Hyacinthoides Species, Spanish Bluebell, Wood Hyacinth

Vigorous and incredibly reliable in SC. Multiplies but not to the point of invasiveness.

I've planted this in my yard in Arma, Kansas and also on my family's farm about 60 miles away for the last two years. I've never seen it ...Read Moreshow any signs of being invasive. It grows well, extends the spring bulb flower season & is lovely. My only concern is that if I plant this on a site where the soil is rapidly draining and in full sun it might not be as drought tolerant as I would like. But then its still new to me and I plan on continuing to experiment with it. I would recommend this to anyone here in the Midwest that wants a variety of spring flowering bulbs!

Vigorous, adaptable, attractive in bloom. This spreads both by seed and by rhizomes underground. The foliage takes a long time to yellow ...Read Moreand die down in early summer, and releases a slimy juice when cut.

BONAP records this species has naturalized in CA, NC, VA, DE, NJ, and NY, as well as BC and ON.

The National Park Service considers this an invasive threat to wild areas in the mid-Atlantic states: http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/midatlantic...

This species is also considered an invasive plant in Great Britain, where it threatens the charismatic/endemic bluebell woods through hybridization: http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uploads/documents/Blubells-for-B...

I am astounded at how many areas of the country Blue Bells grow in! My father lived in Twin Falls Idaho as a child. In 1944 my grandmot...Read Moreher & grandfather moved to San Marino California. My grandmother dug the bulbs out of the yard in Twin Falls and re-planted them in San Marino. To this day they are still alive and kicking! Mind you they are NOT invasive what so ever. My Grandmother also gave my Mom some Bulbs where she has resided for the past 45 years (Del Mar, CA) Mind you they are not invasive there either.
I agree with the person that said it must be the Pacific North West.....

Looks to me like the NW is the place for these to become devil plants -- from reading the posts, they behave themselves in other eco zone...Read Mores. But if you live East of the Cascades, watch out.

Last year, I bought a home and removed about 800 bulbs. What I didn't know that Spanish Hyacinths generate new bulbs from tiny bits of bulbs and, I suspect, pieces of the bulb roots.

This year, I've already spent about 9 hours in the same bed, removing more--some big ones that I missed last year and tons of tiny ones that are new this year. The latter causes me to question propagation by bulb root.

If you want to remove this invader, I suggest removing the soil where they grow lest it contain tiny pieces of root. Also, clean your work tools before moving into another part of the yard. Any remnants of bulbs/roots on your tools can transfer the problem. Others have addressed dealing with seed heads & seeds.

If anyone has tested the propagation of root pieces, I'd like to know the test results. I plan to do my own tests, and will let you know what I learn.

If anyone has successfully removed these plants -- and they stayed removed--I'd like to know your methods.

I have a patch of Spanish Bluebells i planted ten or more years ago. I live in Circleville, Ohio zone 5. I have never had a problem of th...Read Moreem spreading out of control. Actually when I purchased and planted them I wanted to spread! They are planted under a beautiful Japanese Maple and I look forward to their arrival every spring!

Naturalizes to the point of killing everything else, or taking shelter under and around roots of shrubs and trees. The bulbs connect to ...Read Moreothers underground by tendrils, and also by adding tiny seed-sized bulbs around themselves at the same time. When the flowers dry, round hard seeds form and you can have hundreds of new hardy seeds flying around your beds, yard and neighborhood. They certainly don't need careful planting and self sow. If you have moderately good soil and fair amounts of water you will be facing a major battle. Bulbs must be removed by hand, including tendril. Weed whack but leave tips of the green so you can find the bulbs still, but keep leaves from storing energy for those bulbs. Sift the soil of all bulbs small and large. Some bulbs will be as big as turnips and browned, while others look like the white ends of green onions but bulb shaped. Cut off all flowers prior to drying and seed time. Do not compost. Don't even risk it. They survive beyond belief,and though they can grow densely, their thin leaves allow all kinds of weeds in your beds anyway. If only the old homeowners hadn't planted a small bed of them years ago. I have been battling these in my lawn and several inundated flower beds for about 8 years. Just because they sell them, doesn't mean they're not a terrible idea.

A pretty plant but I would strongly advise caution if considering, especially for those that border natural woodland. I have no problem w...Read Moreith plants self generating if they are easily controllable if necessary, but in my garden, H. hispanica has multiplied through seed and offsets and is proving to be an aggresive and resilient plant. Its wandering far to much for my liking and is in the process of pushing out other plants. Many of the bulbs have drawn themselves deep into the earth making them extraordinarily difficult to dig out around other established plants. I am currently digging some bulbs out as deep as 30cm. This main group is growing in a sunny position and I've now noticed them coming up in a fairly shady spot amongst my mass planting of Chionodoxa which they will overrun if I don't eradicate them. I have also been amazed by how severely damaged bulbs (squashed or cut in half) have recovered and gone onto to flower. Caution advised!

This is an attractive and fragrant spring ephemeral. Makes a great addition to any spring garden.

We just found out what our mystery plant in the side garden was after 24 years of living here on this property. It is a White Wood Hyaci...Read Morenth, and has bloomed consistently in late Spring/early Summer the whole time we've been here, with no care whatsoever. It just blooms and lives happily in its' spot, never changing much, and is trouble-free in our climate and non-invasive. Our location is Niantic, Connecticut.

Interesting that the only place in US where it seems to be "invasive" is in the northwest. In my small town north of Dayton, Ohio, this p...Read Morelant has mutiplied but in no way is it a problem. I have blue and white and my mother in same town has lavender. My biggest "problem" with them is that sometimes I forget where they are and plant something that overpowers the wood hyacinth. They seem to be quite patient though and still bloom all smashed up next to something. Very nice spring flowering filler plant. I like the idea of planting them with hostas to give a little interest while the hostas are getting themselves growing.

As noted by others the Spanish Bluebell can be invasive in some garden environments and in the UK is said to be crowding out the historic...Read More native English Bluebell and is of national concern to British horticulturalists. In our zone 6 (Cincinnati Ohio) garden I would not call it 'invasive' but rather a sturdy reliable spring bloomer.

We plant these bluebells along the woodland edge where shade often prevails and the rabbits and deer graze but ignore this plant. We also have used it in dry areas where it gets along quite happily, which I guess makes sense since this variety was originally found in Spanish and Portuguese dry rocky environments.

Our Spanish bluebells are a welcome addition and bloom with the pagoda dogwoods, columbines, spring blooming clematis, azaleas, bleeding hearts, ajuga and median bearded (early) iris in late April and early May.

We planted ours about five years ago and have dug and divided them one time to make more clusters around the yard. We originally planted pink, blue and white (from Van Engelens) but now only the blue have survived.

I love plants, but I stop loving them when they take over my garden. This one was an unexpected and unwanted guest that ended up EVERYWHE...Read MoreRE! Stay away from it!!!

These are flowering now (May 8, 2010) along the edges in our Hosta Garden. They have been in the same small clumps evenly spaced for 16 ...Read Moreyears. We love them!

Lovely as an underplanting to lilacs. They are very eager, and care should be given to their placement. I use them with daffodils and f...Read Moreerns for a nice transition.

These are weedy in Seattle and cannot be removed easily. In shady places they spread pretty fast. They do look nice in May, but I would n...Read Moreot plant unless you are sure you don't want to grow anything else, ever.

Beautiful little plant. My mother always had it in her beds and I keep them too. I've never had trouble with them taking over in my zon...Read Moree 8, they stay in nice little clumps here. They come in blue, pink and white and are adorable when blooming.

A bought a house recently in the Seattle area and the yard is over run by wood hyacinth. It is a pretty plant but I consider it a noxious...Read More weed in my yard. It has taken over the garden beds and spread into the woods next to my property and overwhelming the native ground covers. It forms giant masses of bulbs and also must spread by seed because it turns up everywhere. Unless you dig out every piece of the bulb, it will regrow. I have left bits of torn-up bulb on the driveway all winter and the bits sprout and flower in the spring right on the concrete! I don't believe in spraying herbicides but I might for this one. It is out of control. I prefer my native plants to this foreigner.

Atlanta - I have this in very dry shade under some huge sweet gum trees. I have heard them called "brutes" as they do multiply, but in a ...Read Morewoodland setting I think this is a positive feature. They are so lovely in their blue masses. I do not find them anymore "invasive" than iris or daylily.

I have a small patch of these given to me by my mother-in-law a number of years ago. They do well even in an well drained but moist area...Read More with clay soil in part shade. The dainty, lavendar bell shaped flowers are a delight in late spring!

This plant does much better in warmer areas than the English bluebell. It is larger and a bit stiffer in its growth habit, a lovely blue ...Read Morein a Spring garden. Mine seem quite intolerant of shade, they'll flower in full sun, but anywhere where shade has developed in Spring they stop flowering, though still produce lush foliage. They are very easy to move.

Fabulous freely-spreading perennial. Naturalized in Atlanta city limits, can be seen popping up in the most unkempt overgrown yards arou...Read Morend town.

Has naturalized in my shady, wet back yard. Blooms a couple weeks earlier in full sun, but spreads into shady areas first. Heavy bloom late March early April; very fragrant flowers. Clumps of vivid green daffodil like foliage about 12-18" tall with a two foot spread send up as many as eight flower stalks with a dozen blooms apiece.

The "native" type here in Atlanta holds a deep purple bloom. Very sweet plant pops up with the daffodils in spring and blooms shortly after. In fact a couple of tall, silvery-blue (foliage) daffodils and the wood hyacinth come up in a mixed patch and the combination is smashing. Nature has a great eye for drama...

A wonderful addition to a woodland garden. They come in a variety of colors, and by allowing them to naturalize, some variations can occ...Read Moreur. Plant some late-emerging perennials or annuals to help mask the bare spaces when they go dormant.