Hyacinth

I always fall for the same trap, and buy hyacinth plants for the house. I walk past the counter where they are selling them and the scent draws me closer and closer and I before I know it, I have a couple in my basket ready for the checkout. I have two small bathrooms and thought they would create a wondereful perfume when I am soaking in the tub, so I put one in each.


Now the thing I hate about these plants, tulips, and paperwhites, is that they tend to follow the light source, so you have to keep turning them round to keep them upright. However, I thought that as the bathrooms were mainly dark with lights overhead when you switched them on, the hyacinths would manage to stand upright most of the time. I guess I was wrong - after only a few hours they started to keel over. I put tiny wooden stakes in the pots and tied them to it - that should do it.

Wrong! The next day both plants had completely fallen over. Where was the light they were chasing? It's as if they knew that beyond the bathroom door, and through the bedrooms into the living room, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Obviously, this needed drastic action. The tiny little wooden stakes I'd used were absolutely no use and instead of holding the plant upright, had fallen over with the plant itself.





So, I've finally got them upright and watered and back into a reasonable standing position. The only problem is that they look as if they've both survived a bad car accident, and have to be held together with bandages and splints. The amazing, intoxicating fragrance was worth all the effort, but if anyone has any tips on how to keep these plants upright in a more elegant manner, please let me know.