Types and varieties of hyacinth: mouse, water hyacinth, Blue (blue), Pink Pearl and other hyacinths

Previously, up to 30 species were included in the genus of hyacinths, however, after the reorganization of botanical classifications, most of them moved to another genus.

Currently, only three remain:

Oriental hyacinth (H. orientalis) , the most common species from which all currently existing ornamental varieties are created. The wild form grows in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, has a thin peduncle with rarely spaced blue, pink, yellowish-white flowers, and has a strong pleasant smell.

Litvinov hyacinth (H. litwinowii) , up to 25 cm high, with bluish, splayed leaves that are wider than those of the eastern hyacinth, and pale blue flowers, strongly cut, with protruding stamens. It grows in the mountainous regions of Turkmenistan and Iran.

Transcaspian hyacinth (H. transcaspicus) , with one or two stems up to 20 cm high, fleshy bare leaves, the same along the entire length, and light blue flowers, 4-10 pcs. in a racemose inflorescence. It grows in the Kopetdag mountains in Turkmenistan.

Some sources also place the last two types of hyacinth in another genus, hyacinthella.

A number of popular garden plants called hyacinths do not belong to this genus:

Mouse hyacinth (Muskari) , a genus of small bulbous plants of the hyacinth subfamily, with small blue, purple, rarely white, barrel-shaped fragrant flowers, collected in a dense multi-flowered brush. The genus includes more than 30 species, many of which are widely grown in flower beds. They reproduce by the autumn division of bulb nests, which are formed during the summer in large numbers (up to 15-20 babies) around the mother bulb.

Water hyacinths: genus Eichornia

Another well-known hyacinth, water, belongs to the Pontederiaceae family, the genus Eichornia.

Water hyacinth, or eichornia (eichornia) , comes from the tropical regions of America and is a plant with leaves collected in a rosette, kept on the surface of the water due to a porous tissue located in a swelling at the base of the leaves. Long, up to half a meter, the roots are completely in the water. The flower, pink, blue or purple, is similar in shape to a hyacinth, for which it got its name.

Water hyacinths in their homeland, in the tropics, grow rapidly, cover the surface of the reservoir with a dense layer, disrupting their oxygen regime and hindering the movement of ships. In the middle lane, they are far from being so aggressive; they can be bred in ornamental ponds, provided that they winter in a warm room. A common aquarium plant. It has the useful property of purifying water by absorbing insecticides, phosphates, phenols, and other harmful substances.

Hyacinth orientalis: varieties and classification of varieties

There are several varieties of oriental hyacinth:

Oriental hyacinth (H. orientalis) or Dutch hyacinth is the most common, one peduncle 15 to 23 cm high grows from each bulb, on which up to 30-35 flowers bloom on thick pedicels. Blooms on average 2-3 weeks.

Oriental whitish hyacinth (H. orientalis var. albulus) , or Franco-Roman, differs from the Dutch one in shorter (up to 15 cm) and weaker peduncles, white inflorescences and the ability of bulbs to produce 2-3 fragrant flowers.

Hyacinth eastern provence (H. orientalis var. provansalis) , differs from the previous subspecies in pink color of flowers.

From the eastern hyacinth and its varieties, all currently existing varieties have been obtained by intraspecific crossing and selection of evading forms. Over several centuries of hard selection work, more than 400 of them have been created. Currently, the International Handbook for the Registration of Hyacinth Varieties includes 170 names, of which about 60 are industrially reproduced. The age of many varieties exceeds 80 years, but they are still considered promising and continue to be included in the modern assortment.

Hyacinths do not have a clear division into groups, like tulips or daffodils. Usually they are classified according to the shape of the flower, as simple (H. single), terry (H. double), many-flowered (H. multiflora); according to the timing of flowering as late, medium and early; by color into 6 groups: white, pink, red, blue, lilac and purple, yellow and orange. There are also varieties of hyacinths recommended for forcing or growing in the garden.

The division by flowering time is rather arbitrary, usually blue hyacinths bloom first, followed by lilac, red, pink, white, and, finally, yellow and orange are the last. Terry varieties bloom later than the rest. At the same time, the earliest varieties of hyacinths bloom only 10 days earlier than the latest ones.

The most commonly used division of varieties by color.

Common varieties of hyacinths

The most popular varieties of simple hyacinths are listed below, divided into flower color groups.

White hyacinths:

Arentina, Arendsen (Arentine Arendsen) , medium, 18 – 28 cm high, with a cylindrical inflorescence containing up to 35 rather large, up to 4 cm, flowers with wide, bent to the sides, perianth lobes.

L’ Innosance (L’Innocence) , an early variety, with a peduncle from 18 to 26 cm tall, flowers up to 4 cm in diameter, wide open perianths. An old Dutch variety, created in 1863, is still one of the most popular among white hyacinths.

Hyacinth Carnegie – white hybrid

Carnegie, or Carnegie (Carnegie) , medium, up to 22 cm high, with a cylindrical inflorescence, flowers up to 4 cm in diameter, with wide perianth lobes. Hyacinth Carnegie was bred in Holland at the end of the 19th century.

Edelweiss (Edelweiss) , with peduncles 20-25 cm long, wide inflorescence with 13-20 flowers of medium (about 3.5 cm) sizes, blooms in mid-April.

Pink hyacinths: a list of varieties

Anna Marie (Ann Marie) , late, up to 25 cm in height, light pink flowers with a yellowish-pink perianth tube, inflorescence loose, cylindrical.

Pink Pearl (Pink Perl) , early, with a cone-shaped inflorescence, bright pink flowers with a dark stripe on narrow perianth lobes. A characteristic feature of Pink Pearl hyacinth is long, up to 7 cm, bracts that look like leaves.

Hyacinth Fondant – unpretentious variety

Fondant (Fondant) , with a mother-of-pearl inflorescence up to 20 cm long and large, about 4.5 cm, flowers. Hyacinth Fondant is a highly productive industrial variety, resistant to adverse conditions.

Gertrude (Gertrude) , dark pink, with a dense floral brush, bearing 24 flowers in the middle lane and up to 75 in southern climates. Peduncles up to 24 cm high, brushes up to 12 cm. It blooms at the end of April.

Lady Derby (Lady Derby) , medium in terms of flowering, in a cylindrical brush up to 37 flowers. Perianths along the edge are white with a pink tinge, in the expanded part – with raspberry-pink stripes on the central veins. Bred in Holland in 1875.

Marconi (Marconi) , pink with a slight purple hue, with inflorescences 15 – 20 cm long, medium density. Blooms in early May.

China Pink – pink hyacinths

Pink hyacinth in the photo.

Of the pink varieties, China Pink hyacinths are also common, salmon-apricot color with a strong aroma, bright pink Rosalia (Rosalia), Delight (Delight) with pink large (4.5 cm) flowers.

Blue hyacinths: Blue and other early varieties

Delft Blue (Delft Blue) , with a dense wide inflorescence up to 15 cm long, blue large (up to 4 cm) flowers. Delft Blue – hyacinth, considered one of the best of its group for distillation. Blooms in soil for 20-25 days.

King of the Blues (King of the Blues) , late, blue-violet flowers with a white throat, perianth segments narrow and long, strongly recurved. Origin – Holland, 1865

Hyacinth Maria

Marie, Marie (Marie) , early. The height of the peduncles is 18-25 cm, the flowers are dark blue with a white throat, collected in a compact cylindrical inflorescence. Hyacinth Maria is one of the most common in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Bred in Holland in 1860.

Miosotis (Miosotis) , an early light blue variety with long narrow perianth lobes, twisted back, darker at the ends.

Lilac and purple hyacinths

Amethyst , with compact wide-cylindrical inflorescences of a delicate lilac-crimson hue. The variety is healthy and unpretentious, flower stalks 20-25 cm high. The only drawback is a short, only about a week, flowering.

Bismarck (Bismark) , up to 30 cm high, early, with large, up to 4.5 cm, pale purple flowers with a clear longitudinal purple stripe on the perianth lobes. The variety is not very suitable for cutting due to short peduncles, it is good for forcing and growing in the garden. Created in Germany in 1875.

Lord Balfour (Lord Balfour) , early, with loose inflorescences of a cylindrical shape of lilac color with a longitudinal strip of a darker shade. Perianth with long lobes pointed at the ends, often strongly bent upwards, flower diameter about 4 mm. A variety of Dutch selection, bred in 1883.

Menelik (Menelike) , with compact inflorescences of black-purple, along the edge of lighter flowers, the diameter of which is up to 3.5 cm. Flowering is long, up to 20 days, at the end of April.

red hyacinths

Jan Bos , early, excellent variety for early forcing. Inflorescences are cylindrical, dense, with bright magenta-red medium-sized (up to 3 cm) flowers, lighter at the edges, with a white throat.

Hyacinth Woodstock from modern selection

Woodstock (Woodstock) , with a dense high (10-15 cm) inflorescence, large purple-crimson flowers, and crimson leaf tips. It has a pleasant delicate aroma. Hyacinth Woodstock – one of the best varieties of modern breeding, optimal for forcing at home

La Victoire (La Victoire) , medium, 18-20 cm in height, with a compact red-crimson inflorescence, in a brush there can be up to 60 flowers with a diameter of about 3 cm.

General Pellisier , carmine red, with flowers 3 cm in diameter, 2.2 cm high, a variety for early forcing.

Yellow and orange hyacinths

City of Haarlem (City of Haarlem) , one of the most common varieties in our country with light yellow, large (up to 4 cm) flowers. Medium, height of peduncles – up to 30 cm.

Orange Boven (Orange Boven) , salmon-apricot, with a yellow throat and dark pink ends of the perianth segments. Height 18-20 cm, flowers on long stalks, often drooping.

Yellow Hammer , with large bright yellow flowers and a faint aroma. Late.

Are there black hyacinths?

Separately, we note so far the only one of its kind variety of Black Hyacinth Midnight Mystique . Its selection took more than 16 years, the first sample was presented at the Chelsea 2005 exhibition by the famous company Thompson & Morgan.

Popular late and early varieties of terry hyacinths:

Grootvorst , light lilac, medium, very fragrant. Not suitable for distillation, it reproduces well vegetatively.

Madame Sophie (Madame Sophie) , with a white narrow-cylindrical inflorescence of large, up to 4.5 cm, flowers. Late, originated as a mutation of the variety L’Innosance. Height – up to 23 cm.

Prince Arthur (Prince Artur) , with powerful peduncles up to 30 cm high, and dark blue flowers up to 3.5 cm in diameter.

Sunflower (Sunflower) , late variety, flowers densely creamy with a pink tint, inflorescence narrow and dense, up to 10 cm in length. Peduncle 23-27 cm tall.

Chestnut Flower (Chestnut Flower) , medium, flowers are large (about 5 cm), porcelain, light pink. Recommend for open ground. Created in 1880 in Holland.