Illustration
Arabicum
Ornithogalum arabicum
Arabicum blooms from May through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Arabicum
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 7–10. Expect it to reach about 24 in tall and 12 in wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Arabicum
Arabicum is a fall-planted bulb: get it in the ground 6 to 8 weeks before the ground freezes, typically October or November in zone 8, the middle of its hardy zones 7 to 10. It pays you back the following May to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 8, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 8 in October. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Arabicum get?
24 intall5 ft 7 inan adult12 inwideSee Arabicum in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
Where these facts come from
Arabicum's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 6 published sources on October 24, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Chicago Botanic Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and bloom months and color
- terraceiafarms.comTerra Ceia Farmshardiness zones, bloom months and color and trait tags
- angliabulbs.comAnglia Bulb Companysun and bloom months and color
- dutchbulbs.co.ukParkers Wholesalewater and bloom months and color
- NC State Extensionsun and trait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Good to know about Arabicum
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
All parts are poisonous to dogs, cats, horses, livestock and people; cardiac glycosides, most concentrated in the bulb, cause vomiting and, in larger amounts, heart-rhythm changes. per Pet Poison Helpline
Featured in these guides
Explore similar plants
You might also like
Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.