ALTRINCHAM AND MANCHESTER 
7 
Hints on the Cultivation of Select 
Hyacinths. 
The universal cultivation of this most beautiful flower is to a great extent due to its adaptability both to in and 
outdoor treatment. In its season — from December to May for the greenhouse, and April to May for open ground — few 
flowers can compare with it for richness, effectiveness and variety. To the Amateur we trust the following simple 
directions for its culture will be found useful, and the cultivator who follows them may expect with certainty 
well-flowered plants, whether grown in the open garden, in glasses, or flower pots in the greenhouses. 
Hyacinths in Pots. 
SOIL. —It is scarcely advisable to buy bulbs if the cultivator 
does not make a suitable preparation of soil for the bulbs when 
bought, and we are convinced from a fairly long experience with 
retail buyers, that in too many cases the goods bought whether 
bulbs, seeds, or plants, do not produce as good a result, and as 
much pleasure or profit as they should do, owing to the buyer not 
making proper preparation in the way of compost. For Hyacinths 
in pots the quality of the compost is very important, and it ought, 
when practicable, to be prepared several months before it is re- 
quired for use. The mixture must be light and rich, yet open ; 
obviously, to make it light and rich, we require thoroughly good 
leaf mould, clean and well-rotted, and the best of manure ; cow 
manure by preference, at least one year old, and if two years old 
so much the better. For the ingredients of our compost there 
should be about one-third of really good turfy loam with plenty of 
fibre, another third of really old manure ; to this add about 
one-sixth part of leaf mould and one-sixth of fine charcoal and 
coarse sand. New manure will simply ruin this compost for bulb 
growing. The whole of the above should be mixed together if 
possible several months before it is required, placed in a sunny 
position, and turned over several times to free it from worms, &c. 
If the Autumn be a very wet one, a few boards should be put on 
to keep the heavy rains from soaking through it. The compost 
should be used in a moderately damp condition, so that it may not 
be necessary to water as soon as the bulbs are potted. 
POTS AND POTTING. — 5 inch pots should be used for ordinary 
purposes, and 6J inch if intended for exhibition. If new pots are 
used, they should be soaked in water for some hours before using ; 
old pots, well washed, are far preferable to new ones. One 
large crock and three or four smaller pieces over it are all the 
drainage that is needed, as the compost should be passed through 
a sieve, and the rough portions placed at the bottom of the pots 
over the crocks. When potting, the apex of the bulb should be 
level with the top of the soil ; the pot should therefore be filled 
Hyacinths 
The single varieties are best for this purpose, and with careful 
attention very fine specimens may be grown, as the treatment is so 
simple. From the middle of October to the middle of November is 
the proper time to place the bulbs in glasses, which should be quite 
clean. Sweet rain water is the best for the bulbs. If spring or 
other hard water be used it should be boiled to take away the 
hardness. Fill each glass so that the water does not quite touch 
the base of the bulb, adding one or two small pieces of charcoal or 
a few grains of salt to keep the water sweet, and place them in a 
cool, dark, airy place or cellar for a few weeks. Examine in about 
a fortnight, and remove any decayed or slimy substance from the 
base of the bulbs. Change the water every three or four weeks, or 
oftener if discoloured, or if it smells disagreeably. In adding fresh 
water it must be the same temperature as that taken out. When 
the roots are about four inches long the glasses should be gradually 
up to the right height to place the bulb on, then a slight sprinkling 
of sand ; place the bulb on this without pressing the soil down, 
surround the bulb to the right height, then press moderately firm. 
All small bulbs and offsets should be broken off the base of the 
bulbs before potting. Stand the pots out of doors in some open 
space, where they will be quite exposed to all sorts of weather, on, 
by preference, a bed of ashes ; put a little sand or cocoa fibre over 
the top of the bulb, and then cover six inches deep with a plunging 
material, such as ashes, sand, cocoa fibre, &c. If the weather is 
dry, in about a week after potting give a heavy watering, sufficient 
to go through the plunging material and the compost also, but if 
there is rain this is not necessary ; neither should it be done for late 
potting if the nights are frosty. 
TIME TO POT. — To bloom at Christmas the bulbs should be 
potted about the middle of September, and the whole of the 
potting completed, even for the latest lots, by the end of October. 
After this date the bulbs will begin to deteriorate if kept out of 
the soil, and as a consequence be a source of dissatisfaction to the 
grower. 
WHEN TO FORCE. — The bulbs should stand as covered for eight 
or ten weeks, when it will be found that the pots are full of roots, 
and the bulbs have started into growth ; they should then be moved 
into a cold frame or cold airy greenhouse, and the blanched growth 
gradually exposed to the light. The bulbs ought not to be taken 
direct from outside to the forcing house if the best results are aimed 
at. We should follow Nature's teaching, as exemplified in an ideal 
Spring, by gradually increasing the light and heat for the forced 
bulb. When placed in the forcing house a moderately moist 
atmosphere and a regular temperature, never exceeding 70 degrees, 
should be maintained. The pots should be placed near the glass, 
and extremely weak liquid manure given until the flowers begin to 
open, if we require dwarf foliage and brightly-coloured blooms. 
After the flowers show colour the liquor manure may be dis- 
continued, and slightly tepid water given instead. 
in Glasses. 
removed to the light, and, as soon as the crown has made a little 
growth, placed in the sunniest window, and given all the light and 
air possible, avoiding frosts and draughts. Turn the glasses 
frequently, till the flower spikes are well developed. When the 
bulbs are in full growth the water in the glasses will be absorbed 
more rapidly, and should be replenished frequently An occasional 
watering overhead will also be found very beneficial when the 
temperature of the room is rising, but should never be attempted 
when the room is getting colder. Sponge the leaves occasionally if 
the atmosphere of the room be dry and hot. Excessive heat and 
intense cold are very injurious. Supports should be used when 
the flower spikes are tall, or they may be over-balanced and get 
damaged Hyacinth Supports, also Glasses in plain or fancy 
designs, can be supplied. For prices, &c., see page 53. 
Hyacinths in Beds, Borders, &c. 
No other early Spring flower produces such a brilliant display 
in beds, borders, &c., as the Hyacinth, with its rich range of 
colours and delightful perfume. They will succeed in almost 
any ordinary well-worked garden soil, even in the neighbourhood 
of large towns though some enthusiasts go so far as to take soil 
out to a depth of about 12 to 18 inches, and make up with the 
same material as recommended for pot culture. A sunny position 
is best. Plant in October, in dry weather. The bulbs should be 
placed six to nine inches apart, and from four to six inches deep. 
If planted deep the time of blooming will be a little later, but the 
bulbs that are planted five or six inches deep are not so liable 
to be damaged by frost in the Spring as those planted nearer the 
surface. Good drainage is necessary, especially when the ground 
is heavy and wet. To such soil it is advantageous to add some 
course sand, and to place some rough material at a depth of 
about li to 2 ft. below the surface. Place a layer of course sand 
underneath and around the bulbs, but do not press the soil hard. 
After planting, cover the beds with a thin coating of cocoa fibre, 
dead leaves, or other light material to protect from severe frost : 
when the growth has pushed through the soil remove the covering 
by degrees. Beds of one colour produce a more brilliant and 
telling effect than mixed colours, or designs worked in several 
colours ; but the planter will follow the dictates of his own fancy. 
It is not imperatively necessary to place supports to the spikes 
of Hyacinths in beds, but if a short stick is affixed to each one it 
keeps it in position, and adds to the neatness and evenness of the 
bed. Should the weather be dry when the bulbs are in flower the 
flowering period may be lengthened by applying water liberally. 
