Ornithogalum nutans Silver Bells

The Drooping Star of Bethlehem. A valuable, fragrant shade lover, Silver Bells yields attractive flowering spikes studded with 3 to 12 reflexed, tubular, very pale greenish-white flowers with silvery-white petal margins, darker green reverses and a center nub of sheathed, short silver anthers. The flowers are often irregularly spaced on the stems. Opening from the bottom up, the tip of the flowering stem looks like a thick cigar-stub of buds as it begins to bloom. This deer- and rodent-resistant naturalizer is fabulous planted en masse in heirloom restored woodlands as is done at the Keukenhof in the Netherlands. As it matures over time, when it’s happy where it’s planted, it can naturalize by both bulb offsets (called bulbils: baby bulbs on the sides of the mother bulb you’ve planted) and occasionally, self-sowing seed. Since it’s not very hardy, you may want to apply no more than a 2" layer of mulch after the surface of the ground freezes to protect it from winter temperature spiking in the event of inconsistent snow coverage. It’s also a good cut flower. You’ll need about nine bulbs per square foot. (Square footage is determined multiplying the planting site’s length times its width.) Bulb size: 6 cm/up. Dappled sunlight to part shade. Bloom time in horticultural zone 5: May. Plant 4" to 6" deep and 4" to 6" apart. HZ: 6-9. Height: 12".

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