Asphodeline lutea - Care Guide

Kings spear, Yellow asphodel

A. lutea is a clump forming perennial plant which is found in the wild in rocky or scrub slopes in the east Mediterranean regions including Turkey. It is fully hardy in our climate and is an attractive plant in a herbaceous border or in a seaside garden in full sun.

The clumps form narrow triangular blue-green leaves of around 1ft in length around what become the flowering stems. These, when the plant matures, can be up to 4ft in height and, in the nursery, our pot grown plants all produce small flowering stems in their first or second seasons. The stems produce dense racemes of fragrant bright yellow flowers. In maturity these racemes can be 6-8in long.

A. lutea can be propagated from seed collected in late summer and sown in the following spring. The rhizomes within the clump are fleshy and brittle so great care is needed when lifting and dividing them to prize the roots apart by hand.

Asphodeline lutea

Asphodeline lutea

Asphodeline lutea

Asphodeline lutea

Asphodeline lutea

Asphodeline lutea