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Sun Star
"Sun Star" orange perennial flower
This is one of the other flowers that followed us home from the store yesterday.These guys caught my eye as we were going into the store. I love taking pictures of flowers so something vibrant and different like this is almost certainly going to come home with me! Does not seem to be a lot of information online about it though.
Browse related images by keyword:
Chesapeake Blaze 6 | Chesapeake Sunburst 6 | Chesapeake Sunset 6 | flower 313 | hybrid 10 | orange 46 | Ornithogalum 7 | perennial 7 | Sun Star 7
Chesapeake Blaze 6 | Chesapeake Sunburst 6 | Chesapeake Sunset 6 | flower 313 | hybrid 10 | orange 46 | Ornithogalum 7 | perennial 7 | Sun Star 7
Feedback for Sun Star:
| Auntie G | April 2, 2006 4:55 pm |
| Star Flower | |
| Chesapeake Series Star-of-Bethlehem Botanical Name: Ornithogalum 'Chesapeake Blaze', 'Chesapeake Sunburst', and 'Chesapeake Sunset' Family: Liliaceae Ornithogalum 'Sun Star' |
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| Bill Heller | April 19, 2006 1:40 am |
| Chesapeake Sunburst | |
| Ahh, what a genius! Thank you! So, it is a hybrid of a common cut flower called Ornithogalum. It is designed to live in a small container and so far mine has been very happy in the little pot it came in. "combining the dense floral display and large flowers of Ornithogalum thyrsoides, compact habit of O. multifolium, and intense orange color and short stature of O. dubium." -U.S. National Arboretum There are several variations as mentioned above. I believe this is a Sunburst. |
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| Kiana | April 22, 2006 4:31 pm |
| Chesapeake Sunburst. | |
| A friend just gave me the Chesapeake Sunburst, it's drop dead stunning. Could you give me growing instructions? I can't seem to find out much about it. Thank you. | |
| Bill Heller | April 23, 2006 4:00 am |
| RE: Chesapeake Sunburst. | |
| Hi Kiana, Oh yeah, it really is beautiful, I love this plant. The store where I got mine has a white one and a yellow one now. I can't decide which one to get! I'll probably have to get them both so I have a full set. :-) As far as care, first of all I don't know how much you know about plants, but it is a perennial bulb. So when the leaves turn yellow and die in a few months don't feel bad! It is supposed to do that, it will be back in the winter. The tag on mine says... "Indoors: Keep potting mix uniformly moist, good drainage. Remove dead flower spikes at base. outdoors: USDA ZOnes 9 and 10, not tolerant of frost. Transplant to garden in sandy loam after spring bloom. Protect from frost. When leaves die back gradually withhold water and allow plant to dry out. Avoid summer watering, plants will grow with winter rain. (or, I guess, winter waterings inside) Fertilizer: Use a blended household fertilizer at 1/2 reccomended rate. Apply in early spring once plant shows new growth." Hope that helps!! -Bill Heller |
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| Gail | May 22, 2006 7:07 am |
| Sun Star | |
| My daughter bought me one for Mothers Day / Orange, It's beautiful. Keeping mine indoors. I'm one year into gardening and have alot of learning ahead. When you say remove dead flower spikes at base I'm not exactly sure where to remove, Just the flower head ? stem ? or am I totally off base? Thanks Any other information will be appreciated. Thanks Gail | |
| Takeo Tomiokak | March 31, 2007 5:32 am |
| Ornithogalum bulb | |
| Dear　Sir I can know this splendid flower, and Ornithogalum hybrids Chesapeake is happy. Please show a place selling a bulb. |
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| Angie | April 28, 2007 10:34 am |
| care of SunStar | |
| I received a SunStar plant for mother's day a few years back. I finally found the instructions for caring for it. I am going to copy it all here. Sunstar prefer to live in a well lit location that's just shy of full sun. Check or water every couple of days until you become familiar with your plant's needs. The soil shold be moist at all times. If you would like to transplant your Sunstar into the garden or an outdoor container, choose a spot that gets bright, morning light. Let the top of the soil dry out between waterings and be sure to use a soil that includes some organic matter. |
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| Peggy | May 12, 2007 7:34 am |
| remove spikes at base? | |
| I have the same question Gail has, posted on May 22nd. Do we remove spikes (flowers) at base of plant or base of flower? Thank you! |
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| Bill Heller | May 12, 2007 2:11 pm |
| RE: remove spikes at base? | |
| We have always removed them at the base of the spike. That is how I read this... "Remove dead flower spikes at base." That is from the tag of my original plant. (full text above.) I assumed it would say "remove at base of flower" otherwise. Either way, the whole plant dies back after blooming, so it will be a moot point in a month or two. :-D Of course, the leaves are still important after it blooms. I would let them get as much sun as they can tolerate in your area until they dry up. How much exactly? Well, I have read "Full sun" as others have posted here. But I can tell you full sun here (Southern CA) would burn the leaves in about a day. So you will have to experiment a little and watch how it does. It is going to depend heavily upon your location but also your particular plant and whether you have it in a pot or the ground. |
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| Gloria | May 13, 2007 10:55 am |
| This beautiful Sun Star | |
| Does this mean that you can't just plant outside and leave the bulb in the ground (Michigan) like a tulip? Do these have to be dug out and replanted in the house for winter keeping? Anyone have any thoughts or experiences regarding this? | |
| Bill Heller | May 13, 2007 5:08 pm |
| RE: This beautiful Sun Star | |
| They don't like frost, at all. Most of the actual Sun Stars I have seen say "zones 9 and 10," I do have a similar plant called a snake flower [Ornithogalum dubium] (which is one of the Ornithogalums that the Sun Star was bred from) that says it is hardy to zone 7. Michigan is zones 4,5 or 6 so I would say there is no chance unless you dig up the bulbs in the winter. You don't have to plant them in the house though, you can dig them up and let them dry out after they die back in the summer. Then in spring, plant them in the garden after the last threat of frost. There are Tulips that are supposed to be safe as low as zone 3 so it probably would not be safe to assume Sun Stars would be safe just because Tulips survive. |
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| Andy czupofski | May 15, 2007 11:32 am |
| sun star flower | |
| we bought a real nice looking sun star plant for mothers day. we live in zone 8, can we plant it outside or should we leave it in the pot we got it in and keep it inside thank you im new to doing flowers around the house and garden and i dont want to wreck this one |
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| Bill Heller | May 15, 2007 12:13 pm |
| RE: sun star flower | |
| Unless you live in zones 9 or 10 you will need to protect the Sun Star bulbs from frost in the winter. Keep them close to a heated building or cover the flower bed in the winter if you only get very light frost. (We are in zone 9 bordering on zone 10 and we get frost from time to time) Otherwise you can plant them in the garden and enjoy them all spring. And, like I said before, don't feel bad when the flower dies in the summer, they are supposed to do that. The bulbs will come up again next year. There are more tips and questions & answers on the Sun Star main page too. |
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| Beth A McGovney | May 24, 2007 9:30 am |
| sunstar | |
| Hi Bill, You seem to have been elected President of the of the Sun Star FanClub! Why is there so little on the net about them? Yours is the only site - other than a picture - that I found. I had one last year and loved it, so bought another yesterday when it showed up in Walmart. Last year's didn't survive the winter in my zone 3 garden. I had no clue ;-) Thanks for your help! Do you have any that have survived their initial blooming cycle? Beth |
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| Bill Heller | May 24, 2007 1:26 pm |
| RE: sunstar | |
| Hi Beth! LOL, I guess so, and that's OK with me. I love my plants as much as I love taking pictures. That's why there are so many plant pictures on the site! I don't know that much about the big business side of plants, so this is just speculation. But the Sun Star is a fairly new Hybrid. The earliest mention of it I have found is from 1999. It was hybridized by the US National Arboretum and in my experience the plants that are hybridized by smaller groups and individuals get more information out there because they are usually members of clubs and do a lot of talking about their "babies" which ends up in lot more coverage. Here is the official announcement from the USNA (If that link ever dries up, just drop me a note, I grabbed a backup copy and I would be happy to send it to you) This was my first Sun Star, and so far it is the only one I have had for a full year. It is alive, but it has not bloomed again yet. In it's defense, I started watering it late in it's season and I have not fed it yet. Since we don't own our home and only have a small back yard/patio area most of my plants, including this one, are in containers. (Not that it would have made a difference, we have had next to no rain this year.) The bulbs were dried up and brown in the soil, as they should be in the off season. When I started watering they turned a nice healthy green color and look like they are just about to sprout. (yes, I was bad, I peeked. But if you want to do that yourself be gentle! New baby roots are extremely delicate! I lightly dusted the dirt off the top of mine without disturbing the bulbs.) This brings up an interesting point. Sometimes when you get this type of flower the blooms can be forced. Especially if the source is a place that is not a reputable nursery (I got mine at the grocery store, and not saying anything bad about them or WalMart, but "jack of all trades..." you know). When they are forced, they are given an extreme amount of plant food in just the right way to make them bloom all at once and like crazy just in the desired season. (don't ask me how, I know it sounds like it would burn the poor thing and kill it right away.) But what it can do is actually weaken the plant because it gives it's all for the blossoms and after it is done blooming the plant dies. If the plant survives, or even just from the change in environment, it may take it a bit of time to adjust to it's new environment. Hopefully that will come as some solace to those of you who feel like you always kill your plants. Of course, the frost was probably the culprit in your case, but there are bulbs that survive in zone three. So, in the absence of real information, it is not unreasonable to think it may have survived. It's all a learning process. -Bill Heller |
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| sophia v. | May 26, 2007 3:49 pm |
| Love this flower! | |
| I have mine in a pot outside where it gets shade and sun... so far so good. I can see that the stems reach toward the sun, changing direction during the day... amazingly beautiful and graceful. I got mine from the local OSH hardware... wish I had bought 10 of them! how gorgeous would a grouping be!? I too am an ameteur gardner though... lots of learning to do. Mine said that it is very tolerant of different types of light. I have a feeling this may just be a great plant... what a gift! By the way... love the site. |
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| Penny | May 30, 2007 11:41 am |
| Sun Star | |
| Got mine for mothers day and loved it. I'm new to gardening in a sense. I quit completely cause I just seemed to kill everything I touched. I got very dicouraged. Then I saw where this was a perennial and would love to treat it right and change my luck. I don't know what zone I live in but I'm in Tulsa, Ok. It's taller but drooping heavily with all the blooms and turning a little yellow on the leaf tips. Any tips? | |
| Dorothy Hefner | June 2, 2007 10:34 am |
| Sun Star | |
| I live in N.C., zone 7. Can I plant my Sun Star plant in my flower garden? If so, what time of the year should the bulbs be planted? The tag on mine says S. African, if that makes a difference. Thanks. | |
| Sheri Mabe | June 6, 2007 10:53 am |
| Sun Star Beautiful Orange | |
| I am in the Dallas Fort Worth area and believe we are Zone 7 or 8. You had mentioned earlier, "Unless you live in zones 9 or 10 you will need to protect the Sun Star bulbs from frost in the winter. Keep them close to a heated building or cover the flower bed in the winter if you only get very light frost." Can a thick layer of Mulch cover them thru the winter? I bought two and they are the most beautiful color of orange I have ever seen. A book that I have says to contrast Oranges with Blues...I wanted to put them in my garden with my blue "mealy cup" salvia....but I don't know much about them....how tall do they get? Do they spread? Bill, you have a wonderful site here...I hope we can find out more about this beauty. My tag reads the same as your April 23rd response to Kiana. I plan to keep them indoors in the pots they came in until I see something new on your site about outdoor planting. | |
| April | June 17, 2007 7:51 am |
| Sun Star | |
| I also received one of these beauties for Mother's Day and unfortunately I put it outside on the porch and it rained very heavily, drowning the poor thing. I poured off as much water as I could, replanted it into a clay pot, and some of the stalks fell off like overcooked asparagus. Now it looks pretty sad, yet one stalk is still blooming. What can I do to get it to come back? | |
| mae Sundholm | June 22, 2007 11:03 pm |
| orange star | |
| I live in oregon and i would like to know how they do in this state.I do i treat them? And is there any other plants like them that are different colors that i could get here. Thanks | |
| Jill Jagemann | April 15, 2008 10:38 am |
| Orange Star | |
| I would like to keep my "Star" in my sunroom. Do I let it completely die back as the leaves yellow and then can I store it in the original pot until next spring?? Is a dark, cool area necessary? Does it need any water after it dies back? I understand that I would be watering it again in spring. thanks!! | |
| Bill Heller | April 19, 2008 1:44 am |
| RE: Orange Star | |
| Hi Jill! Once the flowers fade you won't be able to keep the leaves around. It will die back quickly. That's why most people think they kill their houseplants actually. Most bulbs do this sort of thing. You can dig them up, or keep them in the pot. As far as your other questions they are actually related. By the books... "no water and a cool dark area". If they stay wet when they are dormant they will rot. But the thing is, if you have them in the ground it may get hot enough and there may be enough drainage that some water would not hurt. And at the extreme, my first SunStar is in it's original pot, on the edge of my fence under a dripper all year long (drips once a day for a few minutes). It is SO hot up there the bulbs are fine with the water in the summer. But I would not recommend trying that. The thermometer on my fence regularly breaks a hundred, even if the air temp is in the high eighties. One other thing, don't be disappointed if your SunStar does not bloom, or even grow next year. Mine seem to need a year to rest. I'm not sure if it is really an every other year thing, or if they are forced when you get them and need a break. But as long as the bulbs are not completely shriveled or slimy and rotten you should be good, even if they don't seem to grow one year. Most of mine actually look healthy and green when I dig them up, but even so, they don't all grow every year. -Bill Heller |
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| kelly | April 19, 2008 12:21 pm |
| safe for cats | |
| I was wondering if they are ok to be around cats. I have two cats and would hate to have to get rid of the plant. Please let me know . Thanks! | |
| Bill Heller | April 19, 2008 2:25 pm |
| RE: safe for cats | |
| Hi Kelly, I would keep them away from your cats. I don't know anything specific about the Sun Star, but it's most common relative is the Star-of-Bethlehem or Ornithogalum which is actually a genus of plants that includes the Sun Star and the three flowers the that Sun Star was hybridized from. And most of the genus is poisonous, leaves, bulbs and all. Exactly how poisonous seems to depend upon the specific variety and be up for debate. I see information online saying everything from some Ornithogalum are used as vegetables to some kill livestock. But more specifically the Ornithogalum dubium, one of the Sun Star's three closest relatives seems to be moderately poisonous. Ornithogalum and specifically dubium seem to contain glycosides, which are more commonly thought of in Foxglove. Digitalis, the heart medication, is a type of glycoside derived from the Foxglove. Glycosides are also the compound in Milkweed that Monarch caterpillars eat making the adult butterflies poisonous to most predators. -Bill Heller |
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