The Retro Way: INVASIVE SPANISH BLUEBELLS

Spanish Bluebell Invasion

This is a campaign to ban the sale, planting and wreckless discarding of the Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica) in the UK. It is already listed as a Schedule 9 species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in Northern Ireland and Ire, where it is an offence to plant or allow to spread into the wild. My campaign is to extend this ban to the rest of the UK. Please sign the petition and share this post.

NATIVE BLUEBELLS ARE PROTECTED IN THE UK BUT NON-NATIVE VARIETIES ARE NOT

"The Spanish bluebell, which hangs on both sides and is bigger and

generally more robust, is truly, truly invasive. Once you get that into a border,

it's very difficult to get it out". Monty Don

INVASIVE SPANISH BLUEBELLS - Spanish Bluebells are extremely invasive and almost impossible to eradicate once they have established themselves. They spread via the flowers plus underground shoots. They can pop up a good distance from their origins. It's very important to remove them, not only because they are destroying English Bluebells but also because they can dominate your borders and even infest your lawn. They will infiltrate your existing plants with grow bulbs inbetween plant roots.

SIGN THE PETITION

To remove them, gently loosen the ground around them and remove the stalk and the bulb, which are white balls. If you just pull the flowers or stalks, the plant will sacrifice part of its lower stalk to trick you into leaving the bulb. Bag up all the flowers, stalks and bulbs and take the waste to the tip. Put it into the garden waste skip as then it will be heat-treated to ensure it cannot spread. They can completely take over a border, in which case you will need to dig everything up and sift through the soil. Or bag everything up, take it to the tip and start afresh, which is what I am doing. One suggestion found on the internet is to snap off the stems and pour into them Jayes Fluid, a powerful disinfectant. This, apparently, is more effective than removing the bulbs as it gets to the heart of the problem. I have not tried this method but have bought some Jayes Fluid and will update this post once results are found.

The Wildlife Trusts says...

Gardeners' World says...

Gardening Know How says...

'Spanish bluebells spread by roots connecting the bulbs underground. This allows them to fill in great swaths of land and take over an area.'

Defra says...

FACTS ABOUT SPANISH BLUEBELLS

They are resistant to weedkiller
Their roots can grow through weed barrier fabric
They propogate via seeds from the flowers plus underground via roots and bulbs
They release their stems if pulled but leave their bulbs intact to grow new stems
They have no scent
They are more vigorous than the native English Bluebell
Their removed bulbs will survive if deposited on compost heaps
They can travel long distances underground via runners
They can pop up between pavers and push up slabs
They can choke other plants out
They can takeover paths and gravel areas, as well as borders, lawns, low beds, etc
They are entirely poisonous and therefore dangerous to pets and children