Anthericum saundersiae Starlight

Anthericum saundersiae 'Starlight', also known as Chlorophytum saundersiae 'Starlight', is a beautiful perennial of South African origin related to our indoor chlorophytums. However, 'Starlight' is hardy enough to be planted outdoors in many regions. It is incredibly bright, thanks to its variegated cream foliage and its small white star-shaped flowers forming a fountain of light. It is decorative all year round. It can be planted in partially shaded flower beds that it illuminates, as well as in pots on a patio. Undemanding, elegant, and capable of withstanding our normal winters, this beauty is an ideal choice for the garden!

Anthericum saundersiae is native to coastal forests and flood meadows near river mouths, in the South African provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, and certain stations in the Eastern Cape. It is a tall perennial that resembles a grass and grows in large colonies. It belongs to the Asparagaceae family. Its hardiness is around -12 to -15°C (10.4 to 5°F) in well-draining soil.

The 'Starlight' cultivar stands out with its smaller growth and strongly cream-striped leaves on a light green-blue background along their entire length. In the span of about ten years, the plant forms a clump of long linear and slightly trailing leaves, reaching a height of about 1m (3ft) with a spread of 50cm (20in) on the ground. The abundant flowering takes place in summer, in July-August. Clumps of leaves emerge from branched flower stems, each branch ending in a spike of small white flowers with yellow stamens. The flowers bear 5 reflexed tepals and are borne on short jointed pedicels. They are attractive to many pollinating insects. The flowers are followed by green to brown fruits that are small globular capsules containing numerous angular black seeds. Plants grown from seeds may not necessarily exhibit the cream variegation.

'Starlight' brings a lot of light and airiness to partially shaded flower beds. It happily accompanies tall grasses, as well as pink roses, silver candles, baptisias, linarias, and steppe lilies (Eremurus). This perennial is perfect for creating floral compositions in large pots on a patio. Choose cannas and colocasias to create a beautiful exotic scene, for example. It also finds its place in a Japanese garden, surrounded by Japanese grass (Hakonechloa). Its association with Crocosmia is fabulous!