BBC News coverage today (2nd May 2008) has reported that the native British Bluebell is under threat from a very much less desirable Spanish variety. This is
not the first time the problem has been the subject of a national TV programme, I recall Gardener's World and Monty Don pointing out the threat at least a
year ago.
The British version is much more delicate than the Spanish form, and susceptible to cross pollination, such that the resulting hybrids lose the scent and characteristics of our native form.
The solution, or at least the steps to take to slow the loss of our native bluebell, is to ensure that every foreign form that you come across, and that is most likely to be in your garden, is lifted and destroyed.
So how to tell them apart? Take a look at this page here:
Compare English and Spanish Bluebells
The British version is much more delicate than the Spanish form, and susceptible to cross pollination, such that the resulting hybrids lose the scent and characteristics of our native form.
The solution, or at least the steps to take to slow the loss of our native bluebell, is to ensure that every foreign form that you come across, and that is most likely to be in your garden, is lifted and destroyed.
So how to tell them apart? Take a look at this page here:
Compare English and Spanish Bluebells
