Here are some photos I just took in my yard of Spanish Bluebells and why I consider them aggressive weeds. Please note that I never planted them, they have spread by seeding and I've been digging them out twenty years....all these beds were lawn when we bought the house but there were some Spanish Bluebells in the neighbor's yard and on the side of the house by a big Hydrangea that seeded....Yes, I know I've got other weeds too ;) They grow up into the crowns of other plants and are very hard to dig out. They just finished blooming so they aren't as easy to see in the photos. They'll turn yellow in a couple of weeks and get very slimy and attract slugs like crazy too.

We're getting a little away from the original question here, but several references show Hyacinthoides hispanica, syn. Endymion hispanicus, syn. Scilla hispanica to all be what were once names for the same plant/bulb :) I think we've agreed Martha has mertensia, and I'll continue to hope that DemPa's bulbs in that climate do not cause him the same amount of headache they do me. Someday I'll have to describe the bluebell digging work parties we've had over the years on this block....The deer helped one late winter only, that single year ate them to the ground and they still came back and bloomed. Here is a link that might be useful: Syn, or aka's, or at least once aka

I would plant them indoors, in a seed flat or pot, so that the soil can be kept constantly moist. Takes about 2 months for fresh seed to germinate, probably a little longer for stored seed. No cold stratification is required. Later, after the temperatures warm up, you can move them outdoors to a full shade location. If the seed haven't germinated at that time, cover the flat or pot with glass or thick clear plastic, to prevent wildlife damage. Leave them in the starting mix for about a year before transplanting. VA Bluebells require shade and constantly moist soil during their active growth and blooming period. Once the blooms fade and seed mature, the plant will go dormant and moisture is less demanding then. They will form long, thick, shallow, horizontal rhizomes as they mature. I am about 100 mi. south of their southernmost natural range and they are difficult to grow here, because of the summer heat and high soil temperature. About 3-4 years is about as long as they will survive, before disappearing. :

Hi John! Thanks for the response. The VB were sown in plastic cell packs, kept in an unheated porch for the winter and put outside in March, as by the time I thought of it, it was too late to find the ground here in Western New York. After they died back I left them in the deep shade under big Arborviae trees (had several species there,including Dodecatheon meadia: Midland Shooting Star, growing pretty much the same as the VB except many more of them, and ungerminate woodland species I was planning to second cycle) and mist-hosed them on the rare dry spells, but being above ground they got pretty dry. In the fall I dug little holes and plopped the little plugs into the ground in the pine woods and covered them lightly with pine needle leaf mold. I wasnt going to order new VB seeds and wait to see how the ones I had made out, but now I really want to get some more and try again. But same problem - no ground here and minus 9 wind chill. I am thinking of ordering seeds and waiting to see if an opportunity arises to find the ground in January, or if there isnt I think what I would do differently is sow them all in one larger biodegradable container, in more nutrititious compound/soil, putting it right outside, and sinking it into the ground in the woods ASAP. Then not looking at it *grin*. Little bitty plants like that make me a nervous wreck. Does that sound like a good plan? Then I shouldnt worry if they only make a little leaf and dry up? PAX Laurette