It's a tough little bulb - spring star flower

Sunset, Oct, 1990

Spring star flower (Ipheion uniflorum) is a tough little bulb that produces an abundance of delicate 1- to 2-inch blue star-shaped flowers in late winter and early spring. Flower stems are about 8 inches long, rising above grassy bluish green leaves (which smell like onions when bruised).

This easygoing plant adapts to almost any soil, can take sun or partial shade, and isn't fussy about water. If it sounds like a wonder bulb, it is. The flower looks good in containers, rock gardens, wild gardens, along the front edges of borders, and under trees.

It goes completely dormant in summer, but multiplies rapidly and comes back in greater numbers each winter. When foliage dies back in summer, you can interplant annuals as long as you're careful not to disturb the bulbs.

Look for bulbs in nurseries this month. You can plant them from now until December and expect to have a blanket of flowers come spring. Set bulbs in the soil 2 to 3 inches deep and 2 to 3 inches apart. In containers, space bulbs about an inch apart and cover them with an inch of soil.

Bulbs can stay in the same container for several years. Just water the pots during the growing season-fall to spring. You can move the pots out of sight after the bulbs have flowered.