Description
(Barnardia)
(syn. Scilla scilloides, Barnardia japonica)
As far back as Londley in 1826 this has sometimes regarded as sufficiently different to Scilla to deserve its own genus – Barnardia. This was re-iterated by Franz Speta in his massive revision of Scilla. Call it what you will but this is an unusual species with slender, willowy spikes of tiny flowers early in the autumn. The spikes are long and can remain in flower for some considerable time as the ‘ring’ of fully open flowers advances up the spike. The flowers are in a delicate shade of pink-purple, rather than what you might thin of as a typical Scilla blue.
This is an early bulb and flowering begins in the first days of autumn. We would normally have to send them out separately, in July, to get them to you in time. Instead we sell them at slightly less-than-flowering-size. Bulbs at this size can be safely sent and planted with the other autumn-planted bulbs, but this keeps their cost down and by the time they are next due to flower, they will be big enough and they will flower with you, rather than in our packing shed!
Garden soil, light shade, good drainage and not difficult.
Spread in the wild across a large part of China, Japan, Taiwan and formerly in eastern Russia also.
Photograph from Wikipedia, with thanks to Keisotyo – Obra do próprio, CC BY-SA 4.0