Spring Hyacinth Fragrance: Where do You Stand?

Do you like the fragrance of hyacinths? Most people do, but many do not.

The flowers of the hyacinth bulb have one of the most controversial odors. I like it, perhaps love it. . Some people detect the odor of poo, something chemists know as “indole,” whether that is there or not. Indole is a chemical naturally in many flowers and added to perfume. In trace amounts, it is floral and lovely. In heavier concentrations, it smells a bit like mothballs, or is even fecal and in fact, it’s in excrement. Weird, huh?

That’s why some people put hyacinth smell in the same category as paperwhite narcissus, which definitely do contain indole.

I find hyacinth flowers to smell fresh, clear and spring-like — until I try to describe it. Then it becomes awkward to communicate because it actually is pretty complex. I detect lilac, old rose, daffodil, wine, chocolate, vanilla, mushroom, honey, wood, and a faint suggestion of allspice.

I’ve heard grass, bitterness, flowery, petitgrain (citrus leaves and twigs) and farnesence (celery, hay, fruity, lavender). There are chemicals like benzyl acetate, a component of jasmine, phenylethyl alcohol with its rose smell and benzyl benzoate, which is balmy, and the aromatic hydrocarbon trimetoxybenzene with a perplexing medicinal, animalic odor.

Hyacinths are among the longest-lived and reliably re-blooming plants. After decades, the fleshy, succulent flower stems for me, at least, are thinner, shorter and produce fewer flowers, but then, the stalks don’t flop over and the plants look more natural. The flowers still smell as sweet.

The controversial aspect is that many people can’t stand the odor and say it is analogous to paperwhites. I don’t get that, exactly. Perhaps they smell to me as paperwhites should. But, is it indole, again? I have noticed that from a distance, the smell is not quite so sweet and perfume-like. I could imagine a faint fecal odor.

Hyacinth bulbs factored in the tulip craze that caused the crash of the Dutch stock market in the 1700’s. Today, many colors are available including: ‘Blue Jacket’ (above), dark purple with white edge; ‘Blue Tango’ double-flowered close to light blue; ‘Carnegie’, white; ‘Chicago’, blue; ‘China Pink’; ‘Dark Dimension’, deep violet (right); ‘Delft Blue’; ‘Fairy White’, near double; ‘Gypsy Queen’, orange; ‘Jan Bois’, hot pink; ‘Woodstock’, red; ‘Yellow Queen’ and multi-flowered white, blue, pink varieties.

Hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis) can be made to bloom indoors in winter. You can buy pre-chilled bulbs that will begin to root as soon as they are given moisture, and bloom in four to five weeks. Or, you can provide the cold yourself. Select either specially designed containers called forcing glasses, vases with pebbles or marbles or pot them up in a growing medium. Anything will work as long as the bulbs can get moisture and hold themselves up when the heavy flower stem develops.

Put the bulbs in a cool (40 F to 50 degrees F), dark place until roots develop and leaves begin to sprout. Below 40 F, the bulbs will remain dormant. Above 55 degrees F, they could rot. Barely heated basements, garages and root cellars will work, but I have used the refrigerator. Check the bulbs to be sure that the water level is touching the base, and refresh it every week.

When leaves are developing and maybe a bit of the flower is showing, move the bulbs to a sunny window in a cool room – around 65 degrees F. From dormant bulb to flowering can take eight to twelve weeks.

Unlike many forced bulbs that are worn out completely when forced, hyacinths could bloom again if planted in the garden. As the flowers fade, cut the spike off and keep the leaves growing indoors in as much sun as possible. As the leaves begin to turn yellow, withhold water and let the potting medium dry completely. Plant the bulbs outside in well-drained, rich soil, six to eight inches deep in cold, Zone 4, climates, four to six inches deep in warmer gardens.

Feed the bulbs in early spring as the leaves are emerging or up until flowers are fading. Use a balances organic fertilizer, liquid or slow-release, following label directions.

Hyacinths, English bluebells and Spanish squill have through the years shared Latin names. They were once considered lily cousins, but now all three are part of the asparagus family: Asparagaceae.

English bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta is a bulb native to open woodlands in Western Europe, especially England. Strappy leaves are produced in early spring followed by flower stalks with honey-scented blue blossoms on one side of 12 to 15” stems. In England, these plants naturalize in open woodlands to fill the area with blue. In my garden, in sandy soil and a bit of shade, it took over a decade to get these plants going.

Scentless Spanish bluebells, known by many names such as Hyacinthoides hispanica, Scilla campanulata, Scilla hispanica or Endymion hispanicus, are larger plants that come in a few colors. These could do a little too well in the garden, spreading over time. They can also hybridize with English bluebell.

The bottom line is that you are simulating the homeland of the species. In this case, the Eastern Mediterranean region: Turkey, Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. They were obviously known to the Ancient Greeks.

There are so many myths and legends associated with flowers and the sources of their names. Some of these may or may not have some connection to history, others do not. For example, the myth of Narcissus falling in love with his own image may not be the actual source of the flower name. It could be the narcotic effect of the toxins in the flower – they share a common root, narcotic/narcissus. However, the legend of Hyacinth seems to persist.

Hyacinthus was the beautiful young lover of the god Apollo. He was accidentally killed while the god was teaching him to throw the discus. Even with Apollo’s medicinal skills, he could not save the boy who died in his arms. An added wrinkle is the possibility that Zephyrus, the god of the west wind, jealous of the relationship, blew a gust that caused the discuss to veer off course and strike the youth.

Out of his dripping blood grew a flower — hyacinthos. But, the plant may not have been what we know by that name, today, but a fritillary. The petals of the checkered lily were said to be marked with AI, AI, which means “alas”.