Information about Mexican Star Flower

INFORMATION ABOUT MEXICAN STAR FLOWER...

By: Nikki Phipps

The Mexican Star (Milla biflora), also called Starlikes, is a little known flower with great appeal. This lovely bulb (corm) is a native of Mexico where it is often sold in bouquets due to its large, strongly scented star-shaped white flowers.

Its genus, Milla, consists of about six species found from Central America to southern Arizona. The genus is named after the Spanish gardener J. Milla.

The Mexican star is abundant in the southwestern United States and Mexico, generally in hilly areas covered with desert grasslands.

The Mexican star can produce up to six flowers per corm, but they are usually limited to only two flowers that open in sequence. The corms are shallow and grow in rocky areas with good drainage in full sun. Planting usually takes place in the spring at a shallow depth of only about one inch.

Mexican stars can survive very dry conditions and poor soils due its extended dormancy period. Mexican star is excellent for growing in rock garden environments.

The brilliant white flowers bloom from June-September, putting on quite a show, and reach heights of around 12 inches. The leaves are narrow, arching, and blue-green in color.

The corm is small, with a centrally located set of invisible buds covered with a dead tunic. It may bear a number of corm-buds that separate from the mother corm in a few years time. Each corm-bud produces leaves and may produce flowering stems. Propagation of Mexican star is by seeds or offsets in the spring.