Scilla peruviana

06/05/19 - Portuguese Squill (don’t let the species name peruviana fool you, it not technically from Peru 😉 but from Iberia and North Africa) flowering away in a large pot in the polytunnel. It grows it’s foliage through winter and then flowers in the spring around now - first time I’ve grown them after seeing @cyndi ‘s one last year 💙💙 #scillaperuviana #scilla-peruviana #portuguese-squill

My all-time favourite flower Richard! A friend brought bulbs back from Jersey a few years ago and challenged me to grow them! Yours are a bit further on than mine but it won't be long before they burst into bloom! Beautiful photo by the way! 😀

And isn’t it another for #stunning ?

You have stunning flowers in your garden

Love it, put two in my garden this year.

Love this and have a couple in my garden but it’s not for flowering 😟 although I can see the beginnings of a flower ....it’s sheltered and sunny so what am I doing wrong please

This is so beautiful Rich 💙💙

Beautiful

Gawjus 💙💛💙💛

Wonderful photo Richard.........love it.

Fabulous 💙 Mine didn’t flower this year 🤔

Busy busy busy at the moment, college has started - which is great, had first two days last week 👍🏼 - and also bulb planting and garden tidy up. Only a few new bulbs this year, but I’m also transfering of some Daffodils/Fritillaries/Dutch iris/Tulips from pots to ground as they were temporary last year. I’m also repotting some crocus and dwarf iris #bulbs

These are Scilla peruviana - which although it sounds like it’s from Peru due to the species Latin name ‘peruviana’, I’ve read today it’s because it was named by Carl Linnaeus after he misunderstood the origin when naming it - in fact Peru was the name of the boat that it arrived on when it was first brought to him. It’s actually native to parts of the Mediterranean - around Iberia, which is linked more to its common name of Portuguese Squill 🤓

I’ve planted these in a well drained and fertile mix of compost, John Innes no.3 soil, grit and sand. I was a little confused as to how deep to plant these, but after reading a number of different websites it seems the consensus is to plant these so that the tips are just below the soil level. It seems it’s normal for foliage to appear before winter and will then send up flower spikes around April-May time next year

#scilla #scilla-peruviana #scillaperuviana #bulb #portuguese-squill

These are gorgeous! I have a picture of them from Newcastle University gardens this year 💜💜 They seem to last for ages as well!