Commonly known as Glory of the Snow since it is one of spring’s early bloomers, C. luciliae was previously known as C. gigantea. It is a large flowering species that dates back to around 1880 from Turkey. It has three or four star-shaped, six-petaled clustered lavender-blue flowers with white centers atop dark stems with sparse, narrow foliage. This vigorous hybrid is deer-resistant and naturalizes readily in well-draining soil and in full to partial sunlight. As it matures over time, when it’s happy where it’s planted, it naturalizes by bulb offsets (called bulbils: baby bulbs on the sides of the mother bulb you’ve planted), and maybe even by self-sowing seed. It’s terrific planted en masse in garden borders, sunny woodland borders, rock gardens and in irregular river-like swaths.

You’ll need about nine bulbs per square foot. (Square footage is determined multiplying the planting site’s length times its width.) Bulb size: 5 cm/up. Full to partial sunlight. Bloom time in horticultural zone 5: April. Plant 4" deep and 4" apart. HZ: 3-8. Height: 8" (or a little taller).

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