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Ledebouria socialis 'Variegated' (Variegated Silver Squill) - Like the species on Ledebouria socialis, this plant is an evergreen bulbous perennial to 6 to 10 inches tall with teardrop-shaped bulbs. Topping these bulbs are the fleshy 4- to 6-inch-long lance-shaped leaves that are bright grayish purple with green blotches above and an underside all purple, but this variety has narrow white leaf margins that are often blushed pink. In spring and summer, rising up on delicate pink stalks just above the leaves, are the 20-25 small flowers that have greenish petals with white markings and purple stamens.
Plant in a well-draining soil in full coastal sun but best in part day sun or light shade with the bulbous part of plant above soil as it will rot if buried. Irrigate occasionally to more infrequently when growing in shade, particularly in coastal gardens. Is cold hardy to about 25 degrees F. A great and underused dry shade plant for growing as a small-scale groundcover or for cracks in walls or in containers and it also makes a nice house plant in climates too extreme for it to grow outdoors.
The species Ledebouria socialis comes from the summer rainfall Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu-Natal in South Africa and was first described in 1870 as Scilla socialis by the English botanist John Gilbert Baker (1834-1920), a name is it often still referred to or by Scilla violacea, a name Kew botanist John Hutchinson gave this form with the purple-colored leaf undersides. In 1970 John Peter Jessop revised Scilla, reclassifying Scilla socialis into the genus Ledebouria. This name was one that Albrecht Wilhelm Roth (1757-1834) used when describing the type species, Ledebouria hyacintha from India, and honors German botanist Dr. Carl F. von Ledebour (1785-1851). Another common name for this species is Wood Hyacinth.
This variegated form was introduced into cultivation in the US by the Huntington Botanic Gardens through their International Succulent Introductions program in 2018 as ISI 2018-26. Ledebouria socialis 'Variegated'. We were fortunate to get a plant a year earlier from the gardens Desert Garden curator John Trager and with the help of addition plants acquired from Tony and Holly Krock's Krock Nursery we have been frantically trying to build numbers to be able to sell this incredibly attractive plant.
This information about Ledebouria socialis 'Variegated' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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