Siberian squill
Scilla siberica
Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) is one of the tiniest, toughest, and earliest of all spring bulbs: a 4-6 inch geophyte that opens nodding, bell-shaped flowers of intense gentian-blue (there is also a white form) over strappy leaves, carpeting the ground in vivid blue before most other bulbs are awake. POWO (Kew) places it as native to southwestern Asia and the Caucasus — Russia, Türkiye, and Iran — so despite the common name it is not really Siberian. It is hardy to extreme cold (about zone 2) and just about foolproof, but it carries one load-bearing honesty caveat into the garden: it naturalizes and self-seeds very freely and can become invasive, spreading from beds into lawns and natural areas, and is reported as invasive in parts of North America. Plant it only where a spreading blue carpet is welcome and never beside wild or natural land. All parts are toxic if eaten (cardiac glycosides), so it is an ornamental, not a food plant — but as a very-early bloomer it is a valuable nectar and pollen source for the first bees of the year.
Climate fit: moderate (56/100)
Border
Filler
Light
Full sun / Part shade
Water
Moderate water
Mature size
4-6" tall · 3" apart
Hardy in zones
2a-8b
brutally cold to frosty winters
Native in Illinois
No
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Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) is an ornamental spring bulb, not a food plant: all parts are toxic if eaten, as the bulbs and foliage contain cardiac glycosides.
Cold hardiness
These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.
Now
Zone 6b
Plotwright
USDA Zone 6b
-5°F to 0°F
Well-suited
Zone 7a
Plotwright
0°F to 5°F
Well-suited
In plain terms: This location has cold winters. Its winters are projected to keep warming through 2050.
✓
Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.
Heat tolerance
Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.
Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...
Where this plant fits
Suitable across 40 ecoregions — 35 climate-resilient through 2070 · 5 suited today. Best matches first.
Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
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Arizona Mountains forests
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Blue Mountains forests
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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands
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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests
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Central Tallgrass prairie
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Central-Southern Cascades Forests
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Colorado Rockies forests
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Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland
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Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Siberian squill (Scilla siberica). Retrieved 2026, June 25, from https://plotwright.com/plants/scilla-siberica
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited - 18 source-backed.
Plants of the World Online (POWO)
Botanical research database
Backs 17 fields
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