It’s not hard to find hyacinth bulbs in the fall. They’re one of the “big four” (a term I just made up) that describes them and the tulips, daffodils and crocus that show up every fall in garden centers around the country. They’re easy, fragrant, come back reliably and run the whole range of colors with the exception of green and true red. What’s not to like?  There must be something, because even though they’re good enough to buy forced to celebrate Easter and other springtime celebrations, they’re not always the first choice for planting.
I say go ahead and plant them this next fall.  I think you’ll like them.

A couple warm days have brought all the hyacinths into bloom.  They’re remarkably color coordinated considering I originally planted just $7 worth of no name clearance bulbs from SAMs club.  This would be year 5 for them and I think over that time they’ve actually gotten bigger each season, especially the pinks and whites.  Some push up two stalks of fat blooms, and if there’s one fault to these flowers this might be it.   Sometimes the blooms are so heavy they flop.

A newer “retro” hyacinth that avoids the flopping problems are the multiflowering types.  Each bulb can push up a less dense, often multiple, flower stalk.  I say they’re a retro version because people commonly compare them to the old roman hyacinths, which were an older (less hardy) version with a similar, wilder look.  I’ve got “Blue  Festival”, which doesn’t make much of an impression in the garden, but even so I’d like to add the pink and white versions too.  Close up the blue looks great. I need to get mulch down around these bulbs.  Maybe it will be the weekend project, but with daffdil season starting any day now who knows?