Hyacinth's i ordered look different from pictures...

Hi

I ordered some 'Gypsy Queen' (picture below) Hyacinth's from a reputable online bulbs dealer (i won't say who..yet!) that have a pastel orange/pink shade to them and look bushy. They were expensive too.

I planted them and they have come out looking very different! I've attached some images. They have come up with stubbly looking singular stalks with sparse flowering. I've planted normal blue hyacinth's before and they grew really tall and bushy. I planted them spaced out and at the correct depth, so, no idea what's happening. Still does not explain the pink colour. I'm thinking they sent me the wrong bulbs? Disappointing :( I'm not sure if they would give me a refund now as it was in October that i ordered them.

Gypsy Queen i ordered and some more pics of the net from other suppliers, what they look like on pictures:





These are the ones i planted, that were meant to resemble the ones above in some form or another..

 

@Shaneoak
I would send photos of what you have got with a polite request to the supplier for replacement/refund. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
I planted some like Gypsy Queen a few years ago and the first year they were fine, subsequent years the colour was good but the flowers sparser. I put it down to the less than ideal conditions. I know many people replace hyacinth bulbs every year.

 

I have bought hyacinth bulbs in the past but now I mostly buy those ones you see grown in small pots. You go for the ones with a big fat flower bud and hardly any leaf.
Over the years I've planted these out and they do petty well ,often the weather can knock them down but I usually get a reasonable show.
I know people like to buy online these days but there is an awful lot of rubbish out there.

 

Thanks for the advice people.

I contacted the seller and they said that that's what hyacinth's look like in bloom!
I will take a picture of the others that have bloomed today and look similar to those stunted pink ones, no Gypsy Queen in sight,and request a refund . A pretty disappointing experience as they are an established company by all accounts. I've had this happen with Peter Nyseen once before, where i've ordered Tulips and they sent moldy bulbs among healthy ones and the wrong colour crocus.

I'll let you know if they refund me. Thanks for the info people, much appreciated.

 

Hi Shaneoak. Interesting thread. May I first agree with Nige's comment. Go ahead and contact your supplier. It is a fair bet that your order will be replaced.
In brief. For many years some bulbs, Hyacinths being one, were quite expensive to buy. Now as a result of newly discovered methods, many bulbs can now be reproduced at high speed. As with so many things in todays world, progress often comes at a price. In the natural world, the grand design has allowed for natural variations. In the shall we call it, the scientific world, so much has speeded up. The DNA can be investigated and sometimes changed. This to me appears to be a possible reason for happenings such as yours.

May I continue, without being accused of being patronizing. The hyacinth bulb usually produces a single flower. It's predestined colour can be partly confirmed by the loose out skin colour. The actual flower can be seen in the embryo state by slicing the bulb in half, top to base. Here you will see a minature of the flower. Sad to say, the bulb is now wasted. I do apologise, here I go again writing a manuscript.

Miight I suggest to all gardeners when confronted with this kind of situation. Make a note of the bulb. When in it's dormant state, scrape out the base plate. Plant it and soon it will produce many new bulblets. Be patient. Grow these on and keep a record. You may find that you have a brand new variety. Please enjoy your gardening.

 

@Mike Allen , I am surprised at you ! ! !

By saying that you might get a " brand new variety " by base scraping a Hyacinth bulb. Surely you know that any new bulbs would be an exact replica of the bulb you propogated from. To get a new variety you would have to cross polinate the open flowers and grow the seedlings on for a few years.

Tut Tut Tut

Ps... @Shaneoak , the pic below is my Gypsy Queen.

 

My apologies. What I was implying was. That if for whatever reason the bulb that had produced this oddity had changed, then by base scraping, the new bulblets would as you say be identical. This would perhaps be the start of a new form.

 

All I would like to add is it's not that unusual for the resulting flowers to be a disappointment.

Bulbs are often not what they are sold as, first year they should be, atleast, but I dont trust most sellers.

 

Thank you for the information everyone

I managed to get a refund, but i will not be ordering bulbs from them again.

 

ah okay ,still better than mine.