Giant sea squill has a baby

In the photo below, take a look at the plant on the right:

Several neighbors walking by have asked me recently what it was, thinking it might be a succulent. It may not be, depending on your definition of succulents (more on that below), but it fits right in, doesn’t it?

In fact, it’s a giant sea squill (Drimia maritima), a large bulb native to rocky coastal habitat of the Mediterranean Basin. In response to the area’s summer dry/winter wet climate (just like ours), it’s in leaf in the winter and spring, goes dormant in the summer, and produces flowers in the fall.

Our Drimia maritima is about 20 years old and has been solitary. Until now. Take a look at what’s peeking out between the mother plant on the right and the Agave nuusaviorum on the left:

It’s a baby sea squill.

I suppose I should (re)move that rock to the left of it to make room for the baby to grow!

I originally bought my bulb in September 2013 at the Home Depot (i.e. 10 years ago) for $15.98. It was an impressive size even then. The sign in the store said the bulbs were 10 years old, so that would make mine 20 years old now.

Size when I bought it in September 2013

Two years ago, in October 2021, I moved the bulb from its original spot to its current home. At the time, it was 22 inches from the top of the emerging leaves to the bottom of the roots, 11 inches side to side, and 38 inches in circumference.

Size when I relocated it in October 2021

Drimia maritima bulbs can grow to massive proportions. Internet sources give a diameter ranging from 6" to 12" and a weight ranging from 2 to 9 pounds. Mine was on the verge of exceeding these dimensions in October 2021. Maybe that’s why it finally split. According to San Marcos Growers, “[i]nstead of forming bulbils as basal offsets this bulb splits dichotomously, forming 2 bulbs for each one and eventually making a large clump.”

Take a look at this clump in the UC Davis Arboretum:

Clump of Drimia maritima in the UC Davis Arboretum

The flowers of Drimia maritima fall in the “interesting” category:

Drimia maritima flowers in the UC Davis Arboretum

While the flowers may be nothing to write home about, the leaves do tick all the boxes for me:

Our Drimia maritima almost three years ago in its original spot, with Euphorbia characias ‘Glacier Blue’ on the right

Which brings me back to the question as to whether bulbs are succulents. According to one definition cited in Wikipedia, “succulent plants are drought-resistant plants in which the leaves, stem, or roots have become more than usually fleshy by the development of water-storing tissue.”

If you accept that definition, then many bulbs could be considered succulents.

An oldtimer once told me that any bulb that grows partially above ground is a succulent. That would include Drimia maritima and any number of South African bulbs like amaryllis, haemanthus, boophone, brunsvigia, as well as the veltheimia below:

Veltheimia capensis with partially exposed bulbs – succulent or not?

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether Drimia maritima is a succulent or not. It’s a cool plant, and I’m glad mine is thriving. Although I’m not sure I really want a clump of them in one place – I prefer the look of a solitary rosette of leaves. When our baby squill is a little bigger, I’ll dig it up and move it somewhere else.

© Gerhard Bock, 2023. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.