Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Orange Star Flower, Sun Star, Yellow Chinkerinchee

Description:

Numerous, bright orange star flowers from late winter to spring, clustered in upright racemes over strap-like, low basal leaves; flowers tend to open from bottom to top; impressive when massed in the garden, along borders, or as a rock garden accent

Ornamental Features

Orange Star Of Bethlehem features showy racemes of orange star-shaped flowers rising above the foliage from late winter to late spring. Its narrow leaves remain dark green in colour with showy lime green variegation throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Orange Star Of Bethlehem is an herbaceous annual with tall flower stalks held atop a low mound of foliage. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Orange Star Of Bethlehem is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Orange Star Of Bethlehem will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity extending to 12 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 6 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 4 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. To help this plant achive its best flowering performance, periodically apply a flower-boosting fertilizer from early spring through into the active growing season. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by multiplication of the underground bulbs.

Orange Star Of Bethlehem is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the larger thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.