Bulbine (Yellow & Orange)
Location
General Plants
Bulbine frutescens
- Common Name: Bulbine (Yellow & Orange)
- Scientific Name: Bulbine frutescens
- Family Name: Asphodelaceae
- Origin: South Africa
- Height: 1’ – 2’ (grass-like foliage grows to about a foot tall, while the flower stalks typically reach two feet)
- Width: up to 4’
- Growth: fast growing
- Zone: 9 – 11
- Light Needs: Full Sun to Partial Shade
- Salt Tolerance: moderately
- Soil/PH/Texture: dry and sandy soils – grows well in poor soils, mildly acidic – mildly alkaline (pH 6.1 – 7.8)
- Soil Moisture: well-drained soil
- Drought Tolerance: High once established
- Pests/Diseases: no serious insects or diseases.
- Growing Conditions likes light applications of ammonium phosphate fertilizer in the spring.
- Characteristics: The foliage is grass-like and grows about up to 1’. Blooms repeatedly with cheerful star-shaped flowers that are yellow, or orange and the flower stalks typically reach two feet, dancing above the leaves throughout the summer months. Deadheading will encourage the plants to produce more flowers.
- Propagation: plants can be divided at the root ball when the clumps get big enough, and some of the plants will self-seed, although some cultivars flowers are sterile and will not.
- Wildlife: attractive to bees, birds, and butterflies.
- Facts: Bulbine was named a 2006 Plant of the Year by the Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Association.
- Designer Considerations: makes a great ground cover since each plant will grow over time to form a clump, also good in beds, used as borders along sidewalks, as an accent plant or in containers on your patio. It is also suitable for xeriscaping.