Should I kill Spanish bluebells

[peajotter]

I’ve recently moved house and have a number of bluebells in a corner. It looks like they were planted as natives but have hybridised with Spanish ones so I have a mix now.

Is it worth trying to remove the Spanish bluebells? If so, would the native ones reproduce? There is a big patch of Spanish ones just over the hedge in my neighbours garden so I’m worried that any new plants would be hybrids even if i tried.

I would pull them up and plant something different, as you say, if there’s Spanish over the fence any natives will probably hybridise.
I wouldn’t be comfortable having them in the garden but that’s just me

Yes, if you have a mixture of natives and hybrids, well worth removing the hybrids.

Despite what a lot of the info on the intenet says, the "Spanish" just over the hedge are likely themselves to be hybrids - true spanish bluebells are exceedingly rare in this country. Hybrids of course are very variable.

It's probably not worth trying to grow natives that close to hybrids.

Yes, I would get rid of the Spanish or hybrid bluebells at every opportunity.
Depending on how well you know/get on with your neighbour, I might also have a conversation with them at some point about how we will lose our native bluebells if the Spanish ones continue to be grown and hybridise with the native ones.
But then I’m fairly fervent about the subject. I have also written to a few local councils about it.

There is one ray of hope for the natives - the hybrids are less tolerant of shade, which is another reason they haven't yet made inroads into our bluebell woods.

How do I know the difference? I have aimed in my new garden just gone over

Native bluebells grow on one side of the stem and are often quite dark blue. They look a lot less frilly than the Spanish ones.
And they have a glorious scent.

www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/blog/whats-the-difference-between-spanish-bluebells-and-english-bluebells

Thanks giggorata

I let them flower then pull up and don't compost. I let them run riot for a couple of years when we first moved and they edged out all my daffs and tulips

I would leave them if they are in full sun, as they do better there than the native ones, and may even flower at a different time to the natives meaning no mixing. If there is a clump next door you will not maintain bluebell “purity” in your garden and you dont know which insects rely in and feed from them. Bees speak to each other and plan their nests according to nectar availability. If they have been there for a while, the pesticides will have worn off and they will be better for wildlife than new ones.
I have clumps of Spanish ones planted by previous owners decades ago, bluebells pull themselves downwards each year so they may be quite a way down. They are in full sun which looks so odd, and I will leave them there, planting natives in the hedgerow at the other end.
If you are close to bluebell woods I would choose to pull them up, to protect those ones. All bluebells are thugs, the native ones are just prettier ☺️

Kill them kill them kill them!

If you leave them you will end up with nothing else in your border.

Yes. I naively left mine thinking they could cover some shady bits but they came up at the front through my plants. They harbour snails and slugs too. Damn things.

How deep do everyone’s Spanish bluebells get?

How deep do everyone’s Spanish bluebells get?

Deep, deep down to the fires of hell

I wish I could get rid of mine! I think I've got them all out but it seems to be impossible and more grow back!

I wish I could get rid of mine! I think I've got them all out but it seems to be impossible and more grow back!

I feel like this with muscari!
I do have it growing elsewhere in the garden where it’s quite nice but it really didn’t suit the original space.

Guaranteed new ones always somehow manage to pop up in autumn and spring.

Thanks all. I’ll try to remove the Spanish and hybrid ones I think. We’re not near any bluebell woods (sadly) and lots of local gardens have hybrids so I’m not going to be causing extra problems. I don’t want to ask the neighbour as she’s in her 80s and loves them.

I’ve just discovered another bunch which are native too! They are all growing in deep shade in a dry slope under a hedge on a wild corner of the garden where nothing else thrives. The hybrids are mostly in sunnier parts of the garden so hopefully I’ll separate them out ok.

@peajotter - give the dry ones extra water through the summer, letting the foliage gather as much sunlight as possible, and they will do even better next year.

Yes. They are literally a pale imitation.