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Scilla bifolia 'Norman Stevens'



A double flowered form of Scilla bifolia. I bought it from Gwaun Valley Nursery at the AGS show at Rosemoor. Their label says:

"Excellent choice form with almost double flowers of rich purple-blue. Grows and increases well in good, rich well-drained soils in sun/part shade."

I was told that it was as strong as they typical form and so with unusual courage I planted it out in the new herbaceous border immediately where I think it has settled in, flowering again in 2025.

In a note about the RHS Early Spring Show in 1999 it says:

"Several new bulbs made their debut. Scilla bifolia 'Norman Stevens' was collected in Turkey and named after the owner of Cambridge Bulbs."

Writing in the Bulletin of the AGS in 2018, Robert Rolfe says:

"When it comes to true blue, the semi-double Scilla bifolia 'Norman Stevens' is capable of putting on quite a performance. Its discoverer, in tandem with Vic Horton, chanced upon this on an eventful Turkish marathon plant-hunting trip in 1979, south of Lake Van. In this the outer array of segments are complemented by a second, typically furrowed central set, with between two and four whitish, yellow tipped and functioning anthers at the core. No seed set here in over 15 years but the Kurdistan population was reportedly self-perpetuating. A word of caution: a pan taken into my alpine house this March was afflicted by a nasty novel ailment that I looked up and diagnosed as Scilla anther smut (Ustilago vaillantii). which despoils the flowers with choking, sooty spores that spill down onto the foliage, engendering further contamination. Destroying the affected bulbs then replanting into a fresh site is the recommended treatment. A duplicate panful left in an open frame was unafflicted, suggesting that the winter-then-spring-then-winter-again conditions under glass in the non-spring of 2018 perhaps fostered the contamination."
23rd March 2024



Paul Christian, on his Rare Plants Catalogue online says:

"This was originally found, by Norman Stevens and the late Vic Horton, in Turkish Kurdistan. This is the eastern end of the range of the species, where it becomes very variable, indeed several variants have been described as new species from there.
The plant has the normal two leaves implied by the name but is remarkable for having flowers which have not six petals, but between eight and twelve, in addition to which some of the anthers are petalloid. In effect this is a double Scilla bifolia. It has the added bonus of an incredible deep purple-blue colouring, totally unlike any other Scilla.
Each bulb can make two scapes 6-8 cm tall with 3-5 flowers on each. A truly remarkable variant and an excellent plant which we only rarely have to offer.
Easy to grow in a well-drained soil, not too dry in summer. Slow to increase and very sparing with its seed."

It was given a P.C. (Preliminary Commendation) by the AGS when shown by Norman Stevens at the Harlow show in 1999 . In the write-up, Robert Rolfe says:

"This unique variant of the wide-ranging Scilla bifolia comes from the eastern end of the species' distribution, where variation reaches such a pitch that several entities have been described as new species. It was at first thought that this might join these in the independent rankings, but further study (and studies in Scilla seem to have been rather popular lately) has placed it firmly as a showy, extra-petalled, strikingly purple-blue example of the above.
It was discovered in Turkish Kurdistan, in the mountains to ther south of Lake Van, by Vic Horton and Norman Stevens (for whom Tony Hall has named it) in 1979, and has been distributed by Cambridge Bulbs under the names Scilla species Double and S. HS 2381. Reports of seeds setting under garden conditions arer lacking, but it is evidently fertile, for Norman relates that bhe found not just a single clump but a uniform, scattered colony occupying a small, burned-over area that had been cleared of scrub by local farmers, though among the bulbs that survived alongside were and Fritillaria minuta.
There is nothing remarkable about the small bulbs, clad in pale brown tunics, nor their standard allocation of two leaves apiece (despite the epithet, Scilla bifolia can have up to five), but the three to five flowers are unmistakable, for instead of the usual six segments, between eight and twelve are present, the number varying even on one scape. Up to 2.5cm across, and with the outer segments much narrower than the 4.5mm wide inner ones. Close examination of the flower shows that, as with many semi-doubles, some of the stamens are petaloid, so accounting for the bonus amount, whereas others are normal (white, with yellow pollen), and evidently functional, witness the natural population. Despite the small size, the bulb is capable of producing two scapes, these reaching a height of 6-8.5 cm, so an established pan is pleasingly showy.
Unfortunately, increase is on the slow side, offset bulbs taking a couple of years to flower and clumps in some years doing no more than ticking over. It seems best if the bulbs are treated in the manner of, say, Cyclamen pseudibericum, with the sand plunge kept just damp over the summer. Certainly there is no danger of invasiveness, unlike some versions of the species."



23rd March 2024 26th March 2024



References:

  • News from the shows , JRHS, Vol.124, Part.5 (1999)
  • Rolfe, Robert - 'Make Mine a Double' , Bulletin of the AGS, Vol.86, Part.4 (2018)
  • Rolfe, Robert - 'Plant Awards 1998-1999' , Bulletin of the AGS, Vol.68, Part.2 (2000)
  • Rare Plants, https://www.rareplants.co.uk/product/scilla-bifolia-norman-stevens-hs-2381/ , accessed 15.04.2025.