Chincherinchee (Ornithogalum thyrsoides)

I don’t know why we haven’t grown this before.  Such a well behaved cut flower and looks beautiful.  Tall (40-60cm) strong waxy stems topped with crisp spikes of white flowers.  They have an excellent vase life and a good white flower is always useful in any floral arrangement.

We grew Chincherinchee for the first time this year.  Taking Anna Pavord’s advice in “Bulbs” that it should be considered half-hardy we planted the small bulbs in the spring in tubs in full sun.  They have flowered and flowered all the way from mid-summer.  They are still flowering now in late October.  What has surprised me is that they keep shooting up fresh new buds that look just as good as the ones earlier in the season.

Although some writers have indicated that the foliage can look a bit tatty we have not found this to be the case.  We have had no trouble with any pests and diseases.  The only thing we have had to be careful of is that they are strongly geotropic and if any stems fall a little they will quickly bend upwards at the tips making them more difficult to arrange.

We will take the bulbs inside as the frosts develop and it will be interesting to see how they survive the winter in a frost free shed.  Certainly something we will grow more of next year.  In light of the success of these I think we might also try Ornithogalum arabicum and Ornithogalum dubium next year.

Half Hardy bulb

Origin:  South Africa

Latin name:  Ornithogalum thyrsoides

Family: Asparagaceae (ref:  RHS website)

Height:  40-60cm in tubs of multi-purpose compost in full sun.

Flowering period:  June to October

Cut flowers:  Yes, long lasting

Conditioning:  Standard conditioning in cool clear water for at least 2 hours.

Further reading: 

“Bulb” by Anna Pavord (ISBN 978-1-84533-415-4)

“Speciality cut flowers” by Armitage and Lushman (ISBN 0-88192-579-9)