PlantFiles: Spanish Bluebell, Wood Hyacinth
Hyacinthoides hispanica

This is an attractive and fragrent spring ephemeral. Makes a great addition to any spring garden.

We just found out what our mystery plant in the side garden was after 24 years of living here on this property. It is a White Wood Hyacinth, and has bloomed consistently in late Spring/early Summer the whole time we've been here, with no care whatsoever. It just blooms and lives happily in its' spot, never changing much, and is trouble-free in our climate and non-invasive. Our location is Niantic, Connecticut.

Interesting that the only place in US where it seems to be "invasive" is in the northwest. In my small town north of Dayton, Ohio, this plant has mutiplied but in no way is it a problem. I have blue and white and my mother in same town has lavender. My biggest "problem" with them is that sometimes I forget where they are and plant something that overpowers the wood hyacinth. They seem to be quite patient though and still bloom all smashed up next to something. Very nice spring flowering filler plant. I like the idea of planting them with hostas to give a little interest while the hostas are getting themselves growing.

As noted by others the Spanish Bluebell can be invasive in some garden environments and in the UK is said to be crowding out the historic native English Bluebell and is of national concern to British horticulturalists. In our zone 6 (Cincinnati Ohio) garden I would not call it 'invasive' but rather a sturdy reliable spring bloomer.

We plant these bluebells along the woodland edge where shade often prevails and the rabbits and deer graze but ignore this plant. We also have used it in dry areas where it gets along quite happily, which I guess makes sense since this variety was originally found in Spanish and Portuguese dry rocky environments.

Our Spanish bluebells are a welcome addition and bloom with the pagoda dogwoods, columbines, spring blooming clematis, azaleas, bleeding hearts, ajuga and median bearded (early) iris in late April and early May.

We planted ours about five years ago and have dug and divided them one time to make more clusters around the yard. We originally planted pink, blue and white (from Van Engelens) but now only the blue have survived.

I love plants, but I stop loving them when they take over my garden. This one was an unexpected and unwanted guest that ended up EVERYWHERE! Stay away from it!!!

These are flowering now (May 8, 2010) along the edges in our Hosta Garden. They have been in the same small clumps evenly spaced for 16 years. We love them!

Lovely as an underplanting to lilacs. They are very eager, and care should be given to their placement. I use them with daffodils and ferns for a nice transition.

These are weedy in Seattle and cannot be removed easily. In shady places they spread pretty fast. They do look nice in May, but I would not plant unless you are sure you don't want to grow anything else, ever.

Beautiful little plant. My mother always had it in her beds and I keep them too. I've never had trouble with them taking over in my zone 8, they stay in nice little clumps here. They come in blue, pink and white and are adorable when blooming.

A bought a house recently in the Seattle area and the yard is over run by wood hyacinth. It is a pretty plant but I consider it a noxious weed in my yard. It has taken over the garden beds and spread into the woods next to my property and overwhelming the native ground covers. It forms giant masses of bulbs and also must spread by seed because it turns up everywhere. Unless you dig out every piece of the bulb, it will regrow. I have left bits of torn-up bulb on the driveway all winter and the bits sprout and flower in the spring right on the concrete! I don't believe in spraying herbicides but I might for this one. It is out of control. I prefer my native plants to this foreigner.

A good mid-spring flowering bulb which multiplies (for me at least) very quickly. They come in a range of pastel colors including whites, pink/rose and light to mid-blue. I have seen some major plant nurseries selling these as 'English Bluebells' when in fact they originated in Spain, and are more properly named 'Spanish Bluebells' or commonly called 'Wood Hyacinths'. Mine came from the Netherlands, so European countries have had this plant around for a long, long time no doubt. I like to keep perennial gardens in bloom with a variety of mixed plants, and this one is a good choice.

Atlanta - I have this in very dry shade under some huge sweet gum trees. I have heard them called "brutes" as they do multiply, but in a woodland setting I think this is a positive feature. They are so lovely in their blue masses. I do not find them anymore "invasive" than iris or daylily.

I have a small patch of these given to me by my mother-in-law a number of years ago. They do well even in an well drained but moist area with clay soil in part shade. The dainty, lavendar bell shaped flowers are a delight in late spring!

This plant does much better in warmer areas than the English bluebell. It is larger and a bit stiffer in its growth habit, a lovely blue in a Spring garden. Mine seem quite intolerant of shade, they'll flower in full sun, but anywhere where shade has developed in Spring they stop flowering, though still produce lush foliage. They are very easy to move.

Fabulous freely-spreading perennial. Naturalized in Atlanta city limits, can be seen popping up in the most unkempt overgrown yards around town.

Has naturalized in my shady, wet back yard. Blooms a couple weeks earlier in full sun, but spreads into shady areas first. Heavy bloom late March early April; very fragrant flowers. Clumps of vivid green daffodil like foliage about 12-18" tall with a two foot spread send up as many as eight flower stalks with a dozen blooms apiece.

The "native" type here in Atlanta holds a deep purple bloom. Very sweet plant pops up with the daffodils in spring and blooms shortly after. In fact a couple of tall, silvery-blue (foliage) daffodils and the wood hyacinth come up in a mixed patch and the combination is smashing. Nature has a great eye for drama...

A wonderful addition to a woodland garden. They come in a variety of colors, and by allowing them to naturalize, some variations can occur. Plant some late-emerging perennials or annuals to help mask the bare spaces when they go dormant.