'Spanish bluebell' is a dirty 'word' here in the UK, where Hyacinthoides
hispanicus is highly successful and hybridises with the native H.
non-scriptus to form H. x massartiana. This is perceived by conservationists
as being a threat to our native species and the issue has received a huge
amount of media coverage and has sunk into public's perception, probably
because of its inherent xenophobia ("Bloody foreigners coming over 'ere and
pollinating our bluebells..."). It is extraordinary how often visitors to
the garden here will say, on hearing that bluebells succeed the snowdrops,
'I hope you don't have any Spanish ones', even though they would probably
not be able to tell the difference. Of course we do - no 19th C garden would
not have, and a multicoloured array of hybrids too - but we also have masses
of unadulterated natives, and on the Colesbourne estate are woods currently
blue by the acre with them. (If you have never seen an English bluebell wood
it is one of the botanical sights of the world).
Personally, I think the issue is grossly overexaggerated - no doubt there
are areas where hybrids outnumber natives, especially in urban areas, but it
seems highly improbable that the dreaded hybrids are going to take over
every wood in the country. There are plenty of further scare stories though:
global warming will cause the bluebells to die out because the leaves come
on the trees earlier & thus shade out the bluebells (perhaps the bluebells
may come into growth earlier?) and wicked commercial bulb dealers will strip
every wood in the country for gardeners to plant natives. This 'threat' was
specifically legislated against in 1998, despite the fact that there must be
thousands of acres of woods that could be harvested sustainably.
From a horticultural viewpoint, though, I can't imagine why anyone would
risk their garden by deliberately planting H. hispanicus - it really is an
ineradicable thug.
John Grimshaw
Dr John M. Grimshaw
Sycamore Cottage
Colesbourne
Nr Cheltenham
Gloucestershire GL53 9NP
Tel. 01242 870567