Illustration
Portuguese Squill
Scilla peruviana
Portuguese Squill blooms from May through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Portuguese Squill
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 8–10. Expect it to reach about 12 in tall and 6 in wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Portuguese Squill
Portuguese Squill is a tender bulb, hardy in the ground only in zones 8 to 10: there it goes in during the cool season, typically November or December in zone 9, ahead of its May to June bloom. Colder than zone 8 it will not survive winter in the ground, so grow it in a pot that comes indoors before frost, or plant it out in spring for one season.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 9, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 9 in November. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Portuguese Squill get?
12 intall5 ft 7 inan adult6 inwideSee Portuguese Squill in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
Where these facts come from
Portuguese Squill's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom color and trait tags were checked against 7 published sources on October 24, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- dutchgrown.comDutchGrownheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Brent and Becky's Bulbsheight, hardiness zones, sun and bloom months and color
- High Country Gardensheight, hardiness zones, sun and bloom months and color
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
- terraceiafarms.comTerra Ceia Farmsheight, hardiness zones, bloom months and color and trait tags
- mooreandmooreplants.co.ukMoore and Moore Plantsheight, spread, sun and water
- secretgardengrowers.comSecret Garden Growersheight and hardiness zones
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Good to know about Portuguese Squill
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
All parts are poisonous, a high-severity poison holding cardiac glycosides that slow the heart. Eating it causes mouth pain, nausea, vomiting, cramping and diarrhea. per NC State
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.