Hyacinth White Pearl bulbs

Hyacinthus orientalis White Pearl

Hyacinth White Pearl is that pure, brilliant white that makes all other whites look slightly tinted, like the best royal icing on your wedding cake. However old fashioned a hyacinth may seem, this particular bulb works well in a contemporary, sleek setting. As with all the most desirable hyacinths the overall flower is made up of individual, single, bell-shaped flowers known as nails that recurve back gently. The strappy leaves are darker than most, setting off the white flowers perfectly. The reasonably stubby stem means that the flower is less likely to flop when full grown compared to some other hyacinths. The fragrance is sweet and delicate and will perfume any room or sheltered spot in your garden without being too overpowering. But if hyacinths are not for you, take a look at the rest of our range of top quality bulbs.

Hyacinth White Pearl, a gem in the Spring garden

Hyacinths can be forced inside so that you can enjoy their scent and colour at close proximity. They tend to grow slightly taller inside and will need to be supported with a small cane or by tying some string around the leaves and flower spike as they emerge. They look good in groups of odd numbers. We tend to avoid the punchbowl effect of mixing too many colours together but white goes with anything and the purity of white pearl illuminates other coloured hyacinths such as Hyacinth 'City of Haarlem' for a buttermilk effect or 'Fondant' for a more pastel look. Hyacinths are a great addition to flower arrangements. Add a tiny bit of bleach to the water to ensure that they last for as long as possible.

Outside, hyacinths perform best in the open and can be used en masse as part of a formal bedding scheme or at the front of an herbaceous border.  White Pearl is marvellous for brightening a dark corner and for providing contrast to evergreen box or yew. If you have grown a hyacinth indoors one year, plant the deadheaded bulb outside and with a little bit of t.l.c. it will flower again in years to come.

Features

• Colour: White
• Height: 25cm
• Spread: 10 cm
• Scent: very fragrant
• Flowering Outside: late Spring. Please note these are not treated bulbs - which we do not sell - and so will never flower as early indoors as treated bulbs do.
• Bulb Size: 14-16 cm
• Planting Depth: 10-12 cm
• Planting Months: September to December

Bits and bobs

Elbert Hubbard who died in 1915 had a wonderful trope on white hyacinths in general which just about sums it up:

"If I had but two loaves of bread I would sell one of them & buy White Hyacinths to feed my soul."

Greek legend tells us that the original Hyacinth was a beautiful prince of Macedonia, in love with and loved by Apollo. During a game of discus throwing, Hyacinth was struck by the discus that Apollo had propelled especially vigorously. It killed him and where his blood was spilt, Apollo made a hyacinth grow. Keats in his poem 'Endymion' elaborates on this by suggesting that the zephyr west wind was jealous of Hyacinth's preference for Apollo and that he deliberately sent the discus off course to kill Hyacinth. Either way, the flower represents Apollo's grief.

Hyacinth bulbs love good drainage and so if you do not have a light soil then plant each bulb at least 10 cm deep on an inch of grit in September to December outside. Hyacinths also like a good baking in the summer and a cold snap in the winter so they do best in full sunshine. In the spring give them a potash feed to help with bulb and flower formation.