Silver squill
Ledebouria socialis
Also called Wood hyacinth, Leopard lily (squill) and Scilla violacea
Houseplant · Patterned foliageThe purple bulbs belong ON TOP of the compost, not buried — half out is how it grows in the wild and burying them is the one reliable way to rot it. Nearly no water from November to February.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Once a fortnightSoak, then bone-dry — wait until the soil is dry right through — lift the pot, it tells you.
- Light
- Bright, with several hours of direct sun
- Feed
- Every 90 days
- Humidity
- Low
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out for the summer RHS H1C, to 5°C
- Size
- 0.25 m tall · 0.3 m across
- Lifecycle
- Bulb
- Origin
- Eastern Cape, South Africa
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
The ASPCA catalogue names neither Ledebouria nor Scilla, the genus this plant used to sit in, and both spellings were checked. That is an absence and not a clean bill — and it is a bulb, which is the part of a plant most often the toxic one.
Checked against ASPCA on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- A bulb that was buried goes soft and the leaves pull straight out of it. They belong half out of the compost — if you cannot see purple, it is too deep.Bulb rot from planting too deep · disease
- Long floppy leaves with the silver spotting washed out, leaning hard at the window. It wants several hours of direct sun, which is more than most things on a houseplant shelf.Stretched pale leaves · disorder