THE SUPERSTAR SUMMER SNOWFLAKE
BY Sandra Heinold/Victoria County Master Gardener
Dec. 28, 2024
Texas Superstar Summer Snowflake, Leucojum aestivum/PHOTO COURTESY OF PIXABAY
Texas Superstar Summer Snowflake, Leucojum aestivum/PHOTO COURTESY OF PIXABAY
The newest bright light to join the Texas Superstar plant family is the Summer snowflake, Leucojum aestivum, a perennial plant, grown from a bulb. This plant brightens those early spring days when we are so desperate for a little color and fragrance.
Like all Texas Superstar plants, the Summer Snowflake has been vetted vigorously in field tests across Texas. These tests provide gardeners with the assurance that Summer Snowflake is easy to grow, requires little maintenance, and performs well in a variety of conditions.
The Summer Snowflake is a member of the amaryllis family. It is a clump-forming plant with grassy, dark green leaves that grows directly from the ground level. It blooms in the spring, not the summer and is deer resistant.
It will spread slowly to form larger clumps and, eventually, drifts. Flowers are borne on hollow stems that reach up to twenty inches in height. Each stem, or scape, will support three to seven small, white, bell-shaped flowers in an umbel or growing from a single point on the stem.
The flowers are white with six petals that point downward to dangle and nod gracefully in the breeze. Each petal has a small green or chartreuse dot at its end, which creates the effect of lacey edging on a bell-shaped skirt. This plant looks incredibly delicate. The flowers last up to a month and can be used as cut flowers.
This spring-blooming bulb should be planted in autumn to develop a strong root system in the cool earth. It will grow in full sun to part shade and is not particularly fussy about soil type, except that it should be moist but well-draining.
It does not do well in deep, dry shade, but does do well in dappled shade and under the margins of shrubs. Originating in the marshes and wet shady meadows of Europe and Central Asia, summer snowflake prospers at the edges of ponds and streams as well as in rock gardens.
Summer snowflake naturalizes in lawns, as long as it gets about an inch of water per week during its growing period. It is drought resistant during its dormant period. It looks best when grouped in clumps of at least seven to nine bulbs planted three to four inches apart and four to six inches deep.
Once planted, it does best if its roots are not disturbed, but it may need to be divided if the number of flowers begins to decline after several years. To divide and propagate, simply dig up the whole clump after the foliage has died back and separate the bulblets that have developed from the original bulb. Plant them at the same depth and spacing as your original bulb.
Do not cut the leaves back after flowering but allow them to die back naturally sometime during the summer. This process allows the plant’s energy to be directed to the bulb for next year’s flowers.
There are few caveats to growing the Summer Snowflake but two are worth mentioning. First, there are conflicting reports about its toxicity, with some sources saying it’s toxic to humans and animals and others disagreeing. But if you have animals or children who might be tempted to take a bite, you might want to consider carefully before planting.
The second is that Summer Snowflake has many common names such as snowflake, snowbell, snowdrop, and dewdrop that it shares with similar-looking plants. Some examples are its cousin the Spring Snowflake and non-related plants like the Lily of Valley.
When you purchase the Summer Snowflake, be sure you use its scientific name Leucojum aestivum to guarantee you get the right plant. You will be glad to have this Texas Superstar in your landscape.