced when I bought it. In theory, it should not have had the resources to reëmerge the next year, but it did. It divided and its offspring have divided. And the largest of the bulbs has each year been larger and each year produced larger leaves. Not every bulb produced has survived; I lost at least one little one, and I have almost no hope for the pitiful thing even if it is a bulb. But the little family has grown to the point that, after the bulbs again retreat, I am going to begin colonizing more pots with them.
Tags: horticulture, hyacinths
Funny, ours had bloomed around the beginning of January (it was a bought one)
When I bought the original bulb, it was close to blooming and did so in December or in January (I forget which), as a result of being forced. If yours was likewise forced, and if it returns next year, then it will probably do so later in the year. But forcing often keeps the bulbs from building the reserves necessary to survive the next year.
I'm going to have to go out of town in early March, and may not get to see my hyacinths at their peaks for this year. But I draw more pleasure from their survival and multiplication than from seeing them bloom.