How to remove Spanish Bluebells and hybrids

The Spanish Bluebell, Hyacinthoides hispanica, is commonly planted in gardens throughout Britain. It is bigger and more coarse than the native bluebell, and is paler in colour. Unfortunately it is able to hybridise readily with native bluebells to produce a huge range of intermediate sports exhibiting characteristics of either parent to varying degrees.

As a consequence its genes are spreading into native populations, meaning that stands of pure Hyacinthoides non-scripta are under threat. You can help prevent this by removing Spanish Bluebells.

They do not respond to weed killer so the only solution is to physically remove them using a spade. The bulb can reach a considerable depth so a fair amount of effort is required—if you don’t remove the bulb you’ll find that the plant surfaces again next Spring.

You can read more about the spanish hybrids by following the links below:

Bluebell identification tips from The Woodland Trust >
Bluebell identification and removal from the RHS >