The pretty snowy flowers unfurl their splendor as early as February. We introduce the bulb plant and give tips on choosing varieties and planting star hyacinths.
The star hyacinth (Scilla, syn. Chionodoxa) is a flowering bulbous plant that is easy to reproduce. It belongs to the early bloomers. Here you can find out everything about the snow gloss species, planting and care.
Snowglow: Flowering Period and Properties
Star hyacinths belonged to their own species Chionodoxa within the subfamily Scilloideae in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae). They are now assigned to the squills (Scilla), but the old species name is still the most common. The species come from the Mediterranean region from Greece via Cyprus to Turkey and grow there in the mountains at altitudes of more than 2000 m. Wild populations can now also be found in Central Europe, North America and the temperate zones of Asia.
What is the name of the star hyacinth? The star hyacinth is also known as snow shine or snow pride. These synonyms come from English, where the star hyacinth is referred to as "Glory of the Snow". However, behind the name nodding star hyacinth is the Siberian squill (Scilla siberica).
The perennial, herbaceous flowering plants reach a height of 5 - 35 cm. The underground round to ovoid, hazelnut-sized bulbs often form numerous daughter bulbs, which is the main way the star hyacinths spread. They sprout when the snow melts and form two linear to elongated leaves per bulb. Snow Glory blooms between February and April. The star-shaped flowers are clustered together in loose clusters on leafless, smooth stalks. They consist of six petals colored white, pink or blue.
Is snowglow bee friendly? Bees, bumblebees and other insects like to visit the early food sources because theStar hyacinths provide larger amounts of nectar and pollen.
After pollination, three-part capsule fruits form with black, spherical to elliptical seeds. These are provided with a nourishing appendage, the elaiosome. This sugar, fat, and protein-rich seed packaging attracts ants, who feed on it. They then discard the seeds at their dump outside of the burrow. There the star hyacinths find optimal conditions, such as nutrient-rich, crumbly substrates and protection from pests. After six to eight weeks of flowering and seed maturity, Snowglow plants retreat into the ground, survive the summer underground and the leaves die off.
The most beautiful types and types of snow shine
Star hyacinths include several species. For the home garden there is the common star hyacinth (Scilla luciliae, syn. Chionodoxa luciliae), the dark star hyacinth (Scilla sardensis , syn. Chionodoxa sardensis) and the Large or Cultivating Star Hyacinth (Scilla forbesii, syn. Chionodoxa forbesii ).
The different types of star hyacinths can be easily distinguished by flower colour, number and growth height. The common star hyacinth forms one to two flowers per inflorescence and reaches a height of 15 cm. The large star hyacinth, on the other hand, has four to twelve flowers per flower stalk and is up to 35 cm high on average. Finally, we introduce the wild dark star hyacinth.
- Scilla luciliae 'Alba': Historical, white snowy variety from 1885 with a growth height of 5 - 15 cm. The flowering period is between March and April.
- Scilla forbesii ‘Blue Giant‘: Snow shine up to 35 cm tall and sky blue flowers with a white centre.
- Scilla forbesii 'Pink Giant': Delicate pink flowering snow gloss, up to 35 cm high. This attractive variety starts flowering in March.
- Scilla luciliae 'Rose Queen': Star hyacinth with numerous dark pink flowers with a light center. The Chionodoxa luciliae 'Rose Queen' reaches a height of about 15 cm.
- Scilla luciliae 'Violet Beauty': Star hyacinth with a rare purple flower colour. It flowers from mid-March and reaches a height of up to 15 cm.
- Dark star hyacinth (Scilla sardensis): Wild form of the star hyacinth without variety designation or breeding processing. The 5 - 15 cm high plants are more delicate and smaller than Scilla luciliae and produce significantly more flowers in deep gentian blue.
Planting star hyacinth: location, time and procedure
Star hyacinths prefer humus-rich, loose soil in warm, sunny areas. They get along well with most garden soils as long as there is no waterlogging. Planting takes place between September and November, so that the first flowers appear in the following spring.
Star hyacinths are planted in larger groups of 10 - 20 to achieve a dense bloom. The planting distance between the individual bulbs should be 5 - 10 cm. The planting depth is about 10 cm. Before planting in autumn, mature compost, sand and potting soil such as our Plantura organic potting soil can be worked into poorer and heavy soil. The peat-free, nutrient-rich substrate is also ideal for planters and potted snow. In addition, unwanted weeds should be removed from the bed before planting. The onions are stuck with a hand shovel and then slightly watered.
At a glance: planting star hyacinth
- Location: Warm and sunny, humus-rich, loose soil, no waterlogging
- Planting period: September to November
- Preparation: improve nutrient-poor and heavy soil, remove weeds
- Plant groups of 10-20 bulbs 5-10 cm apart using a hand shovel
- Planting depth: About 10 cm
- Water lightly
Combine Snow Shine: Snow Shine bulbs are traditionally planted under trees or hedges as underplanting. In combination with a yellow-flowering forsythia (Forsythia) or witch hazel (Hamamelis), the blue snowy varieties are particularly beautiful, while the white and pink varieties are underwhelming Woody plants such as magnolia (Magnolia) or snowball (Viburnum x bodnantense). You can also use snowdrops (Galanthus), crocus (Crocus), grape hyacinths (Muscari) or early Daffodils (Narcissa) can be planted together to create colorful carpets of flowers.
By self-seeding and daughter bulbs, star hyacinths spread in the garden, whereby S. luciliae spreads less than S. forbesii, which makes it suitable for small plantings in rock gardens and under trees.
The right care
Star hyacinths are easy to care for and do not need to be cut even after they have been drawn in. The nutrient requirement of the easy-care early bloomers is medium-high. After a few years, the supply of nutrients can therefore be exhausted on light, sandy soils. A nutrient deficiency is first recognizable by reduced willingness to flower or premature yellowing of the leaves. A predominantly organic long-term fertilizer such as our Plantura organic flower fertilizer can be loosely distributed around the crop from March if the soil is frost-free or placed in plant bowls when repotting. The animal-free fertilizer granules slowly and gently release the nutrients they contain over weeks and months. This effectively prevents leaching and over-fertilization.
Potted snow shine indoor cultivation should be watered regularly. In summer, the plants in the apartment also move into their bulbs. The star hyacinth is then planted outdoors or kept indoors for a rebloom next winter. A good place for the Snow Gloss bulb to stimulate flowering from autumn is the refrigerator. Make sure that the onions are not too damp or start to rot. After about eight weeks, the star hyacinth can then be placed in a bright and cool location. After a little watering, it begins root growth and shoot formation. After about a week of getting used to it, you can then bring the planter into the warm living room.
The Schneestolz bulbs are hardy to temperatures below -25 °C and do not require any winter protection. You can stay in the same place for years. Propagation is via daughter bulbs, which are dug up at the end of July after the plant has flowered and retracted and placed in a suitable location or kept in a dry, cool room until planted out.
Is snowglow poisonous?
Like many asparagus plants, the star hyacinth is poisonous. Excessive consumption of the plant parts can lead to vomiting, nausea and other symptoms of poisoning. The bulbs should be stored out of the reach of pets and children until plantingwill. However, it is very unlikely that animals would eat and poison themselves from the plants outdoors as they naturally avoid the bulbs and green parts.
A related spring bloomer is the hyacinth (Hyacinthus). We present the onion plant and the most beautiful species in the profile.