I fell in love with Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica) from
photos showcasing naturalized
masses of dainty blue flowers
cheering up woodland scenes.
I've long admired these swathes of
clear blue blooms in a
lovely garden in town.
They make such a pretty spring groundcover for daffodils.
But this year, the show was a bit out of control.
The Scilla siberica (Siberian Squill) has jumped the
bounds of neatly groomed beds and
spread across the lawn.
It looks like it's even spread
across the street and
taken over the neighbors yard.
Siberian Squill's ability to create a
dramatic show is due to its
hardiness and tendency to spread,
both by bulb offshoots and self-seeding.
But this strength can turn into its biggest liability.
I have been trying to determine whether
Scilla siberica is invasive, and have read
conflicting reports.
- Minnesota Wildflowers calls it invasive.
- Missouri Botanical Garden states that it will naturalize rapidly, but does not list it as invasive.
- Penn State Extension recommends it.
I have not found a definitive indication that
Scilla siberica is truly invasive.
However, this example highlights the importance of
understanding the characteristics of
plants you incorporate into your garden.
Update:
For more information on Scilla siberica's invasive qualities,
read the comments below -
several share experiences of Scilla siberica as invasive.
While charming photos of
bright blue Scilla siberica may lure you,
be careful what you wish for....
before long you may have
more than you bargained for.
Plant it where its spreading nature will be welcome,
not where it will create future frustration.
15 comments:
I think it's a perfect lawn plant; the bloom is more or less spent by the time you need to mow the lawn, and that will prevent it from self-seeding and also stunt the offshooting a bit.
I had these in pots...they died over the Winter!
Widok niebieskim od kwiatków plam na trawniku jest cudowny. Mam je też w ogródku i nie przeszkadza mi, że są nie tylko tam, gdzie je sadziłam. Pozdrawiam.
View from the flowers blue spots on the lawn is wonderful. I have them too in the garden and do not bother me that they are not only where they thought. Yours
I love it and want it to do this in my lawn. It doesn't seem to spread into actual garden beds or the woods so I am fine with its "invasive" qualities.
Given the fact that it has spread everywhere, I would consider that invasive, but what a pretty invasion! Not one I would mind at all! I have recently purchased a 'black and blue' salvia. Conflicting reports about it being invasive. I guess I'll find out - the hard way!
Thank you for the warning. I think it is absolutely wonderful in your pictures, but I will now be careful about where I put it.
The Scilla siberica looks wonderful though I haven't as yet been tempted to plant it. Ah well! here goes, I just wont take a telling.
Well, it sure looks nice. I think I understand what you mean wondering if it is invasive. I think we need a wider vocabulary for this. There's a difference between what I call aggressive or thuggish plants and what I would call exotic invasives. For me, invasive implies a plant that can escape into a natural area and outcompete native plants, thereby unbalancing the ecosystem. But a plant can be really annoying in your garden if it spreads agressively, but yet still not be capable of escaping to the wild (or even be a native that wouldn't, I guess, be a concern for outcompeting other natives). Even aggressive spreaders can come in a range of flavors, though, with some having a huge potential to cause havoc in a garden bed and others that maybe are quite difficult to eradicate without shouldering others out. I don't live in an agricultural area, but plants that can become expensive agricultural pests are probably a separate category too. I wonder if the state lists might be a bit of a mix between plants with the potential to cause problems for agriculture and those that are a threat to natural ecosystems.
This plant is invasive and it is a complete thug of a plant. Don't be fooled by the fact that it looks pretty. The problem with this plant is that it can dominate woodlant areas to the detriment of many native woodland species. My neighbour has a swathe of this plant and even through I have a plastic divide, it still turns up in my beds and my lawn. The only way to deal with it is to put a hole in your lawn and take out the bulb. Also do not let it flower.
Thanks to all who have offered insight from their experience. I often wish I could find more descriptive information about aggressive or invasive qualities of plants. I've seen plants recommended on prominant web sites without so much as a mention of their aggressive nature. And, of course, you can easily purchase garden thugs unwittingly since plant tags often leave that information out. It always pays to check several reliable sources before trying a new plant.
Beautiful, but it looks like it's leaning on the 'invasive' side in your area!
This stuff is a greedy garden thug. Watch out. It will spread from lawn to garden, and multiply no mantter what you do to it. Read up on how people have tried to fight back once it takes hold, and you will find there is no way to stop it. Nothing kills it. Use it in wild areas, but never in a garden or lawn. Seriously, it is exceedingly invasive and gobbles up space and nutrients that your other plants need. I have battled with it for 30 years (it came with the house), and can quell it a little by pulling the leaves off-- but I have to do that to about a million plants. and still, it marches on....
the former owners of the house we bought planted these scilla bulbs as part of a Spring garden and now, fast forward 120 years and these "pretty????" blue flowering plants are not where they were planted but have taken over the entire side yard and are venturing all over our acre lot into neighboring yards. I have dug and dug these out filling several trash barrels every year to NO AVAIL. I have mowed and mowed them down and now after completely digging up the entire side yard, have absolutely no doubt that these are INVASIVE AND A MENANCE. Every year I scour the internet hoping that someone has some idea how to stop this agressive plant. Do not plant or even think about it....
Every year there are more and more and more. They are definitely invasive and this year my lily-0f-the-Valley has been severely compromised because the scilla is so think, it has killed it. This is maybe a good plant if you only want scilla, but it is boring after it is finished blooming. I'd rather have a variety of plants that are compatible with each other. I too scour the internet hoping that someone somewhere has a solution as to how to get rid of them!!! In the meantime i can keep only one garden bed free of them by continually digging and pulling them out.
Oops! I just planted them. So we'll see. It can't, I think, be any worse than the 30-yr-old Crocosmia I just blasted out of the corner of the lawn. Needed a pick axe to even start to make an impression on the mass of bulbs. It hasn't spread beyond that area, but that's because we haven't much soil in the lawn area itself. A very rocky place.
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