Muscari latifolium Grape Ice

Muscari latifolium 'Grape Ice' has a unique, highly contrasting colour. Its spikes bear small flowers in a very dark purple at the base, a stark contrast to the frosty white found on the flowers at the top of the spike. It blooms in the heart of spring, in April-May. This small plant is perfectly hardy in all our regions and so prolific that a few bulbs planted in autumn form beautiful colourful and fragrant carpets in just a few years. It is beautiful in spring, in the middle of the short meadow or under a leafy hedge. Armenian Muscaris thrive best with shade in the afternoon.

Muscari latifolium is a bulbous plant belonging to the hyacinth family, native to the coniferous forests of the mountains in southern and western Turkey. It is often found growing at the edge of sparse pine forests, on slightly acidic soil.

The 'Grape Ice' variety is a very recent horticultural development with bicoloured and remarkably bright inflorescences, almost black and white. The floral stems are 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8in) tall and bear 20 to 40 small urn-shaped flowers, tightly packed in a compact cluster. After pollination fruits form, containing numerous round, black seeds that germinate very easily. Plants grown from seeds will not always be identical to the parent plant.

Muscari is an unassuming but versatile and very useful plant in the garden or for decorating houses without gardens. Its great resistance to cold, drought, and shade allows it to be used in many situations: in the undergrowth, at the base of trees, as a border to highlight the design of a pathway, in rock gardens alongside heathers or in Japanese-style gardens. It also grows well in pots, on a windowsill or balcony. It is so forgiving that it will tolerate you forgetting to water it and thrive in neglected or weekend gardens. Its blue flowers are very beautiful alongside the yellow trumpets of daffodils or the pink and red cups of triumph tulips.