Scilla siberica
Siberian squill
Common names: Wood squill
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Pot size
- from 2 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −20 °C
- Water need
- Low
Photo: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Description
The Siberian squill opens in March and April with nodding, intensely indigo blue star-shaped flowers and effortlessly spreads into blue carpets under trees and in lawns. This low-maintenance bulb flower is an important early pollen source and is considered exceptionally winter-hardy.
Care instructions
Plant the small bulbs in September or October at a depth of 5 to 8 cm in well‑draining soil, in full sun or partial shade. It requires almost no care and tolerates summer drought well. Allow the foliage to die back naturally and mow lawns with squills only after the leaves have yellowed, so the population can consolidate.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
PlantingSep–Oct
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, loamy, sandy, well-drained, moist
Plant it in loose, humus-rich garden soil that is fresh-moist but well drained; waterlogging makes the bulbs rot. It is undemanding, also likes chalky soils, and under deciduous trees it benefits from the natural layer of leaf mould.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Mar
On normal garden soil no feeding is needed; Siberian squill manages with the natural supply of nutrients. Only on visibly poor, sandy soils do you work in a thin layer of mature compost shallowly in early spring as the foliage emerges (usually March).
Overwintering
The bulbs stay in the ground all year. You do not have to dig anything up or cover anything, because Siberian squill gets through winter in Germany, Austria and Switzerland without difficulty; just make sure the soil is free-draining, because winter wet harms the bulbs more than cold. Leave the yellowing foliage standing after flowering until it has died back completely, so that the bulb can store strength for next year.
Propagation
Methods
- Offsets
- From seed
The easiest way to propagate Siberian squill is from bulblets (daughter bulbs): mark the spot with a small stick at flowering time in March, wait until the foliage has completely died back in June, and then carefully dig up the bulbs. Separate the small bulblets from the mother bulb and store them dry and cool until August or October. Then replant them immediately, about 8 to 10 cm deep (two to three times the bulb height) in well-drained, humus-rich soil. Be sure to avoid waterlogging, as the bulbs otherwise rot.
Siberian squill spreads all by itself in the garden through self-seeding. The ripe seeds fall in summer and are often carried off by ants; they usually germinate the next spring. If you want to sow deliberately, harvest the seed capsules shortly before they burst open and sow the seeds fresh (untreated) in summer or autumn directly outdoors or in pots in a cold greenhouse. Cover them only thinly with soil, keep the sowing evenly moist (do not let it dry out) and expect 2 to 3 years until the first flowering. Varieties such as ‘Spring Beauty’ can only be passed on true to type via bulblets, not via seed.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
For your garden
Grow Siberian squill yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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