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Star-of-Bethlehem: Flower Or A Weed?
Star-of-Bethlehem: Flower Or A Weed?
Now that the weather has warmed up and nature is coming alive again, it is not uncommon to see plants growing in your lawn that you have not seen before. I am not talking about dandelions or chickweed, but plants that sort of resemble onions or chives growing in bunches in your lawn or landscape beds. What you may be seeing are early spring bulbs that are blooming at this time of year.
One of the more common “escaped” bulbs is called Star of Bethlehem. It is often confused with wild onion and wild garlic, but does not have the pungent odor common to those plants.
Star of Bethlehem is native to Europe. They have escaped from flower beds and can be found all across the US except in the extreme north and southern regions.
They are an attractive six-petal flower that is waxy, with a familiar green strip on the underside. The flowers are generally white, although some can take on a sort of bluish cast. The leaves are thick and range in color from pale to dark green with a whitish grooved midrib running its length. All parts of the Star of Bethlehem plant are poisonous.
Star of Bethlehem grows as tufts or clumps in landscape areas or in lawns. It may be okay as a clump growth in a landscape bed, but growing like that in a lawn can be a distraction to some homeowners. Since it germinates so early in the year, it will often escape attempts to remove it when cultivating a landscape bed.
Controlling these plants on a home lawn can require multiple applications of a broadleaf weed control, starting in the early spring. Controlling them in a landscape bed can be challenging as most broadleaf weed control products are not labelled for use in those areas. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Round-Up®, shows limited control on Star of Bethlehem.
The best you can do is to dig up all the bulbs, but I have tried that and it is difficult. As little as one bulb left behind will produce a bunch more in one year.
You can still purchase these plants as bulbs, but care should be taken not to throw the soil from finished plants out into your garden. That soil will contain the same bulbs you are trying to remove. The same goes for placing the bulbs in a compost pile. Unless your compost gets really warm, the bulbs will survive and spread across your lawn or landscape as you utilize the compost in your gardens.
In my opinion, don’t worry about these signals of spring. The flowers are short-lived and can easily be removed by mowing over them. As it is said, one person’s flower is another person’s weed. My suggestion is to enjoy the early color and don’t let them bother you. They will be gone before you know it.
If you have questions about problem areas in your lawn this spring be sure to contact your local neighborhood lawn care team at Spring-Green.