Hyacinthoides hispanica
Wood hyacinth , aka Spanish bluebell , is a flowering repeated bulb that ’s worthy for cultivation in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 - 8 .
These versatile spring botch provide a riot of blue - lavender , pink , or blank bell - shaped flowers from April to May .
Low maintenance and robust , wood hyacinths were regarded as a staple in many old English garden , and the blooms are still loved today .
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In this guide , we ’ll spill the beans about everything you need to know about growing wood hyacinth in your garden .
Here ’s the lineup :
What You’ll Learn
Cultivation and History
Hyacinthoides hispanica , also known as Spanish bluebell , wood hyacinth , large bluebell , or squill , is aboriginal to Spain , Portugal , and northwest Africa .
The pretty gong - regulate flowers , often a deep blue - periwinkle shade , make the reasoning behind the common name “ bluebell ” obvious .
“ Hyacinth , ” translated from the genus nameHyacinthoides , is derived from the Greek hyákinthos , which was the name of a legendary youth by chance killed by the god Zephyr . A inflorescence works supposedly grew from his blood and was given his name .
Spanish bluebell ’s most uncouth colloquial name , “ wood hyacinth , ” is in all likelihood come from its sexual love of the nerveless , dappled shade that woodlands and deciduous trees provide . “ Squill ” is normally a term for plants in theAsparagaceaesubfamily , Scilloideae .
In some space the botanic name is still listed asScilla campanulata , S. hispanica , or more rarely , Endymion hispanicus .
These wood hyacinth are distinct from other bluebells , such asthe English or common Campanula rotundifolia , H. non - scripta .
H. hispanicablooms afterward , are tall , and their flower bell sprout from all sides of the prow . The flowers have blue anther and are n’t particularly fragrant , while English wood hyacinth have creamy blanched anther and are fragrant .
Although they are n’t fragrant , the flowers draw a variety of pollinator , include bees and butterfly .
These industrial plant are poisonous , thanks to the mien of cardiac glycosides . They are extremely toxic if run through .
Thanks to efficient visiting pollinators , English and Spanish tulip gentian will interbreed if planted near each other . The issue : a industrial plant calledH.xmassartiana .
You never recognise what you ’ll get with this loan-blend . It ’s varying in smell , has a combination of trait from both parent , and is usual in the UK . dead on target Spanish Campanula rotundifolia are uncommon , and the hybrid is often misidentified as Spanish bluebell .
woodwind instrument hyacinth will spread readily and are consideredinvasive in the Pacific Northwest . conceive carefully before planting and see local regulation first in surface area where they are banned or may become a job .
Caution for Our UK Readers :
Due to the hybridization and personnel casualty of aboriginal English bluebells , Spanish bluebell are lean as a Schedule 9 metal money under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which make it an offence to institute them or countenance them to spread into the wild .
While it is technically not an offence to have them on your Edwin Herbert Land or garden , they should be off as soon as potential , and the grunge should be address as contaminate and disposed of at a right landfill .
It ’s also illegal to move out native English bluebells , so make certain you could correctly name the plant life before set about a removal . It may be a in effect nonesuch to get hold of the local woods warden or your local council before ego - remedy .
Propagation
Wood hyacinthcan be propagated by ejaculate or from bulb offsets .
From Seed
Once advanced , the seeds are transported to dissimilar field of the garden by ant , so sometimes flowers will appear in strange places .
you could compile the seeds from your own flower ifH. non - scriptais not planted nearby , or if you do n’t mind propagate a hybrid .
Alternatively , buy open - pollinated seeds to guarantee you are implant pureH. hispanica .
Sow the seeds as soon as you gather them in the summer . Place individually in modest three- or four - inch pots fill with awell - draining potting soil , cover with a thin layer of compost or soil , and keep the intermediate moist .
The seed do n’t appreciate artificial heat , and favor a nerveless , shaded area outdoors to germinate .
Be patient . These source are in no hurry , and most will not germinate until the next spring . To protect the flowerpot during the winter , place in a stale frame , against a wall or tree .
Once develop , mature single seedlings in their mickle until their root are instal and each industrial plant is strong enough to be transplanted into a bigger pot or into the primer .
plant grown from ejaculate may take several years to flower as they put all their get-up-and-go into develop a potent bulb .
From Bulb Offsets
Dividing medulla offset is a good way of life to insure straight Spanish bluebells – as they are clon of the parent – and they will flower quicker than those grow from seed .
Once established , these plants quickly build up aboveground cluster which betoken the presence of healthy light bulb offshoot below ground .
Remove medulla oblongata offset in mid to late summertime as soon as the leaves have die . Carefully dig up the bulb and off offsets with your hands .
translate to spread bulbs at home in our guide .
Replant right away to keep off allow the roots to dry out out . devise the soil by loose and amending with compost .
Plant the offsets root side down , three to four inch deep , and four to six inches asunder . Water in well .
Bulbs and Transplants
purchase bulbs and plants can beplanted in the garden in the fall .
As with bulb beginning , set up the soil by loosen and amend it with compost .
set bulbs as you would offset , as described above .
Living plants can be transplanted in a hole dig out to the same deepness as the container . Backfill with territory , and body of water in well .
How to Grow
Wood hyacinth like cool areas and dappled shade . Sunnier spots can equal more heyday , but the color will be faded . Plants go dormant in former summertime .
These plants prefer organically rich , well drain , moist grunge . They will allow a all-inclusive multifariousness of soil types except for cadaver , preferring flaxen and sandy - loam soils .
Amend Lucius DuBignon Clay filth with compost and gritstone such as builder ’s sand to improve drain and loosen the texture before planting .
They tolerate a wide pH chain of mountains as well , from 5.5 to 8.0 , but do good in slightly acidulent to neutral dirt .
Keep these plant well watered to digest their rapid growth rate , but do not oversaturate the soil . piddle when the soil is dry to a depth of two inch .
you may run them as shortly as the foliage push through the soil in the leap , using a lowly N fertilizer such as Rose and Bloom Granular Plant Food , 4 - 6 - 4 ( NPK),available at Burpee .
Rose and Bloom Granular Plant Food
Grow in containers as you would in the footing , in pots with adequate drainage holes , filled with well - draining potting soil . Take care tocheck grime moisturemore often as containers tend to dry out more rapidly than garden soil .
What about grow Grant Wood hyacinths indoors ? Why not ! you could alsoforce these bulb to blossom for you during the winter .
set out more or less 12 weeks before you want them to flower . Add two inches of clean pebbles or field glass beading to a wide - mouthed vase . Situate three to five light bulb ( pointy side up ) into the pebble , adding a handful more to keep them unsloped .
tot water up to just below the bottom of the medulla , reach sure the water is n’t tint them . Store in a dark place at 45 to 55 ° farad and leave them there for eight weeks . Check the piddle level often and top up when necessary .
After eight week , move the vase to a warmer , well - lit room but keep them out of direct sun for a week . Then move them to a position with direct sunshine and they should start blooming indoors after about two more weeks .
Growing Tips
Pruning and Maintenance
Remove spent flowers to avoid ego seeding of possible undesirable loan-blend .
After efflorescence , the foliage will slow fade . Although the fading foliage looks untempting , do not remove it . The leafage are needed to reap the Dominicus ’s energy for the come twelvemonth ’s bloom .
flora withfernsorhostasto dissemble the dying leafage .
Sir Henry Joseph Wood hyacinth will spread out via bulb offsets and seed . To keep them from becoming a nuisance , overtaking susceptible plant , or sprouting in undesirable area of the garden , there are a few thing you’re able to do .
In gain todeadheading to prevent self - seeding , be certain to dig up offsets that have develop and multiply while plants are still leafed out – these can be very difficult to locate while hibernating .
Do not have unwanted industrial plant parts onto the compost wad where they can acquire . Instead , dispose of them in the trash .
constitute in container or else of in the ground can also assist to prevent unwanted spread .
Cultivars to Select
The most popular colour is of course the classic blue , but wood jacinth come in pinkish and white interpretation as well .
Blue Wood Hyacinth Bulbs available from Eden Brothers
If you simply ca n’t choose , try on this mixing of pinkish , aristocratical , and white flowers .
Grant Wood Hyacinth Mix Bulbs uncommitted from Eden Brothers
Keep an oculus out for these cultivar , which may be uncommitted at your local nursery or garden center or at the suggest links :
Dainty Maid Pink
‘ Dainty Maid Pink ’ is truly a stunner , with its scant - pinkish blossom Vanessa Stephen contrasted against bright green stems and foliage .
This variety works not bad to lighten up umbrageous sphere with a flush of bound gloss , but it also grows well in full sun .
Excelsior
‘ Excelsior ’ is a very popular cultivar . It is taller than most and features glossy green leaf and the bass blue - reddish blue flower bells that gave bluebells their name .
It also thrives in the sunshine as well as the shadiness .
White City
With bright livid flowers , this novel stunner adds consummate contrast to a woodland garden .
Managing Pests and Disease
You ’re in fortune . Not only are wood hyacinths resistant todeer , rabbits , and rodents , they are generally unaffected by serious insect pesterer and disease as well , turn over the conditions they prefer .
Slugs and snails can become an issuance , particularly during wet spring weather . They ’re plant life manducate machines , and love nosh on parting , flowers , and any other piano plant parts .
scan all abouthow to protect your garden from slugs and snail .
Be sure to choose a well - draining area of the garden to prevent likely problems with rot , or plant in container with muckle of drain holes , in a poriferous culture medium . Avoid oversaturating the soil .
Planting and forgetting themispossible with these springtime lightbulb ! That is , until these smasher start flower …
Best Uses
Imagine drifts of blue under a canopy of new - pass on deciduous tree , bristle into efflorescence in the dappled sunlight .
Plant your Sir Henry Wood hyacinths in woodland gardens , in border , and in rock gardens . conflate them with other colorful bulb plantingssuch as tulipsanddaffodilsto herald spring .
These plants do well in dotty and naturalised planting , in container on their own , or with other bounce bulbs and flower .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
A Woodland Gem
Anne Bronte ’s poem , The Bluebell , captures that old - human race bewitch the purple - blue Alexander Graham Bell - shaped flowers of the bluebell .
“ O , that solitary prime recalled to me ,
My glad childhood ’s hours
When bluebells seemed like fairy gift
A prize among the flowers … ”
Showy , robust , and most commonly seen in that iconic optic - pleasing shade of purplish - blue , Spanish bluebell take hold their own in the springtime landscape .
They ’re tall enough to summate some height and layers to bulb planting , but still shortsighted enough to be the perfect bounce plantation owner bulb .
And for more info aboutgrowing flowering bulbsin your garden , have a read of these articles next :
© expect the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . earlier published on April 16th , 2021 . Last updated April 28th , 2023 . Product photograph via Burpee and Home Depot . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock . With extra writing and editing by Allison Sidhu and Clare Groom .
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Sylvia Dekker
