Common Name: Type: Family: Zone: Height: Spread: Bloom Time: Bloom Description: Sun: Water: Maintenance: Suggested Use: Flower: Tolerate: |
Spanish bluebell Bulb Asparagaceae 3 to 8 1.00 to 1.50 feet 0.75 to 1.00 feet April to May White Full sun to part shade Medium Low Naturalize Showy Heavy Shade |
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers sandy well-drained soils. Avoid unamended clay soils. Tolerates shady conditions. Perhaps best in sun-dappled part shade. Plant bulbs about 3-4” deep and 4-6” apart in the fall. Naturalizes well by both bulb offsets and self-seeding in optimum growing conditions. Plants go dormant by early summer. Plants of this species (Spanish bluebells) will hybridize with plants of Hyancinthoides non-scripta (English bluebells) if planted near each other, resulting in different forms appearing through self-seeding. Hyacinthoides hispanica, commonly called Spanish bluebell or wood hyacinth, is a bulbous perennial that is native to Spain, Portugal and northwest Africa. Each bulb produces a clump of 2-6 strap-shaped leaves from which rises a rigid flower stem typically containing up to 12-15 hanging, bell-shaped, bluish lavender flowers held in an upright raceme. Flower stems rise to as much as 18” tall. Flowers typically bloom April to early May. Genus name means resembling Hyacinth. Species is synonymous with and formerly known as Scilla campanulata, Scilla hispanica and Endymion hispanicus. ‘White City’ is a popular cultivar that features pure white flowers. It blooms in mid-spring at the time of the late tulips. Flower stems rise to 12-15″ tall. No serious insect or disease problems. Leaves can become rather unsightly before they disappear. Garden Uses Provides color and contrast to the woodland garden, border front, rock garden or wild/naturalized area. Particularly effective when naturalized in large drifts under deciduous trees or at the margins of shade/woodland gardens. May be grown in pots/containers, alone or in combination with other spring flowering bulbs. |
Information on this page is from Missouri Botanical Gardens, Dave’s Garden, All things Plants or Texas Superstar |
This page last updated or reviewed [210723]