Bluebells reproduce by themselves. We will explain to you how you can curb natural reproduction and reproduce the bluebells in a controlled manner.
Anyone who is looking for a radiant herald of spring for their garden, which opens the warmer seasons with its flowers and enchants with beautiful colors and a blooming, rich green, often goes for the bluebell (Hyacinthoides). The plant, which grows up to 40 cm high, is very popular as a herald of spring alongside the tulip or daffodil and is characterized, among other things, by the bell-shaped clusters of flowers that can cover large areas of grass in the garden. If you like this plant and want to keep it in even more areas of the garden because of its easy-care properties, you can easily propagate it - we would like to describe how to do this in the following paragraphs.
Bluebells - important properties
Although the bluebell looks quite cute and dainty, the plant is quite mean: Because it can irritate and irritate the skin when touched or, for example, when the flowers are separated, as if you were allergic to the plant. This is due to the sometimes even toxic ingredients of the plant, which can even cause vomiting, dizziness and cramps when eaten and are therefore by no means edible. Although the bluebell is a very easy-care plant, there are a number of things that need to be taken into account when caring for it - for example that a long drought on the bulb is not good for the plant.
More facts about the bluebell
- Blossoms can be pink, blue or white
- The plant smells very delicate and fresh during flowering
- This is a herbaceous plant with long, thin leaves that taper to a point
- is ideally planted in autumn
- can be kept in a flower pot or in the garden
- craves a lot of light but no strong sun
- Soil should be damp but not too wet
- Plant thrives particularly well under woody plants
The good thing about the plant is that it doesn't need any fertilizer, pruning or overwintering in a special way - theSo Gärtner has very little work to do with her. For example, the leaves from the last flowering period are enough for her to get enough nutrients to grow next spring - fertilizer can therefore be omitted completely or only added in the form of compost.
Propagating bluebells
Owners of the bluebell actually think less about propagating the plant themselves - and there is a good reason for that. Because anyone who has been observing and caring for them for a number of years knows that bluebells reproduce very well on their own and, under ideal conditions, often even spread so much that gardeners tend to want to stop them. The plant creates this through its capsule fruits, which represent the seeds of the plant. Once flowering is complete, the seeds spread very easily around the area and thrive very quickly the following spring. It can therefore happen that the bluebell takes over entire lawn areas or parts of the garden, although this may not have been planned at all.
If you want to prevent this rapid and quite uncontrolled multiplication, you should separate the flowers of the plant in good time after the flowering period. In this way, the seeds do not spread, so that the plant can only reproduce via daughter bulbs. However, this process is not nearly as rapid and only affects the space immediately next to the mother plant - while the seeds can theoretically spread throughout the garden if the conditions are favourable.
Propagating bluebells yourself
If you want to multiply the bluebell at planned locations and spread it in various garden areas, this can be done in two ways:
- Sowing the collected or purchased seeds
- Propagation by dividing the bulbs
In both cases, sowing should take place in autumn or at least late summer so that the plant can grow and thrive in spring. You should know, however, that the flowering of the plants often only begins after the second or third year of growth, so that you cannot expect flowers and the delicate scent of the plant in the first spring.
❶ Propagating bluebells by seeds
If you have collected or bought bluebell seeds, you can sow them directly in the garden. This is best done in autumn, as they are then exposed to a cold period that can only allow growth in spring. The condition for successful propagation is that the seeds feel very comfortable in their place of sowing. It should be light and humid here,but not too wet and hot. It is therefore usually worth scattering the seeds where there are hedges or other trees and where the seeds also get a little shade.
❷ Propagating bluebells by division
Over time, bluebell bulbs develop daughter bulbs that grow and thrive directly on the mother plant. If you want to multiply the bluebell by dividing it, you have to separate the bulbs. This happens at best in the fall, when the foliage of the plant has already turned yellow and withered. The plant should first be dug out of the ground as a whole and then carefully lifted out. It is better to wear gloves to protect yourself from various irritations of the plant on the skin and not to accidentally transfer its substances to the mucous membranes, such as the nose. Separate the mother and daughter bulbs with a sharp knife and then replant both. The daughter plant is now to be treated in exactly the same way as the already grown bluebells are cared for anyway.
If you want to propagate the bluebell by division, you should already concentrate on planting the mother plants when planting them where the bulb can develop undisturbed. So the soil should be left alone for the most part and the plant should be more to itself in order to develop daughter bulbs in the first place.
Advantages
✔ you can control the places and density of propagation and design it according to your own needs
✔ propagating the plant is not difficult
✔ the bluebell generally reproduces under optimal conditions Seeds by themselves - and very quickly and radically
Cons
✘ Sowing the seeds at will only works if they get their own place where they feel comfortable
✘ if you want to control the propagation and do it yourself, the flowers of the plant have to be cut off after the flowering period will