Households with bluebells in their garden are urged to take 1 action in April
If you have bluebells growing in your garden, you must take urgent action this month for one key reason.
If your garden is lucky enough to boast bluebells, one gardener has urged you to take action this month to get the best out of the popular flower.
Writing via TikTok's Mud and Bloom account, Denise Hope began by explaining the differences between English and Spanish varieties. "Bluebells are one of the most magical signs of spring in UK woodlands - but not all bluebells are native," she revealed.
"Some are Spanish bluebells, which look similar but grow quite differently." Indeed, English bluebells can be recognised by their drooping stem, while they tend to flower on one side only.
In addition, the flower is of a deep blue shade with a cream-white pollen and is sweetly-scented. Spanish bluebells on the other hand stand more upright and flower on every side.
They are also characterised by a lighter blue tone and are conical in shape. They possess no scent whatsoever, and their pollen is light blue.
Mud and Bloom goes on to advise: "Bluebell colonies take a long time to establish - around five to seven years from seed to flower - and the flowers can take years to recover after footfall damage. If a bluebell’s leaves are crushed, they die back from lack of food as the leaves cannot photosynthesise.
"Native bluebells are also protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which means that digging up the plant or bulb in the countryside is prohibited."
But when it comes to your own garden, why is important to differentiate between English and Spanish bluebells? According the RHS, the latter are invasive and spread readily by seed and bulb offsets (small, immature bulbs).
The RHS elaborates: "In favourable growing conditions, English, Spanish and hybrid bluebells will slowly but steadily spread to form dense clumps, potentially smothering smaller plants and in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Spanish bluebell is listed as an invasive non-native species."
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The advice continues: "In gardens close to wild, native English bluebell populations, Spanish and hybrid bluebells are considered less desirable due to concerns over competition and hybridisation threatening the native bluebell population.
"If your garden is close to a wild population (such as a local woodland), then it is best to avoid planting Spanish and hybrid species, to prevent pollinators transferring pollen and causing hybridisation."
The best way to remove Spanish bluebells include digging out whole clumps, forking out individual plants, and regularly mowing lawns containing them in spring and summer to weaken their bulbs, preventing flowering and self-seeding, which will eventually eradicate them.
The RHS warns: "If an area contains a lot of bluebells, it may take several years of digging, forking out or regular mowing to eradicate them completely."
