Bulb · Asparagaceae
Star of Bethlehem
Ornithogalum umbellatum
A gentle spring bulb that lifts white star flowers which nap at noon, forgiving to grow yet toxic enough to handle with care.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
USDA 4–9
6–12 in · 15–30 cm
Overview
If you have never grown a bulb before, this is a kind one to start with. Star of Bethlehem opens white, star-shaped flowers with a soft green stripe down the back of each petal. They keep gentle hours, opening around midday and folding shut by late afternoon or whenever clouds roll in, and that easy habit is exactly why gardeners nicknamed it nap-at-noon. Slender, grassy leaves come up first, and the flowers rest low over them as late spring arrives.
It belongs to the asparagus family and grows from a bulb that happily makes offset bulblets year after year. That generosity is good news for a nervous grower, because it means the plant is almost impossible to lose once it settles in. The only thing to watch is that same eagerness to multiply, since a neat little clump can wander into the lawn and beyond, and across much of the northern United States it has slipped out of gardens into pastures and turf where it counts as a weed. A contained bed keeps everything easy.
The one thing to take seriously is that the whole plant is poisonous. Every part carries cardiac glycosides, with the bulb holding the most, and they can harm pets, livestock, and people. None of this should scare you off growing it. Just give it a spot where children and animals cannot reach, slip on gloves whenever you dig, and you and the plant will get along fine.
Care
The short version: settle the bulbs into moist, well-drained soil in fall, somewhere with full sun to part shade, keep them watered while they grow and bloom through spring, then relax and let them dry out and die back over summer.
Light
Give it full sun if you can, since that brings the best flowering, but do not worry if your spot is less than perfect. It copes happily with partial sun and even light shade, taking about 25 percent shade in stride. A place under deciduous trees suits it well, because the bulb does its growing early in the year before the leaves overhead fill in.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist through spring growth and bloom, watering about every 5 to 10 days whenever rain runs short. Once it has settled in it shrugs off summer drought without any help from you, so there is no need to fuss. The one thing it truly dislikes is wet ground after the foliage goes dormant in late summer, so ease off then.
Soil
Plant it in moist, fertile, well-drained loam with some organic matter mixed in, and it will reward you. It is relaxed about pH and grows contentedly anywhere from 6.0 to 7.5, so that is one less thing to measure. What matters most is drainage rather than richness, because standing water is the one thing that will rot the bulb.
Temperature
This is a tough, cold-hardy bulb, so winter is rarely a worry. It handles cold down to about -20°F (-29°C) and summer warmth up to roughly 86°F (30°C) without trouble. The bulb simply waits out the cold underground and wakes up to push out growth once spring warms the soil.
Humidity
Here is one care task you can cross off entirely. Ordinary outdoor humidity suits it just fine, so there is no target to chase, and drainage at the roots matters far more than moisture in the air.
Feeding
You can be gentle with feeding, since it barely needs any. Work a little balanced bulb fertilizer or compost into the bed when you plant, offer a light feed in early spring as new growth appears, and then leave it be, because rich ground only pushes it to spread faster.
Pruning
Let the leaves fade and die back on their own after the flowers finish, since that is how the bulb recharges for next year. Snip off the spent flower stalks to keep self-seeding in check, and do slip on gloves first, because the sap can irritate your skin.
Repotting
Every 3 to 4 years, once the clumps grow crowded, lift and divide them and everyone is happier for it. The plant will tell you when the time comes: flowering starts to weaken, bulbs begin heaving up toward the surface, and a crowd of small bulblets jostles around the parent.
Size & spacing
These are low, gentle plants that reach only 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) tall, so they will not overwhelm anything. Each clump does spread 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) wide though, and it keeps widening over time. Give it a little room, or better yet a contained bed, and it will settle in without crowding its neighbors.
When to plant
There is no rush and no fuss with the timing here. Tuck the dormant bulbs into the ground in September or October, let them settle quietly through winter, and they will send up leaves and then white flowers from May into June. Once the show is over the foliage yellows and the plant takes a well-earned rest through summer.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: not typically started indoors; plant dormant bulbs directly
- Plant: fall (September to October)
- Harvest: late spring to early summer (May to June)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
The good news is that this bulb is genuinely hard to kill, so there are really only two things to keep an eye on, and they pull in opposite directions. It can rot in soggy ground, yet it spreads a little too eagerly everywhere else. Find your situation below and act early, and both are simple to stay ahead of.
Soft, mushy bulbs that never sprout
If bulbs turn soft and never come up, the culprit is bulb rot, and it takes hold when the soil stays too wet. Waterlogged ground, or heavy moisture while the bulb is resting through summer, is almost always behind it. This one is fixable: lift any bulb you suspect and feel for soft, foul-smelling tissue, throw away the ones that have gone, and replant the firm white bulbs somewhere with better drainage.
Fix:
- Lift and discard affected bulbs
- Improve drainage by amending with grit or organic matter or move to a raised, better-drained site
- Replant healthy firm bulbs in well-drained soil
Green patches wandering out into the lawn and beds
Star of Bethlehem multiplies on its own by producing offset bulblets around each parent bulb, and it will happily wander out of a bed to colonize lawns and pastures. To rein it in, dig up the whole clump and gently pick out every small bulblet before it detaches, then bag the lot rather than adding it to the compost. Expect to repeat the dig over a few seasons, since the ones you miss will pop back up, and that is normal rather than a failure.
Fix:
- Dig out clumps removing all bulblets before they detach
- Bag and dispose of dug bulbs rather than composting
- Repeat removal over several seasons as missed bulblets resprout
Toxicity
It helps to be honest here: this is a plant to treat as a poison, not a snack. Every part holds cardiac glycosides, packed hardest into the bulb, and they can make cats, dogs, horses, and livestock sick and harm people too. Nothing about it is edible, and even the water in a vase of cut stems has been linked to poisoning, so keep it out of reach of anyone who might be tempted to taste it.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Severe
A cat that chews any part will most likely start drooling and being sick, turn away from food, and develop diarrhea. The bulb is where the real danger lies, since the glycosides run highest there and a larger bite can upset the heart rhythm and leave a cat weak or collapsed, so keep curious cats well clear.
Dogs Severe
Dogs that dig up and chew the bulbs face the greatest risk. Keep watch for drooling, a lost appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea, and please treat any staggering, weakness, or irregular heartbeat as an emergency worth a vet call right away.
Horses Severe
A grazing horse may drool heavily and show colic-like belly pain, diarrhea, and muscle tremors. As the toxin builds, the heartbeat can turn fast and erratic, and that is where the real danger sits, so it is worth keeping horses away from any patch.
Rabbits Severe
This is no safe nibble for a rabbit, thanks to the same cardiac glycosides. Look for an upset gut and a refusal to eat, and remember that enough of the bulb can disturb the heart, so it is kindest to keep the plant well out of reach.
Livestock Severe
Cattle, sheep, and goats often show signs within a few hours, beginning with drooling, diarrhea, and belly pain. Once the heart rate and rhythm start to falter the situation turns serious, and grazing enough bulbs can be fatal, so fence stock away from stands of it.
Birds Severe
Birds are not spared these cardiac toxins either. A backyard flock or a pet bird that pecks at the foliage or bulbs can end up with gut distress and the same dangerous strain on the heart, so it is worth fencing them away from any patch.
People Caution
No part of this plant is food, and children are the ones to watch most closely. Swallowing leaves, flowers, or especially a bulb can bring on vomiting and, in larger amounts, the same heart-rhythm trouble seen in pets, so treat it as a poison and wash your hands after any contact with the sap.
Keep bulbs and plants away from pets and children; wear gloves when handling as the sap can irritate skin. Even vase water from cut stems has been implicated in poisoning.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
You will not find a long catalog of named types to puzzle over, which keeps things simple. The plant grown in gardens is really just the wild species itself.
Ornithogalum umbellatum (species)
The wild species you are most likely to grow bears white, star-shaped flowers striped green on their backs that open near midday and close by late afternoon or under cloudy skies, the gentle habit that earned it the name nap-at-noon.
How to propagate
Making more of this plant asks almost nothing of you. The bulb does the work on its own, splitting off fresh offsets every year, so all you really do is help it along.
Offsets & pupsEasy
After foliage dies back in summer or in early fall when dormant · Blooms the following spring once replanted
The easiest path by far is through offsets. Once the foliage has died back in summer or early fall, lift a clump, twist the small bulblets gently off the parent, and settle them back in about 2 to 3 inches deep. Each little one will flower for you the very next spring, so the reward comes quickly.
DivisionEasy
Summer dormancy after foliage yellows · One growing season
Division is just as forgiving. Wait until the leaves yellow during summer dormancy, then dig up and split any crowded clump, which both tidies it and gives you more plants. The divisions settle in within a single growing season, and the plant keeps spreading on its own besides, so you can hardly go wrong.
SeedModerate
Sow ripe seed in fall · Several years to flowering
Seed is the slow and patient route. You can sow ripe seed in fall if you would like to try, but the seedlings inch along and take several years to flower, which is why nearly all the spreading comes from bulblets rather than seed.
Myths
Star of Bethlehem is only a little toxic and never causes more than a mild tummy ache.
Every part of the plant carries cardiac glycosides, and the bulb is by far the strongest. A tiny nibble might stop at a stomach upset, but a real dose can throw the heart into the same dangerous rhythm trouble that foxglove causes. Please treat it as truly poisonous, not just a passing stomachache.
It is a harmless wildflower that naturalizes gently and is safe to plant anywhere.
It sends out offset bulblets quickly, slips beyond the garden, and can turn into a weed of lawns, pastures, and turf. Alabama even lists it as a Class C noxious weed. Plant it only where you can keep it contained, if you plant it at all.