Should I pull up Spanish bluebells?
No – you don’t need to get rid of bluebells as they can be useful garden plants and benefit biodiversity. No – you don’t need to get rid of bluebells as they can be useful garden plants and benefit biodiversity. However, as bluebells can smother and outcompete other plants, it is usually necessary to regularly control their spread.If your bluebells thrive, spreading will also happen naturally via bulb division and seed. Dense clumps of bluebells may eventually out-compete more delicate spring plants or spread to the ‘wrong’ place in your garden.Chemical Control Bluebells are resistant to many herbicides commonly used in the garden. Applications of herbicide are best made after the plant has flowered, flower heads should be cut to prevent the formation of seed. Repeat applications will be required to deplete the soil seed bank.Divide and replant the clumps after flowering and before the leaves die back. Bear in mind that it’s illegal to dig up clumps of bluebells in the wild, and this method applies to bluebells growing in gardens only. You can also save seed from bluebells and sow them immediately in pots of compost.What is the easiest way to kill bluebells? If you have bluebells growing where they aren’t wanted, there are a few methods of control: Dig out whole clumps – use a spade or garden fork to dig up clumps and remove all the bulbs and underground parts, looking closely for small offset bulbs.
What is the difference between bluebells and Spanish bluebells?
The Spanish bluebell is more vigorous than our native bluebell, so can outcompete it for resources like light and space. It can hybridise with our native, too, producing fertile plants that show a whole range of mixed features from both species. The flower stem can be up to 18 inches tall, which makes the flowers—12 to 20 hanging, bell-shaped, lavender-blue flowers about 3/4 inch long—stand out quite prominently over the foliage. Spanish bluebell is planted in the fall and typically blooms April to early May.Do bluebells flower every year? Bluebells are perennials which means they flower annually. They spend the spring soaking up energy from the sunshine and store the energy in their bulb over winter, waiting to bloom again.
Do Spanish bluebells make good cut flowers?
Hyacinthoides make a long-lasting cut flower. Cut or snap off stems rather than pulling them which can damage the bulbs. Learn more about growing and enjoying Spanish bluebells at our Fall Diverse Newsletter Archives. Spanish bluebells have: pale blue (often white or pink), conical-bell flowers, with spreading and open tips.
How to get rid of Spanish bluebells in the garden?
Bluebells, like many bulbs, are easily killed with an application of glyphosate, applied early on before flowering. I feel awful suggesting this but… It would be better to pick the flowers or deadhead them to prevent seed formation and then dig up the bulbs and give them away. Is it illegal to pick or dig up bluebells? Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) it is an offence to uproot any wild plant without the landowner’s permission. Bluebells are offered additional protection, making it illegal to pick or uproot wild bluebells to sell, even from your own land.It’s against the law to intentionally pick, uproot or destroy bluebells. Bluebells have soft, succulent leaves that are particularly sensitive to being trodden on. Once the leaves are damaged, they are unable to absorb the sun and photosynthesise, so they die back.