Rescued Hyacinth
Last April, I rescued a number of hyacinth bulbs from the parking lot of Friendship Park. They had finished blooming and been yanked to make way for the annuals display. With the "okay" from the park staff, I carried off as many as my buddy and I could handle and planted them that very night. My readers wondered…"Will they grow?"
I’m happy to announce that not only did they grow, they are blooming.
While the flower spikes aren’t as dense as they were the first year (freshly plumped up from the fields of Holland or someplace), I think they’ve done very well for bulbs yanked from their loamy homes, fried on a parking lot, and then planted in cruddy clay. The tulips haven’t done as well. I’ve spotted only a single sickly leaf poking up from the location in which I planted 20 or so recovered bulbs.
I didn’t notice a big hyacinth display at the park this year, but I’m going to take a second look because I love "free!"
I’m happy to announce that not only did they grow, they are blooming.
While the flower spikes aren’t as dense as they were the first year (freshly plumped up from the fields of Holland or someplace), I think they’ve done very well for bulbs yanked from their loamy homes, fried on a parking lot, and then planted in cruddy clay. The tulips haven’t done as well. I’ve spotted only a single sickly leaf poking up from the location in which I planted 20 or so recovered bulbs.
I didn’t notice a big hyacinth display at the park this year, but I’m going to take a second look because I love "free!"
Labels: free, friendship park, hyacinth, spring
posted by Kasmira at 27.3.07
9 Comments:
I think they are looking quite lovely. They must be relieved to have been saved from a certain death!
Good work...
They look great!
The price was right! Good job rescuing those from the compost heap.
I love free too. I have a whole patch of tulips of white and deep purple that someone was tossing out to their death.
I have had trouble with hyancinths in the past but finally had good luck with a pack I got from Home Depot. I have been buying them from there ever since.
I'm sure that if you clip the heads immediately when these start to fade and then give them a little bulb food in the fall, you should see them plump and happy next spring.
just found your blog ( googled lasagna beds) and i'm glad i did.
Looking forward to reading more about your gardening adventures.
mia
Hey,
I'm a fellow swapper, and I've always enjoyed reading fab tips from you, and I thought you'd be the best person for advice (hopefully flattery goes a long way). We are having a freeze on Wednesday in Cincinnati which will last for at least 3-4 days,of which I'm sure you're aware; what do you recommend I do to save my poor bleeding heart that has started to bloom and all my other tender shoots/buds from imminent doom? I'd really appreciate any ideas you have and if you don't mind, if you don't have time to blog a reply (I am not so arrogant to think that somebody should drop everything at my urgent request) could you please e-mail me a quicky--I'm panicky!!!
Hi Helen - I don't have your email address and your profile is blocked, so I hope you read these comments.
Honestly, I don't know what the freeze will do to the bleeding hearts. I think the problem would probably be more frost than the actual temperature, so you could always cover them with baskets or something. I've never done it, but I've heard that if you do cover blooms, you should be sure that you leave airspace between your cover and the flower. I'm lazy, so I'll experiment and leave mine out. Guess I'll know for next year!
Helen,
I am going to try to save my bleeding heart and possibly a few small clumps of peonies by putting buckets over them. As long as you remove the coverings in the morning before the sun heats up the inside, it might work. Just a thought. Everything else that's blooming (bulb-wise)I'm going to cut and bring inside. Just remember to keep daffodils in a separate vase from other flowers.(They have a toxicity in their stems).
Kasmira-- there will be plenty of hyacinths at Friendship again this year!
Thanks for the tips...they gave me an idea. I'm going to try using bamboo stakes in the ground to hold up blankets set over my plants. Wish me luck!
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