Scilla peruviana, the Portuguese squill, is a species of Scilla native to the western Mediterranean region in Iberia, Italy, and northwest Africa. Although the epithet peruviana means "from Peru", it is strictly a western Mediterranean species. Linnaeus named the species in 1753, citing an earlier name given to the plant by Carolus Clusius, Hyacinthus stellatus peruanus. Clusius mentioned the species as growing in the Antwerp garden of a certain Everardus Munichoven, who reportedly got the plants from Peru. The error was already mentioned in 1804 in Curtis's Botanical Magazine. There is no reliable source for the story about a ship named 'Peru', shipping plants from Spain to Northern Europe, misleading Clusius or Linnaeus into giving the erroneous name. It is a bulb-bearing herbaceous perennial plant. The bulb is 6–8 cm diameter, white with a covering of brown scales. The leaves are linear, 20–60 cm long and 1–4 cm broad, with 5-15 leaves produced each spring. The flowering stem is 15–40 cm tall, bearing a dense pyramidal raceme of 40-100 flowers; each flower is blue, 1–2 cm diameter, with six tepals.
Portuguese Squill Care
Portuguese Squill



What is the plant
How to Care for the Plant
Water
Water regularly until flowering because the resting phase begins and they no longer need water.
Pruning
No pruning necessary
Fertilizer
Fertilize with manure in the fall.
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Sunlight
Full Sun
Soil
Easily grown in fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soils in full sun or partial shade.
Temperature
Scilla peruviana's foliage tolerates temperatures as low as 28°F.
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Container
Bring the container indoors in the fall to protect the bulbs from cold.
Additional
All parts of the plant are toxic. Do not ingest. This bulb grows best in warm, arid climates that are similar to the Western Mediterranean region where the plants grow wild. When the bulbs get enough moisture, they retain their foliage almost year-round.
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