Common Name: striped squill
Type: Bulb
Family: Asparagaceae
Native Range: Western Asia, Caucasus
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Spread: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Bloom Time: March to April
Bloom Description: Blue
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Tolerate: Deer, Black Walnut
Culture
Easily grown in medium moisture, well-drained sandy or gritty soils in full sun to part shade. Plant bulbs 2-3” deep and 3” apart in fall. Naturalizes by both self-seeding and bulb offsets. Goes dormant by late spring. Foliage should not be mowed or otherwise removed after bloom until it turns yellow.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Puschkinia scilloides, commonly called striped squill, grows in a small clump to 4-6” tall. Each bulb typically produces two dark green strap-shaped leaves and a flower scape bearing 3-6 pale blue star-like flowers in a loose terminal raceme. Each flower petal has a blue inside center stripe, though some entirely white-petaled forms may be found. Flowers are fragrant. Blooms late winter to early spring.
Genus name honors Russian Count Mussin-Puschkin who died in 1805.
Specific epithet is in reference to the resemblance of this plant to Scilla.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Best naturalized in drifts in rock gardens, along walkways, in open woodland areas, meadows or in front of shrubs or under deciduous trees. Mixes well with other spring-flowering bulbs.