I had never grown the plant and didn't really know anything about it but Dear Daughter said that the tag had indicated it would grow outside in zone 8. It really is quite a beautiful plant with its dainty, pristine white blossoms.
Pretty! You can see why it would be called Star of Bethlehem.
I decided to do a bit of research on the plant, since I was unfamiliar with it, and what I found is that this introduced perennial can be a bit of a thug in the garden. In some areas, it is highly invasive and the unfortunate gardeners who planted it have spent years trying to rid their gardens of it! So, its sweet, innocent-looking flowers mask an aggressive nature.
In addition to its invasiveness in the garden, the plant can be toxic to animals (including cats) if ingested. This is an important fact for me to know because I have two very inquisitive half-grown kittens in my house who are prone to chew on my plants.
This is such an attractive plant and it was sweet of my daughter to bring it to me. I probably will plant it in my garden after it stops blooming, but now that I know more about its nature, I will definitely be careful where I plant it and if it shows a tendency to spread in places where it is not wanted, I will rip it out!
This just brings home to me the importance of knowing one's plants. I have plants in my garden now that I would not have planted if I had bothered to find out more about them before planting. If Star of Bethlehem proves to be a problem, I can't say that I wasn't forewarned.
