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| Category: Bulb |
| Family: Asphodelaceae (~Liliaceae) |
| Origin: Europe, Southern (Europe) |
| Flower Color: White |
| Bloomtime: Spring |
| Synonyms: [A. albus ssp. microcarpus] |
| Height: 2-3 feet |
| Width: 1-2 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Drought Tolerant: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: < 0 °F |
| May be Poisonous (More Info): Yes |
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Asphodelus aestivus (Summer Asphodel) Attractive perennial with gray-green narrow sword-like leaves to 12-18 inches tall and spikes of white star-like flowers that rise above the foliage in late spring (May-June) to an overall height of 2 to 3 feet. The 1 inch wide flowers have thin brown midstripes on the petals and first open at the bottom of the spike and proceed upward to the top over a period of several weeks. This plant is native to dry slopes, pastures, pine forests and mountainous regions of from the Canary Islands and North Africa east across southern Europe and southwest Asia to Iran. Plant in full sun to light shade in a well drained soil ( likes sandy soils). Irrigate occasionally to very little in coastal gardens. Considered hardy to USDA zone 6. Great as a border or accent plant. We got our start on this plant from seed off of a plant growing outside the UCSB Biology Greenhouses. It was unidentified at the time but Asphodelus albus was as close as we could match it to and we entered it into our database as such and sold our first crops under this name. We later were informed by UCSB Biology Greenhouse Manager John Bleck that he had received the seed of this plant from Israel in 1983 labeled Asphodelus microcarpus which is synonomous to Asphodelus albus ssp. microcarpus but its current name is Asphodelus aestivus.
The description above is based on our research and observations of this plant growing in our nursery and in our own and other Santa Barbara gardens. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who has additional information or disagrees with what we have written.
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