Free ,Native and Heritage Bulbs Plantathon !

Just found the article below on the BBC. English Heritage wants people to join in by planting native daffodil or bluebell bulbs that are under threat from hybrids . Bulbs can be collected free from various English Heritage sites.
Anyone know where these are

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37674872

 

Just googled

1. Offer is one free bulb for every member and paying visitor at each participating property.

One daffodil will look just the part in the centre of my lawn !

 

Hi Harry,

If you have a Poundland near you they are selling native Bluebells ( 15 for £1 ), although they're best planted " in the green " after flowering as if the papery skin covering the bulb dries off they usually don't grow.

There's always been a bit if a debate over what Wordsworth saw, whether it was N. Pseudonarsissus or N. Lobularis but both are available from mail order firms.

 

Are you sure the Bluebells Poundland are selling aren't those hellish things which are the bane of my life Spanish Bluebells? I'd pay YOU a £1 for every 15 you could dig up in my garden. I literally dig up hundreds each year and STILL they keep popping up all over the place. Will even burst through really tough membrane. If they are native Bluebells I wonder where they came from and were they legitimately sourced? To be honest the only place I think native Bluebells look great is enmass in a woodland setting, not in a manicured garden. There are many Spring flowering bulbs more suited to gardens IMO.

 

I have tried planting Bluebell bulbs with little success . As Anthony said better if you can obtain them in the green.
I agree with Silu , a natural woodland display is my preferred place to see them . Near to me we have the Fairy Glen and Elnup Wood , both have stunning displays of Bluebells in spring.

 

I would be very wary of so called 'English Bluebell' bulbs at 15 for £1 from Poundland. English Bluebells are under serious thread from hybridisation by the closely related Spanish Bluebell. Responsible growers and suppliers go to serious lengths to supply pure stock. It is really important not to plant Spanish Bluebells in areas where our native species grows naturally. The threat of hybridisation is real and could in the worst scenario result in the extinction of our native species. Please beware.

 

Sorry Redwing but plenty of companies offer pure English bluebells.

 

You misunderstand me A R. I know there are responsible and reputable growers of English Bluebells. Please re read what I wrote! I do not believe that Poundland is a reputable grower of English Bluebells and nothing will convince me that it is.

 

Well I've had loads of good stuff off them and don't forget Poundland are only a retailer not a grower.

 

I would encourage Anthony and anyone else who wants to plant bluebells to only buy these bulbs from a reputable source. Here are two links which explain the threat to our native species and they explain it better than I can.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/vi...oodland-wildflowers/identify-native-bluebell/

http://www.independent.co.uk/enviro...a-fight-for-their-very-survival-10204300.html

This autumn I planted some English bluebell bulbs on a bank against a hedge. I paid an above average price from them and bought from a recommended supplier because I live near native woodland that is carpeted in bluebells. I'll be upset if any turn out to be Spanish. I wanted to bring some of that beauty into my garden but I do not want to risk hybridisation in the woods. I think it is very irresponsible of suppliers to sell bulbs purportedly of this species for knock down prices, because they probably are not the native ones.

 

I wish more would think as you do, we also have some beautiful bluebell woods here. Back in the Spring a neighbour invited me around to their house for a cuppa and, naturally, I wandered around the garden. There were dozens and dozens of Spanish bluebells in their garden! I might add they were planted by the previous owner. I did mention the woes of SB but its fallen on deaf ears because his response was "But these do look pretty"

 

Thanks M. SE England is the area where the native bluebells are most prolific. We have a responsibility, IMO, to protect them. Invasive species are increasingly problematical. If I do end up with some Spanish ones of the ones I just planted, I will dig them up, despite it being on a steep bank and not easy to work.

They do look pretty, but that isn't the point as you know. I'm glad someone else agrees with me. Too many gardeners think that because something is a bargain, it must be good.........but it's not necessarily so.

 

I've bought from the discounted stores before, and probably will do again, but I have found that the bulbs are not always as "described" Both @Sheal and I have bought zantedeschia bulbs where the variety was definitely not the same as the picture. Little harm done maybe just a colour clash (Actually, also happened with some gladioli bulbs this year too )
I agree that for something such as English bluebells, and the associated risks, you are better off buying from a reputable source.