Why Native Bluebells Are Worth the Wait

There are few lovelier sights in a British garden than a drift of native bluebells in late April, turning bare ground blue and filling the air with that sweet, almost honeyed scent. They are also wonderfully undemanding once they are settled. The catch is the phrase "once they are settled" — native bluebells are slow. From seed they can take five years or more to flower, and even bought bulbs sulk for a season or two before settling down. Get them right, though, and they will come back every spring for decades with no fuss at all.

Native or Spanish? Know What You Are Planting

This matters more than anything else. Our native bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, is smaller and more graceful than the Spanish bluebell, Hyacinthoides hispanica, which is what most cheap bulb catalogues and garden centre racks sell. The two cross-breed freely, and the resulting hybrids are now widespread, steadily diluting wild populations. If you live near woodland or hedgerows, planting the real thing is a small act of conservation.

Here is how to tell them apart:

• Native bluebells: deep violet-blue, narrow strap-like leaves about a finger wide, flowers hanging from one side of the stem in a nodding spike, cream-coloured anthers, petal tips tightly curled back, and a strong sweet scent.
• Spanish bluebells: paler blue, often pink or white, broad leaves sometimes over 3cm wide, flowers held all round the stem and more upright, blue anthers, and little or no scent.
• Hybrids: anything in between — usually paler blue with broadish leaves, faint scent, and a habit of seeding itself everywhere.

If you already have Spanish or hybrid bluebells, dig them out thoroughly, bulb and all, before planting natives. Never put the old bulbs on the compost heap.

Planting Bulbs, Preferably "In the Green"

Bluebell bulbs hate drying out. Packet bulbs bought in autumn often sulk or simply give up, so the best approach is to plant them "in the green" — lifted in spring while the leaves are still growing, and replanted straight away. March and April are ideal. Keep the roots wrapped in damp newspaper and get them into the ground the same day if you can.

Set them so the white part of the stem sits just below the soil surface, roughly 10cm deep, and water them in. Space them 10–15cm apart, but plant in clumps rather than tidy rows — bluebells look far better in informal drifts. If you do buy dry bulbs, plant in September or October, pointed end up, at the same depth.

Growing Bluebells from Seed

Raising bluebells from seed is slow, but it is the cheapest way to build a large colony. Collect the seed when the pods turn greenish-yellow in June or July, just before they split. Each seed carries a small oil-rich attachment that ants adore, which is how bluebells spread in the wild — leave a few and you may get free plants.

Sow fresh. Dried bluebell seed is usually dead, so never save it in a packet for spring.

• Sow thinly on the surface of moist seed compost, then cover with 5mm of grit or compost.
• Leave the pots outside in a shaded, sheltered spot — the seed needs cold and damp to break dormancy.
• Germination usually follows the next spring, though it can take two winters. Do not tip out a pot that looks empty.
• Grow seedlings on in their pots for two years before planting out. Expect flowers in three to five years.

Your reward is dozens of true native plants for the price of a handful of bulbs.

Where to Plant Them

Think of a wood in spring: dappled light, leaf litter, soil that stays cool and moist but never waterlogged. Recreate that. Partial shade under deciduous trees and shrubs is ideal, especially where the ground is bare before the canopy fills out — hazel, hawthorn, beech and fruit trees all work well. Avoid baking sun and heavy clay that sits soggy all winter.

Dig in plenty of leaf mould or well-rotted compost before planting if your soil is thin or sandy. Once established, bluebells need no feeding; falling leaves are enough.

Looking After Them

The single most important rule is to leave the foliage alone. Bluebell leaves need six weeks or more after flowering to feed the bulb for next year, so do not cut, mow or strim them until they have gone yellow and floppy, usually by late June. After that, tidy as you please.

Bluebells are resilient once settled and rarely troubled by pests. The main risk is competition from vigorous ground cover such as ivy, so keep it in check around young plants, and label the spot if you are prone to digging the same border twice. Water lightly in their first spring if the weather turns dry.

Above all, resist lifting a clump from a wild wood. It is illegal to uproot wild bluebells, and they transplant poorly anyway. Buy cultivated stock, plant it well, and let the ants and the seasons do the rest.