Ornithogalum
Jane McGary (Fri, 02 Jun 2006 11:37:17 PDT)

Jim Waddick asked about Ornithogalum ponticum.

This plant, which I think most who grow it have in the selection 'Sochi',
closely resembles O. narbonense (a very easy, commercially available
species), but is less easy to establish. My best success with it is in
rather retentive soil, on the flat, where it gets some summer water; its
companions include herbaceous peonies and a hardy yellow Kniphofia hybrid
selected here. O. pyrenaicum also grows well in this spot.
I always try anything named 'ponticum' (from the Black Sea coast of Turkey)
because our climate here is very similar to that region. Another Pontic
plant that loves western Oregon is Iris lazica.

I've seen O. umbellatum behaving aggressively in fields in the Pacific
Northwest, but here I planted it in rough grass in a rather shady area
where it gets no summer water, and it has never offered to spread, perhaps
because it gets mown before ripening its seed (the mowing of the area is
controlled by the growth cycle of some daffodils that also grow in the grass).

There are several very short-growing ornithogalums (I think in England they
sometimes call them "thogs," which strikes me as an ugly word) that can be
very attractive in flower, but they all seem to increase very fast
vegetatively so probably should not be placed in the small rock garden.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA