NON-NATIVE BLUEBELLS

I like to be really specific when I talk about plants on my blog, but the difference between non-native bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica and Hyacinthoides massartiana) have me confused.  In my garden, in the shade of a dwarf lilac shrub (Syringa 'Red Pixie'), pretty bluebells grow.  I cannot remember buying the bulbs or where I got them, but I know that it took a long time, years, for them to flower.  Instead, I got a lot of lush slender leaves that would lie flat on the soil, and they slowly, very slowly, spread out.  This year I have several flowers and the only thing I know for sure is that they are non-native. They are not English bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta. English bluebell flowers have a distinct appearance.  They grow stems which curve, with the flowers pointing down to the ground, and they flower on one side of the stem.  The tubular flowers are long with the tips of the petals rolling right back.  They are fragrant.  As you can see, mine (shown below) are nothing like that.  They are non-native. 



Non-native bluebells growing in my garden, shade

I am wondering if my bluebells, shown in the images above and below, are Hyacinthoides massartiana.  They are slightly fragrant and the flowers tilt downwards, although not as vertical as those of Hyacinthoides non-scripta.  Also the stem has a very slight curve at the top. 

Non-native bluebells growing in my garden, shade

My neighbour has bluebells in her garden that appear somewhat different to mine.  I don't know whether that is because she grows her in full sun and mine grow in partial shade, much more shade. My neighbour's bluebells seem strongly upright and they have spread widely in just a couple of years.  Her small border is packed with them! Some of the flowers are slightly raised upwards and they clearly grow on both sides of the stem.







Non-native bluebells, possibly Hyacinthoides hispanica (Spanish bluebells)

Non-native bluebells, possibly Hyacinthoides hispanica (Spanish bluebells)

Believe me, I have looked at literally dozens and dozens of specimens on the net but as many image providers have wrongly identified non-native specimens as being English bluebells, then it has left me rather sceptical as to the labelling. 





I found this external website which was interesting but I am still uncertain as to what exactly I am growing in my garden: Cumbria Botany  Also, another great link re bluebells at Grantham Ecology.