Squill, care and planting this cute forest hyacinth

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Clusters of small, fragrant bells in white or blue open in the early days of spring, and the show repeats year after year with no care at all. Squill (Scilla), the forest hyacinth, is a spring bulb for beds and terraces: plant it in tight groups, in part sun sheltered from scorching.

This bulb produces nice blooms in spring, and decorates gardens or terraces with beautiful white or blue flowers.

Planting squills

Most squills bloom in spring, providing beautiful fragrant bells in the early days of the season.

Group the bulbs in clusters, with only little space between flowers, instead of spreading them throughout the garden.

Planting squill in the ground

• It is best to plant your squills in fall, 4 inches (10 cm) deep, and they will bloom in spring.
• Squills are much more appealing if you create clustered spots of color.
  For that, you should plant bulbs in groups, spacing them 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
  The more, the merrier!
• Squills like sun but must be protected from scorching. Favor part sun instead.
• Check our advice on planting bulbs in the ground.
• Here are also our tips to plant plant bulbs in clay and waterlogged soil.

Caring for squill

Squills that are planted in fall will bloom in spring. This is the normal, natural blooming cycle.

• Cut floral scapes off when they are wilted, but keep the leaves untouched.
• When blooming is over, cut leaves back only when they have already turned yellow, and only then. The span of time between blooming and wilting leaves is when the bulb is stocking up on nutrients for the next blooming cycle.

• Once flowering ends, it’s usually best to leave squill bulbs in the ground, as they naturalise and improve when left undisturbed, though they can be lifted and divided if needed.
• Where squills have naturalised in grass, delay mowing that patch until their leaves have yellowed.

All there is to know about squills

There are many different squill varieties, which each have different flowers and blooming seasons.

Most common is Scilla campanulata, which is the one that also has the broadest range of hues, from white to blue and including pink, too.

Another common one is the two-leafed squill, shown in the main article picture at the top. It blooms in spring and particularly loves growing on cool forest floors.

Spring squills, with scientific name Tractema verna, are a species that is mostly found along the Atlantic coast, or in the Pyrenees mountain range in low altitude. The Pyrenees is also where Lily-hyacinth squills Tractema lilio-hyacinthus are found, so named because they look like lilies.

Finally, giant squills, more commonly called Portuguese squills, bloom from spring till the beginning of summer. This flower’s latin name is Scilla peruviana, which means “Peruvian squill” – but the only connection it has to Peru is that “Peruviana” was the name of the boat that brought it over from the other side of the Mediterranean! Its blossoms can reach up to 16 inches (40 cm) across, and sometimes even more.

Among the fall-blooming squills, there is the one called Prospero autumnale.

Which squill to choose

The squills described here differ in flower colour, size and season. Comparing them side by side makes it easier to pick the one that suits your garden, or to combine several and stretch the display.

Planting several of these, in different exposures, spreads the flowering over a much longer period.

• Squill bulbs contain toxic compounds, so site them away from vegetable beds and keep spare bulbs out of reach of children and pets.
• Naturalised in grass, squills need the mower held off that patch until their leaves yellow.