Cultivation Of Crops: Dubium, The Brightest Star Flower

A Mediterranean flower is taking the floral world by storm--the beautiful and voluminous Ornithogalum dubium.

This gorgeous flower features a cluster of star-shaped florets gathered at the head of a long, leafless stem. There are over 150 species of this "Wonder Flower," and here at Sun Valley, we grow the largest and brightest--O. Dubium (we refer to ours simply as dubium).

Our original stock came from the flowers' native home of Israel. In 2011, Lane DeVries made a special trip there to find the best-of-the-best Ornithogalum species. What he came back with was the long-stemmed dubium that we now offer you, in gorgeous colors like saturated orange, creamy butter-yellow, and pure white.

Growing Practices

Because of their Mediterranean origin, these flowering plants are accustomed to warm weather with minimal rain, so we do our best to give them what they want. We begin by planting bulbs in our Southern Californian hoop houses in early fall.


Dubium Hoop House

We give the developing sprouts plenty of light and wrap the hoop houses to keep them warm. Once the plants begin to form their heads, we cool their environment while still providing plenty of light. The key here is to find the perfect balance between light and dark and warm and cool. The balance and timing of these elements will help the blooms cluster beautifully at the top, instead of stretching along the length of its long stems.

Speaking of their long, leafless stems...our dubium has some of the longest stems in the flower market, measuring at 40 cm plus! However, their stem length doesn't happen just by chance; we have to remain vigilant in our growing practices so that they can grow strong, thick stems without becoming tangled.

The long stems of dubium

Typically, we pick dubium from March until May; starting with the orange and cream, and ending with the white.

Dubium Design

There are more than a few reasons why dubium is sought after in floral design. First, its long-lasting flowers and robust stems give it an incredible vase life. Second, its silky florets bloom in stages all the way to the top of its flower head (a process which can take a few weeks), which means the flower looks fantastic for at least a month. It’s lovely to watch its head of buds turn into a showy mass of flowers. One of our sales managers even compared the fully bloomed head of white dubium to a Peegee Hydrangea, and if you look at the photo below you can see why!

Progressive bloom

Last but not least, no matter what stage of bloom it is in, dubium adds texture, emphasis, and a focal punch to bouquets and arrangements. Designers love working with its long stems, which have a natural movement and curve.

Bright, spring-centered dubium bouquet

Check out some more dazzling floral arrangements featuring dubium below:

Colorful dubium bouquets and boutonnieres


Elegant white dubium arrangements

Dubium's versatility brings charisma and style to all types of arrangements and bouquets. To help get your creativity flowing, we also offer dubium bunches enhanced with botanicals (see below). Get them while they're hot out of the hoop house, and brighten up your world with the wonder flower!