Opinions for Blue Flowering Spring Bulbs

I have been trying to narrow down what I would like to plant this fall ... And getting a little overwhelmed with searching every thing 5 times and still not knowing which to get. Can I ask opinions, my gardening friends? You all have such nice gardens.... I need help narrowing down some Spring bulb choices. I am stuck deciding between the following choices:
1. English Bluebells / Hyacinthoides non-scripta - Fragrant - yes? Time frame of bloom?
2. Glory of Snow / Chionodoxa forbessi - Fragrant? Time frame of bloom?
3. Sky Blue Lilies / Ixiolirion pallasii - Same questions
4. Siberian Squill / Scilla Siberica - Same questions
5. Wood Hyacinth Mix / Scilla hyacinthoides hispanica - Same questions
Does any one think they are invasive or hard to get rid of if I decide I don't like them?
If any one has more than one of these can you tell me if they bloom at the same time or one after the other. My goal is to have an on going show of blue from as early as possible to sometime in early summer.

Thanks for any help. : )

Sorry Meredith I don't have any knowledge on any of these but am going to watch this thread with interest.

Thanks for the response. Hopefully someone knows something about some of these. We can wait and hope together. : )

Hey, meredith. Great topic!
Personally, I love siberian squill - very blue. I had a friend back in Montana who had them naturalized in the lawn and it was a sea of blue. I have spanish bluebells, and they bloom briefly, and then spread like crazy. They're cheaper than the English bluebells, but the English ones smell better, and are less invasive. I'm going to try to switch over. I also have some chionodoxa and think they're visually stunning. pretty pale blue/white. They seem to be naturalizing well, too, except where the dogs dig them up.!

Thanks so much Colchie! I will definitely try the English bluebells as opposed to the spanish then. I'm glad you told me that because I was leaning the opposite way beforehand. I now have a good feeling about the other two as well. : )

I love Glory of the Snow - early, not fragrant. I would add iris reticulata to that list.

That is a great idea too. Thanks Victor. : ) I tried Iris reticulata and it only flowered the first year. I don't know if i cut the foliage by accident last year or what. This year and last it's only put up foliage. Maybe a different type would be better.

meredith where will you be getting the english bluebells from?

last year Iris reticulata bloomed without problems in their first spring and as victor mentioned there is no fragrance.

Which IR do you have, Bill? I want to get some.

Eng. bluebells bloom later than the others on your list. 'Valerie Ennis' grape hyacyinths (sp?) are a pastel blue. How about Virginia bluebells?

'Harmony' seems to be the most lasting iris reticulata--several catalogs have it & it is blue. tough getting down to sniff them so lack of fragrance doesn't matter.

Thanks Lucy!

I have some Virginia Bluebells and they are wonderful but I'm looking for something that will fill in fairly quickly for less $ the Virginia Bluebells are pretty slow for me and I haven't had any volunteers. I have less than ideal conditions for them so they are more like specimen plants for me. Aso I guess I'm trying to get the earliest bloomers. I don't have a ton of color in early to late April so I guess that's the time frame I am most interested in.
The Iris reticulata i tried was labeled as Harmony.. but I got them at HD so who knows what they really were. If they have to be planted annually like tulips I'd rather not bother with them. I like things I plant once and they look more beautiful each year all on their own. : )
I am still trying to decide twhere to get them from wha - possibly Van Bourg or Scheepers.
I also don't have a enough filler plants for Early Summer.

This message was edited Aug 30, 2009 11:36 AM

Hi, M., I have tried to grow all of those on your list and still have the spanish bluebells as survivor (and noted in my May garden journal that I wanted to order more for next year so I must like them!). English bluebells are more tender than the spanish version and mine disappeared. http://www.vanengelen.com/catview.cgi?_fn=Product&_category=Scilla

I also have blue camassia as a survivor which I like a lot. Camassia was a fairly late bloomer in May/June. http://www.vanengelen.com/catview.cgi?_fn=Product&_category=Best:Camassia

II didn't find any of the ones you mentioned invasive in our yard, although we have them planted in a 'woodland garden' situation with lots of critters, part sun/part shade, and no extra watering. Both camassia and spanish bluebells seemed to have evaded the deer and rabbits, etc.

And some of the bulbs I tried were so tiny they were hardly visible from the kitchen window view spot, so keep that in mind.

I also wanted to plant polemonium (not a bulb but a blue flowered perennial grown from seed) which I saw blooming under a deciduous tree last spring with daffodils. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/392/ . I also like vinca minor for blue flowers with Thalia daffodil.

Sorry I can't pinpoint the bloom times on the spanish bluebells, but I think they were blooming in May.

Oh, and I wanted to add that Muscari "Christmas Pearl" blooms earlier than the other muscari so I like that one to pair with daffs.

And here is probably more information than anyone needs but it's a link to the Royal Hort. Society trials on 'Little Blue Bulbs': http://www.rhs.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8FC5E3C3-53A6-4EF2-93B1-FC1C65ED169D/0/hyacinthaceae05.pdf

Will want to hear others' comments! t.




This message was edited Aug 30, 2009 12:26 PM

victor i got them at hd too last year

I have these, they bloom early and I love them.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/237881/

Primrose is late May/June

Vincabloom May into June for me here in Maine, then reblooms in late Aug./Early Sept.

reticulata 'Harmony' is available through Sheepers. they do need a total order of $35 is the order is to be filled. That's why I can't replace Katharine Hodgkins as I don't want too many tulips so can't order that much. 'Harmony' has stuck around for several yrs without being replaced. Some tulips need annual planting; Gander's Fantasy' for one, but the species tulips seem to return every yr.

Brunnera 'Jack Frost'

Oh, love the brunnera, too. Mine lasted about 1 week before the rabbits got it. Made me cry.

Pixie, do your squill get very tall...? Maybe 6 inches is all mine were...

And the 'harmony' iris are so so very cute in spring, but mine don't survive either. I notice bluestone is selling 20 bulbs for $6.95 which is pretty good price although I haven't purchased bulbs from them before.

Also, one other idea for a 'filler plant' for early summer is Orlaya (although it's white (not blue) and an annual reseeder here). Don't see it often in the States but it's popular in Europe. http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=1261&account=none It is one of the first June bloomers for me and goes well with iris. I got my seeds from Value Seeds and it was a cinch to sow 'n grow.

Nope, only about 6-8 inches, I have them planted with the dark blue muscari. I also Have the Glory of the Snow too, as Victor mentioned.

Tab thanks so much for sharing all your experience with these! So now I am undecided between Spanish or English Bluebells, guess I'll just have to try a little of all of them almost like a test garden. : )
Pixie love all the ones you mentioned as well. A friend of mine keeps trying to give me Vinca but I always picture all my gardens with Vinca and nothing else. It seems like it wouldn't play well with others, am I totally wrong about that? The Brunnera is lovely, I need to try that one definitely. : )
I didn't want some nice dafs to sell out so I hurried up and placed an order with dutchbulbs.com. The only ones I ordered of the plants I mentioned above were the Sky Blue Lilies. I decided I'd get the others from John Scheepers because they have a broader selection and they have a bunch of other stuff I want, but I didn't see those Sky Blue Lilies in their catalog. After I placed the order I found them in Van Engelen catalog.

I have a spot with vinca... I pull a few pieces out every year to put in my containers... mine is not a quick grower... easy to keep up with and I just leave a small patch every year to use next year

Meredith, I would not plant vinca in a garden, it spreads like crazy. I use it as ground cover/erosion control under trees with spring bulbs. The lawn mower keeps the vinca in it's place.
I like Chionodoxa. Very cheery, extra early and requires no care to flourish. Multiplies fast if you let the seeds mature.
Andy P

Meredith, FYI have you tried the bulbs from eflowergarden.com ?

They are most reasonable and Ingrid and Bleek are very helpful and often post on the Bulb Forum. They have an ad in the Classified section too. I've ordered quite a few from them.

Here is what I know about your list.

Hyacthoides non-scripta has not done as well as my Hyacthoides hispapica
Chionooxa forbesbi has done very well and has filled in nicely over the earlier blooming Galantus
IxioliIon has not filled in much yet, but I am hopeful of the violet ones as so far the blue ones seems to get lost.
Siberian siberica is indispensable and spreads nicely and it has never interfered with anything in my garden.
Hyacinthoides hispanica has grown nicely the last couple of years and appears to be behaving. Blooms later than non-scripta and has a nice scent.

Other blues that I love are
Hyacinthus orientalis var. albulus- smells divine and si a nice color that has a wonderful natural form that is different than regular Hyacinths.
Hyacinthus orientalis Delft Blue - a good one that is a nice blue rather that purple or lavender
Muscari latifolium bi color - purple with a blue top. Big and striking.
Muscari armeniacum Peppermint - white with a blue cast
Muscari armeniacum Valerie Finnis - pale blue
Muscari armeniacum Superstar - periwinkle blue and white
Muscari azureum s - sky blue
Muscari aucheri Mount Hood - blue with a white top
Scilla pratensis or litardierei - blooming late May in a lovely blue shade that looks more like a Muscari than a scilla. love it and it is now indispensable in my garden
Anemone blanda Blue Shades Another one that has been filling in nicely, but not aggressive. Charming.

And I could not live without Iris reticulata. Some of the good blues include Katherine Hodgkin, Harmony, Clariette, Natascha (mostly white), Lady Beatrix Stanley, halkis, Alida, Joyce, Marquerite.

I ordered a pale blue hyacinth from egardenflower coop this fall that was called Hyacinthus orientalis Koh-I-Nor or blue ice which looks like a winner.

I also like many other spring blues that including Myosotis sylvatica and many Brunnera, Pulmonaria, Camassia, and Aquilegia.

And I agree with Tabasco about Bleek http://www.touchofnature.com/fallcatalog/index_bulb.htm for bulbs. I also order yearly from Buggy Crazy, Brent and Becky, Van Engelen or their other company, John Scheepers for smaller quantities. I find that these are all reliable. They also have great sales around T-day, if you can still plant that late of what they have left at 25%-50% off. Those sales are an especially good time for buying minor bulbs that can be just dibbled into the soil in huge quantities to produce blue rivers. Or for picking up tulips and narcissus for big drifts. Yummy. Can't wait.


Here is a collage of some of my favorites last spring. Good luck. Patti

Another Collage. I do like that crocus called Blue Pearl. I don't have a good picture of it. Sorry. Patti

Patti i just KNEW you would have some blue bulb suggestions!

LOL I was waiting for Patti to chime in too ^_^

Wha, you beat me to it. I was waiting for Patti to pipe in about the IRs.

Patti, I ordered some tulips after seeing your beautiful spring pics. I will try them again. Also will have to get some IRs, now that I have your list. :) Thank you. Have you been up in Canada? I've missed you.

Patti--thanks for the pictures etc. Hope Bill & Danny left you alone.

You guys have me pegged!

Jan, I did get to Canada for a bit, but this summer has found me out of the garden loop. So I am now trying to get back into it. No one will be surprised if I told you that I was out ordering lots of bulbs for next spring's show. I also have added lots of new lilies for the summer garden.

Bill and Danny just brought more rain and more and more, but no real wind. More blues. Patti

Now , I have run out of the Blues. Patti

Oh, pretty pretty blues, bbrookrd!

I wish I could get mine to grow like yours but the critters always seem to feast on these little bulbs in our yard. Boo hoo.

By the way, Meredith, I just read all the way through the Royal Hort Society bulletin on 'Little Blue Bulbs' (found in the link in my post above) and the last few pages (of the sixteen page brochure) feature comparison lists of the different Little Blue Bulbs. It's really quite a clever document (for those of us who are obsessed with little blue bulbs) and you might find it useful. (-:

And just to make this thread a little bit more 'literary', I'll add the link to Elizabeth Lawrence's classic: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Bulbs-Tale-Two-Gardens/dp/0822307391/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_3

I love bulbs! Someday we should make a co-op of only Little Blue Bulbs!

(bb, is there a thread somewhere where everyone is listing the bulbs they've ordered??! )

t.

very pretty stuff Patti!!

Tabasco, Thanks for the book posting. I realized that is another one of my sadly ruined books that needs to be replaced from water damage we had in 2003 when we lost 700 books and most of the contents of two floors of our house. I had not yet retired so my passion for bulbs had yet to be really ignited, so I need to have that book again plus her collection of essays. Forgot all about her. I will get a used copy Patti

thought of a few more later blues.

Triteleia Rudy (move violet than blue)
Muscari comosum late flowering and wonderful frilly form
Allium caeruleum nice blue in early July for me. I need an army of them.

Wow Patti I should have known you'd know about all of the above, thank you so much for all your knowledge of these. : ) All your pictures are lovely. I am going to go back and look at the links and search the ones I don't know yet.
I will also check out Tabs links Thanks Tab : )
I do have some Muscari and it's kinda funny because I gave most of them to my mom. When I first moved in here they were all over one side of my front yard and my dh would just mow everything over there, so I had dug as many up as I could. My mom had mentioned she always wanted to try them, so I ended up giving her the whole bucket full. I still had a bunch more the next couple years and I've been digging them up as I see them and moving them to one of my beds. Hopefully this year they''ll look nice. After looking at Patti's pics of the Iris reticulata I am wondering if mine have been blooming all along, but under the snow. I notice the foliage in her pics is much shorter than mine when I've noticed them. We do usually have snow where they are planted for a while in spring because it's close enough to the snow throwers path that they'd be buried a bit more than other spots. So maybe when I'm out planting my other bulbs I'll try digging them up and moving them somewhere else, where they won't have so much snow for so long.

This thread is helping me so much, I am currently planning more blues for early spring and mid spring.

Squill looks nice, but doesn't last as long as muscari, but muscari looks straggly after blooming, so I plant more squill.