Bulbs

Scilla
Scilla
bluebell, squill

- Height 4-18 in (10-45 cm)
- Planting distance 3-4 in (7.5-10 cm)
- Flowers early spring to early summer
- Moist but well-drained soil
- Sun or partial shade
- Bulbs available late summer to late fall
- Hardy zones 4-8

This genus includes the bluebells that form such magnificent blue carpets in woodlands from mid- spring to early summer. In the garden these colonize rapidly, so they are ideal for naturalizing beneath shrubs, in a wooded corner, or in grass that can be left uncut until after the leaves have died down in summer. The other common species in this group (now reclassified into two genera, Scilla and Hyacinthoides) are smaller with similarly colored blue flowers. They are ideal for rock gardens and the fronts of borders. All scillas require moist but well-drained soil and therefore a site that is not too dry, in sun or partial shade.

Popular species and cultivars
Scilla campanulata (now Hyacinthoides hispanica), the Spanish bluebell, is a robust plant with large flowers and wide glossy green leaves. It stands 1-11/2 ft (30-45 cm) high. Blue, pink, and white forms have been developed from this species, and it is hardy to zone 5. Scilla mischtschenkoana has small, drooping cup-shaped flowers in pale blue or sometimes white. It bears these on 5 in (13 cm) stems in early spring. It is hardy to zone 5. Scilla nutans (now Hyacinthoides non-scripta), the English bluebell, is hardy to zone 6. It is distinguished from the Spanish bluebell by its more delicate form, narrower leaves, and the curved tips of its flowering stems. It stands 10-12 in (25-30 cm) high. Scilla siberica appears in early spring, bearing nodding bell-shaped blooms of intense blue just 6 in (15 cm) above the ground. Each bulb produces several stems, so only a few bulbs are needed to make quite an impact in a rock garden or at the base of a shrub. A white form, 'Alba,' and an early flowering sky-blue form, 'Spring Beauty,' are available. The hardiest species of scilla, S. siberica, overwinters reliably to zone 4.

Bulbs