I was inspired to draw this Spring Star flower (Ipheion uniflorum) from a page in the Autumn 2014 issue of 'Your Garden' magazine.
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| 'Spring Star' Prismacolor pencils on Strathmore Bristol Vellum |
That would normally have been the end of the story, but after doing a bit of reading about them I decided I wanted some for my garden.
Wikipedia entry: "...a small herbaceous perennial growing from a bulb and producing flat, shiny, green, hairless, grasslike leaves up to 30 cm (12 in) long. The foliage has an onionlike scent when crushed. The stem grows up to 20 cm (8 in) tall and bears a solitary showy flower in spring (hence the Latin name uniflorum - "single flower"). Each honey-scented, star-shaped flower has six pointed lobes up to 3 centimeters long in shades of very pale to deep purple-blue."
I found them quite soon after I started looking - at my local big chain hardware shop (Bunnings) - but as is usually the way, at the time of purchase I had no idea where I would be planting them but figured I'd be able to shoehorn them in somewhere. I ended up putting them in the 'new' garden bed that runs along the patio. The bed gets hot midday and afternoon sun for most of the year so all of the tough plants live there. I planted the bulbs in a spot at the back of the bed where they are currently sheltered by cordylines and salvias. Being terrible at keeping records, I'm not sure when exactly I planted them, but it was definitely Autumn - sometime after March and before May this year. The only evidence of this I can find appears in the photo below.
You can see the Spring Stars' leaves (reminiscent of onion leaves) in the bottom right hand corner.
They are early-Spring bloomers and right on cue, they have started doing their thing (flowering that is). I planted two packets of bulbs - one light and one dark purple/blue. I haven't counted them, but I think the light purple are in the majority. I have read that there is a white variety which I will have to keep a lookout for...
I haven't actually hunkered down to smell the flowers, or crushed the leaves to see if they do smell like onions, but I will take note of these next time I'm in the garden. Apparently they are related to onions - they are in the allium subfamily (Allioideae) which would explain the supposed onion-like scent and leaves.
They are blooming happily amongst an assortment of random annuals and perennials (salvias, primulas, a grevillea and paper daisies). I don't water this particular garden bed very often, as just about everything in it has quite low water requirements, so it is definitely a plus that they are flourishing with minimal fuss.
Another thing they have going for them is that (according to the packet the bulbs came in) they don't need to be dug out and divided each year to keep going strong (unlike some bulbs). I will dig some up and divide them eventually though - to spread them to other spots in the garden and also to be able to give some to my mother-in-law who also collects plants and likes anything with a pretty flower (which this one certainly does).
Cultivation notes (via Tesselaars):
Botanical name: Ipheion uniflora /Tritelea uniflora
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Plant/bulb type: True bulb
Planting time: Late Summer to Autumn
Height: 10-12cm
Depth & spacing: 4-5cm deep & 5-10cm apart
Aspect: Full sun to light shade.
Soil: Well drained is ideal although very hardy and tolerant. We've even seen them growing through bitumen!
Fertilising: In poor soils top dress with a complete fertiliser each Autumn. Eg: Blood & Bone.
Flowering time: From early Spring for many weeks.
After flowering care: No care required! These bulbs are self-sufficient. Simply ensure the bulbs don't become completely dried out during periods of active growth.
Comments: Extremely cheerful and just as hardy. Plant where they can naturalise. They will quickly develop into dense clumps of star-shaped flowers.
Climate: Tropical to Cool.
