As Jane Austen famously remarked in her novel Northanger Abbey, it is not easy
to love a hyacinth. For many years they have been deeply unfashionable –
short, busty cylindrical flowers in shades of pink, white and pastel blue –
very Fifties, very Barbara Windsor, very municipal bedding. Yet in the early
18th century, when hyacinths changed hands for as much as £200 for a single
bulb, they were the aristocrats of the bulb world: the focus of a collecting
mania almost as fevered as Tulipomania, which gripped Holland a generation
earlier.
Now hyacinths are once again cutting edge, with passions riding high about who
has the blackest hyacinth or the choicest double, and collectors scouring
Eastern Europe for long-lost varieties. Much of the current fizz in the
hyacinth world is due to Alan Shipp, a Cambridgeshire farmer with a passion
for the flowers. His collection was awarded National Collection status ten
years ago by the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and
Gardens. When Shipp started collecting, the range of hyacinths available had
dwindled to no more than a dozen or so. There are now 170 heritage varieties
growing on his farm at Waterbeach, near Cambridge, and many treasured old
varieties are back on the market.
New varieties are also taking the horticultural world by storm. Hyacinthus
‘Midnight Mystique’, billed as the first black hyacinth, created a sensation
when it was showcased at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2005. Bred by Dutch bulb
merchant Hans Kapiteyn, ‘Midnight Mystique’ has been decades in the making.
Its parentage is a closely guarded secret, but in 1990 the British seed
company Thompson & Morgan paid Kapiteyn £50,000 apiece for three small
bulbs of ‘Midnight Mystique’. It has taken the company the intervening 16
years to build up a limited stock for release this year at a price of £7.99
each – a far cry from the sums paid in the 18th century, but still
considerably more than the 50p or less that most hyacinth varieties cost
nowadays. And if you miss it this time, you may have to wait several years
until the next release of bulbs.
Although ‘Midnight Mystique’ may be the darkest hyacinth yet, it is by no
means the first or the only “black” hyacinth. Pride of Shipp’s collection is
the old variety ‘Menelik’, named after the first Emperor of Ethiopia,
Menelik I, believed to be the son of King Solomon and Makeda, the Queen of
Sheba. Running it a close second is the very dark blue-black ‘Marie’, dating
from 1860, and ‘Blue Magic’, a dark purple-black with a white eye. According
to Shipp, “black” hyacinths have been known since the 18th century, and
there was competition even then about whose was the blackest. “In 1842 the
bulb merchant James Carter had one he called La Plus Noir [Blackest of
All]!” says Shipp.
The renewed interest in these very dark hyacinths is part of the current craze
for ever darker flowers such as “black” violas and pansies, “black” irises
and “black” hebes. Like all these very dark flowers, the hyacinths need
careful placing against a contrasting background to show them off. For a
traditional effect, team them with a mixture of vibrant blues such as ‘Delft
Blue’ and gleaming whites such as ‘Carnegie’. For a modern “black and white”
effect, team them with one of the double white hyacinths such as ‘Ben Nevis’
or ‘Madame Sophie’, or the new ‘Snow Crystal’, offered by Thompson &
Morgan.
Double hyacinths are now back in favour, too. These are varieties where each
floret has a double, triple or even quadruple row of petals. All the rage in
the 18th and 19th centuries, most have been commercially unavailable for
years. Now Jacques Amand is stocking a range of doubles, including the
ravishing pale pink ‘Chestnut Flower’ and the exquisite sea lavender
‘General Köhler’.
The holy grail of hyacinth breeding, however, remains the rediscovery of
bicoloured doubles – luscious white flowers with differently coloured
“eyes”, which drove 18th-century gardeners to a frenzy. They were still
being listed as the “best sorts” in publications of 1935. Most famous of
these was the ‘King of Great Britain’, a fully double white hyacinth with
inner petals of red. It sold in huge numbers, and may well have been
exported to Eastern Europe, where gardeners remained passionate about
hyacinths long after they had dwindled into obscurity in this country.
One of the most exciting trends of recent years has been Shipp’s discovery
that many old varieties still exist in the countries of the former USSR.
Since 1998, he has added 31 varieties to the National Collection from
contacts in Lithuania alone, including double yellow hyacinths, long thought
extinct. Could the ‘King of Great Britain’ be out there too, waiting to be
rediscovered? Could bicoloured double hyacinths be the next big thing? n
Stockists: Thompson & Morgan, 01787 884141;
www.plants.thompson-morgan.com.
Jacques Amand, for catalogue and bulb orders, 01736 335851.
RHS Wisley Plant Centre, Woking, 01483 211113 (no mail order).
Alan Shipp, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire (National Collection of hyacinths),
01223 571064; e-mail alan.shipp@virgin.net. Open days, March 31-April 1,
depending on the weather (call or e-mail to confirm).
Growing hyacinths
- In their natural habitat, hyacinths grow in ground that dries out in summer,
so choose a sunny site with well-drained soil. In clay soil, plant each
bulb on a handful of grit, adding a handful of silver sand as you
back-fill. Alternatively, plant in tubs or raised beds. Some people may
be allergic to hyacinth bulbs, so wear gloves when handling.
- To ensure bulbs achieve their maximum flowering size and to prevent division
into smaller daughter bulbs, plant them deeply (with the base 6-8in
below the surface of the soil).
- Some varieties may need staking in warmer weather. Use a thin stick pushed
down beside the stem inside the flowerhead (avoid damaging the bulb
itself), where it will be concealed from view.
- After flowering, deadhead by removing individual florets. Allow the central
stem and leaves to die down naturally.
