How to Grow and Care for Squills

Portuguese squill (Scilla peruviana) is a bulb-bearing herbaceous perennial that grows best in areas that are warm and dry. Indigenous to the western Mediterranean, this species is often planted in gardens for its striking blue flowers. It prefers sandy, well-drained soil, and its bulbs should be planted at or below the soil surface.

A member of the asparagus family, the alpine squill has earned a Royal Horticultural Society of Award of Garden Merit. It is so resilient that pests rarely bother it, and it's also resistant to deer and rodents. The alpine squill's magnificent star-shaped blue blossoms attract bees. Because the entire plant is poisonous, wearing gloves and washing your hands is recommended.

This perennial, glory of the snow or Scilla luciliae gets its name because it blooms so early in the spring or late winter that the light blue blossoms sometimes appear poking up through the snow. Grown from bulbs, it tolerates full sun to partial shade and can be used as a cut flower.

Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) belongs to the lily family. Its common name is a misnomer, since it’s not native to Siberia. Siberian squill originated in other parts of Russia. It’s a plant that’s been cultivated since 1796 and grows best in partial sunlight.

This bulbous perennial is a well-known flower to gardeners, but it's often confused with Scilla luciliae (Lucile's glory-of-the-snow), which is smaller and has significantly fewer flowers per stem. Glory of the snow is native to Turkey, but it's widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. It blooms with purple-blue flowers in the late winter or early spring.