You might ask, what is an Ipehion? Well, even if you aren't a plant nerd you might have observed these cute little ephemerals colonizing lawns throughout the southeast. Also called spring star flower this onion relative lasts forever especially if you neglect it. It tends to disappear in highly maintained yards when people spray lots of herbicides or if they mow too early in the spring. As you can imagine, in our increasingly HOA-dominated suburbs/ countryside, it is becoming a rare sight.
Spring star flowers are heirlooms in the south and are especially abundant around the old antebellum homes of Madison GA, or at least they used to be. I fear the modern mow-blow-spray companies are steadily eliminating them.
Ipheions can be purchased online or from nurseries specializing in bulbs. They are usually sent as dry bulbs in little netted sacks that allow airflow. The bulb is about half the size of a pearl onion and that same white color. It can also be semi-horizontal or tear-shaped. I like to plant mine in the lawn... I insert the bulbs directly under the turf and when the grassy foliage comes up in winter it mingles with the henbit and other winter weeds.
Ipheion 'Charlotte Bishop' is a nice pink-flowered form. The "wild" seedling form of Ipheion I often encounter is a pale blue-lavender color. I can't exactly remember where I acquired my initial start of 'Charlotte', but it possibly came from Terra Ceia bulbs or Brent and Becky's. Luckily it's a fast multiplier, and I've supplied many of my gardening friends with generous clumps. It is also something I'm propagating for the farmer's market. I tried to find the origins of the name, but after about 10 minutes of Googling I gave up, lol.
Ipheion 'Alberto Castillo' is a robust white clone discovered in Argentina by acclaimed horticulturist and bulb collector Alberto Castillo. It seems a bit taller than the typical form, and it seems a little less likely to "travel", although that may just be a fluke. It has a certain elegance about it that is hard to put into words. 'Alberto Castillo' can be purchased at White Flower Farm or High Country Gardens. I'll try to make this one available as well.
Because they have this musky allium (onion) scent, they are hardly ever eaten by rodents or deer. And they are incredibly prolific. So much so that the bulbs will push up through the soil to the surface and become exposed. These exposed bulbs are the ones I usually propagate for sales.
The last cultivar I'd like to plug is usually listed as a different species (Ipheion peregrinans 'Rolf Fiedler' whereas the others are listed as uniflorum). And it does have unique attributes. For one, it doesn't seem to clump, rather it colonizes like a true groundcover. It is also intensely blue and of shorter stature. It is probably my favorite solely because of its growth habit and intense sky-blue color. I first purchased my start from Plant Delights Nursery.
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