| Where the garden meets the wild | ||
|
SCILLA BLUE SQUILL, SCILLA Hyacinthaceae (Hyacinth family) / Asparagaceae (Asparagus family) |
||
| Return to Plants Index Bulbs Index | ||
|
|
||
| If you dream of carpets
of blue in sunlit Old World meadows and dappled woods, here are the plants
to make them real. They will multiply.
And if these beautiful bulbs appeal to you, please also take a look at Bellevalia, Camassia, Fessia, Hyacinthoides, Hyacinthus and Muscari. |
||
|
|
||
|
|
Scilla armena | |
|
|
||
 Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Scilla
bifolia
Linnaeus. Alpine squill. The species is native across Europe into the Caucasus.
This clone is the best form of it, according to the Dutch plantsman
Michael Hoog. Surprisingly
large racemes of up to 17 starry, deep blue florets bloom in March.
The arching leaves emerge brown-purple, then turn green.
Our vigorous clone descends from material collected in Ukraine, in the
upper
Baidar Valley on the
Crimean peninsula, by Reinhard
Suckow
in 1983. It
was growing in Quercus
pubescens forest at 800 m (2600'). It naturalises well,
seeding around prolifically.
Award of Garden Merit (Royal
Horticultural Society) 2005. Height
10-15 cm (4-6"). Zone 6, possibly
colder. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $6.00 |
|
|
|
||
| Scilla caucasica | ||
|
|
||
| Scilla hohenackeri | ||
|
|
||
Photographs © Stan Shebs, used under GNU Free Documentation License. |
Scilla
hyacinthoides Linnaeus. Hyacinth
squill. When it blooms in February-April
this bulb's substantial heads of up to 100 starry blue flowers have
an architectural impact, ideal for spots in the sunny garden where a tiny plant
won't do. The species grows wild across a wide swathe from S
Europe to N Iraq. Our plants are seedlings of bulbs collected in
Turkey's southeastern Siirt Province. Our photographs show the species in
the University of California Botanical Garden in Berkeley. The ideal habitat
of S. hyacinthoides is spongy ground near a
snow-melt stream in full sun. Don't stop watering till the flowers are
over. Height 50-80 cm
(20-32"). Zone 6, possibly colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $10.00 |
|
|
|
||
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Scilla
ingridiae
Speta. Also known as S.
siberica 'Taurica' and S. ingridae var. taurica. This species is native to S Turkey. Multiple scapes crowded with
sky-blue florets rise in March-April.
The florets have a darker blue midrib. Height 15-20 cm (6-8").
Zone 6, possibly colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $4.50 |
|
|
|
||
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Scilla
liliohyacinthus Linnaeus. Pyrenean
squill. Loose
racemes of 10 to 20 starry blue florets, 2 cm (1") across, bloom in April-May
above broad, shiny leaves. This species is native to Central and S France
and N Spain. Our plants descend from bulbs collected
in 1978 in Spain, in the Picos de Europa, by Antoine and Michael Hoog (AMH.7812B).
They were growing in open, deciduous woods full of blueberries (Vaccinium
myrtillus) at an altitude of about 1450 m (4800'). The unusual bulb is made
of yellow scales, like a lily. It is often mistakenly called lilio-hyacinthus,
with a hyphen. Height 15-25 cm (6-10"). Zone 6,
possibly colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $11.00 |
|
|
|
||
|
|
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog
Photograph © Paige Woodward |
Scilla
litardierei Breistr.
'Orjen'. Dense cones of intensely blue flowers bloom
in May-June above almost prostrate, linear leaves. This species is native to
the region of the former
Yugoslavia. Our plants descend from bulbs collected
in rocky pastures over karst on Mount Orjen (Montenegro) by Michael Hoog
in 1971. This
selection is particularly good for naturalising because it puts
its energy into making large bulbs instead of splitting incessantly into
offsets too small to bloom. Award of Garden Merit (Royal
Horticultural Society) 2005. Height 15-25 cm (6-10"). Zone 6. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $2.50, 5/$11.00 |
|
|
||
| Scilla mauritanica | ||
|
|
||
| A note on Scilla messeniaca. This large-flowered blue squill, sometimes called Schnarfia messeniaca, is endemic to the Kalamata region of SW Greece. We have two stocks, both seed-grown, from the bulb specialist Antoine Hoog. Antoine observes that in cultivation they differ considerably in leaf, shape of bulb and flowering time, suggesting that they are distinct at perhaps the subspecies level. Both stocks are described below. | ||
|
|
||
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Scilla
messeniaca Boissier. Messenian squill, type 1. Please
see note above. This stock was collected by the English plantsman
E.A. Bowles, apparently in the Kalamata region, and it has been in
horticulture for the better part of a century. It starts flowering in April.
The leaves are dark green, 10-18 mm (under 0.5") wide and 20 cm
(8") long. The bulb is shaped like a shallot (widest below the middle
and tapering toward the base), and the fibrous roots are annual and about
1 mm thick. Our plants descend from bulbs received from F.R. Waley
of Sevenoaks, Kent, in 1977. This bulb's natural habitat is damp and shady; don't let it dry out.
Height 15-25 cm (6-10"). Zone
7, perhaps colder. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $11.00 |
|
|
|
||
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Scilla
messeniaca Boissier. Messenian squill, type 2. Please
see note above. This stock starts flowering in March. The
leaves are again about 20 cm (8") long, but they are bright green and
wider, at 14-25 mm (to 1"). The bulb is shaped like a pear (widest at
the bottom) and the roots are 2-3 mm wide and often perennial. Our plants
descend from bulbs collected in the Kardamli Gorge, at 100 m (320') on
steep, N-facing cliffs, by Antoine Hoog in 2001 (AH0168). This bulb's
natural habitat is damp and shady; don't let it dry out. Height 15-25 cm (6-10"). Zone
7, perhaps colder. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $12.50 |
|
|
|
||
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Scilla
morrisii
Meikle. Cyprus squill, Pallid squill, Morris squill. This rare species
grows wild in NW Cyprus, in
crevices and other moist sites shaded by oaks and scrub in the Troödos Mountains.
It
is Red-listed nowadays, its habitat critically endangered. Read more in this
conservation pamphlet. Our cultivated stock descends from
seeds of material collected in the Paphos district by R.D. Meikle (D.
Meikle 4015), the author of Flora of Cyprus. It blooms in May.
Height about 10 cm (4"). Zone 7, possibly colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $11.00 |
|
|
|
||
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Scilla
siberica subsp. armena
(Grossheim) Mordak. Now
considered part of a "stretch" version of S. siberica, this
flared, campanulate squill has also been called S. armena. Most
examples in cultivation are very pale blue with a darker stripe down each
perianth segment. Our stock is a deeper blue but still has the
stripe. In March each
bulb sends up 2-3 stems, each bearing 2-5
florets. Our bulbs descend from a collection made by Rolf Mertens and
Erich Pasche (MP8105) at 2000 m (6500') on the Zigana Pass in Turkey's
northeastern Gümüşane
Province. This species tolerates a wet winter and prefers a wet summer.
Don't let it dry out. Height 8-10 cm (3-4"). Zone 5, possibly
colder.
Bulb (Fall shipping only).
$12.00 |
|
|
|
||
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Scilla
siberica subsp. caucasica (Miscz.)
Mordak. Now
considered part of a "stretch" version of S. siberica, this
deep blue, flared squill has also been known as S. caucasica. It
is taller than typical S. siberica in the strict sense, and has
more flowers (up to 10 per stalk). This subspecies is native from the Transcaucasus to NW Iran. Our
plants descend from material collected in the Zangezur Range of Armenia.
Vegetative increase is slow.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $12.00 |
|
|
|
||
| Scilla siberica 'Taurica' | ||
|
|
||
Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog |
Scilla
verna Hudson. Spring squill, Sea onion. Sometimes called Tractema
verna. A sure sign of spring, these dwarf blue squills carpet
grassy shores and headlands on the Atlantic Coast of W Europe starting in March.
The bulb is just 1 cm (under 0.5") in diameter. Our plants descend
from seeds collected on the coast of Wales and bloom relatively late, in May.
They will naturalise, happily seeding around. Height 5-10 cm (2-4").
Hardy.
Bulb (Fall shipping only). $2.25 |
|
|
|
||
| This page was updated April 5, 2008. | ||
