PlantFiles: Silver Squill, Violet Squill
Ledebouria socialis

I received a "start" of this plant from a relative who called it "Pregnant Plant". My plant is happy on my front porch in warm weather (April through October here in NE AL). I have overwintered my plant for several years by placing it on the floor (landscape cloth over packed fine gravel) in my large unheated greenhouse. It has been happy and looks good in the spring. I have given "starter bulblets" to several gardening friends and my plant looks great. Very easy to care for.

We always called this plant "pregnant onion", not knowing what the real name was. I know I've been growing this plant for 14 yrs, if not more. I've shared bulbs with people in Cherry Hill, NJ, KY, GA, and now TN. They all love it. It definitely is a conversation starter.

I received this plant in a trade and I love it. I placed it on my windowsill where it received full sun and it shrived up and wilted. The bulbs stayed semi-firm so I moved the plant to a bright lit area and babied it. It's making new leaves and doing very well. So I find this plant prefers bright indirect light.

I love the look of the leaves. It is very happy sitting in my east window. I do however have to remember to check it so it won't dry out too much.

Our family has one of these that is over 100 years old. For Kansas, USA, women to have an exotic plant like this must have been delightful. It was in my great-grandmother's household. When my grandmother came on a train to the eastern plains of Colorado, USA, to join her homsteading husband living in a sod house, yes a "soddy," she brought this plant on her lap. It grew all those years, it moved to Denver, CO, where it resided until 2001 when my mother died. It now is in Erie, CO, and part of it is being separated into 14 small plants to give to relatives this Christmas. I don't remember it ever blooming, but it could have. We have protected this plant a long time. Ours is obviously a rather pure version, and the leaves are thinner and longer. All else is the same. It has suffered 3 months without water (mom's health was deteriorating and I didn't realize it wasn't getting watered); too much sun in a south window, too much cold too close to the window and other assorted disasters, like being dropped and the entire pot exploding. Frankly this plant must be bullit proof for us to keep it alive this long! I may post a picture later, the part I have is not the best, the big one is with my son, daughter-in-law and my granddaughter who is the sixth generation to take care of it. MERRY CHRISTMAS

I just bought a version of this plant, called "Spotted Squill" (scilla violacea). When I used PlantFiles, it said this area is an "exact match" ;mine has the spots but purple tiny blooms...not white...thus the "violacea" I guess! I'll try to remember to post later to see how it's doing in my kitchen window.

Love this unusual & easy-to-care-for houseplant.
I've dubbed it the "Frog" plant as the leaves look like frogskin.

This plant has been one of my 'mystery plants'- the ones I buy because they are alien to me and sometimes stay that way for ages. It has survived a couple of droughts in the summertime when I put it under a tree and forget to water it, but always rebounds happily when it is finally watered. I just love the reverse spotting on the leaves- silver dots on green is more usual. The flowers are small but very interesting close up. A real attention getter for plantaholics! I give it excellent drainage and so it can put up with a fairly moist soil. It looks fantastic with my angelwing begonias that have the opposite spotting.

Green to purple bulbs 2-4 cm in diameter;spreading,fleshy leaves 10-15 cm long and 2 cm wide,with some dark green marks above,green or pink-purple below.

I have had my plant for about 18 months, and I'm impressed that it has survived for this long under my care. I keep it on a bookshelf in a warm room, in bright but not direct light. I recently had to submerge the whole pot in water to re-wet the potting mix as I hadn't watered it in around eight or nine months (I know, I'm a horrible person). It had obviously wilted but was not hanging over the side of the pot; a week after watering it has perked up and looks fine. Anything this tough gets my vote. Plus, it's an attractive and interesting plant.

I have grown this plant entirely indoors for a few years now, first in a window getting 3 or 4 hours of strong afternoon sun, where it flowered; but also in a window with only an hour or so of morning sun that is filtered through open trees, where so far, it has seemed happy enough.
The flowers are not spectacular, but interesting magnified. The foliage is the beauty of this plant. Whenever a plant lover comes across it, it always elicits a very favorable response.

Bulbous perennial from South Africa.

Has evergreen, lance shaped, thick, mid green leaves over laced with a veneer of silver and dark green spots, the whole leaf is purple beneath. Fleshy bulbs and stems are also a reddish purple. Bears tiny, greenish white, bell shaped flowers with a small pink stipe running down each petal, can be up to 20+ flowers on each spike.

Flowers April - July

Hardy down to freezing so best kept in a frost free place indoors. Needs very well drained soil in full sun and can be grown outside where there is no danger of frost. Bulbs at the base of the plant must be above the soil. Multiplies rapidly.