Sternbergia 2013

[pehe]

Thank you Kris and Luc!

The next to flower is Sternbergia colchiciflora. Not impressive as the sicula, but I find the flower very elegant.

Poul

[krisderaeymaeker]

Thank you Kris and Luc!
The next to flower is Sternbergia colchiciflora. Not impressive as the sicula, but I find the flower very elegant.
Poul

Congratulations Poul ! Here it is not reliable in flowering ....Most of the years it won't flower 

[pehe]

Congratulations Poul ! Here it is not reliable in flowering ....Most of the years it won't flower 

The same here - last year they didn't flower, or more correct they didn't show they flowers. But they set seeds so they must have flowered below ground.

Poul

[Oakwood]

Thanks, Poul!!! Very showy S. sicula!!! Besides, I've got this one from you flowering at me in Donetsk in late August - see here. Also, I put here some flowering clones of S. colchiciflora. I grow two races - ONE from Bessarabia (S. Ukraine) with narrow tiny leaves and freely blooming every year, and the SECOND from Crimea with big broad leaves, rare flowering and often cleistogamic flowers. I put here S. colchiciflora from Bessarabian race.

[Oakwood]

Merendera montana & Sternbergia colchiciflora (Bessarabian race)
S. colchiciflora leaves (Bessarabian race, April 2013)
S. colchiciflora leaves (Crimean race, April 2013)

[pehe]

Thanks, Poul!!! Very showy S. sicula!!! Besides, I've got this one from you flowering at me in Donetsk in late August - see here. Also, I put here some  clones of S. colchiciflora. I grow two races - ONE from Bessarabia (S. Ukraine) with narrow tiny leaves and freely blooming every year, and the SECOND from Crimea with big broad leaves, rare flowering and often cleistogamic flowers. I put here S. colchiciflora from Bessarabian race.

I am glad you have success too!! And especial that the Sternbergia I send you thrive in Donetsk!
Your colchiciflora are very interesting. Can you tell me how the habitat are where they grow?
Do you know if they need a hot summer bake to flower well?
I grow two races too, one narrow leaved and one with broader leaves, but not as broad as your Bessarabian race. Both are from Turkey. You can see a pic of them in reply 26 in this thread. The ones I showed in flower above are the narrow leaved race. Some years this race flowers best, in other years the broad leaved form flowers best.

Poul

[pehe]

Sternbergia has started flowering early this year. We have had a long warm summer resulting in many flowers.

1. The first flower this year of my own hybrid. Sternbergia lutea x sicula Dodona Gold
2. The same in sunshine
3. Sternbergia sicula Dodona Gold. In this 20 cm pot I counted more than 25 flowers and flower buds
4. Sternbergia sicula, early form and Colchicum montanum in the open garden

Poul

[Oakwood]

I am glad you have success too!! And especial that the Sternbergia I send you thrive in Donetsk!
Your colchiciflora are very interesting. Can you tell me how the habitat are where they grow?
Do you know if they need a hot summer bake to flower well?
I grow two races too, one narrow leaved and one with broader leaves, but not as broad as your Bessarabian race. Both are from Turkey. You can see a pic of them in reply 26 in this thread. The ones I showed in flower above are the narrow leaved race. Some years this race flowers best, in other years the broad leaved form flowers best.

Poul

Poul, I put here S. colchiciflora habitats in Crimea and in Bessarabia (Odessa region, Ukraine). As I told you Bessarabian plants bloom freely every year (we've got hot dry summer), but my Crimean plants flower rare, I've noticed they bloom well when we have rainy spring, else - they are cleistogamic in those years with dry spring.

Bessarabian habitat - freely blooming S. colchiciflora. It is S. Ukraine, Odessa region steppes, in bushes and Robinia pseudoacacia and Gleditsia triacanthos plantations.

[Oakwood]

Crimean habitat - rarely blooming S. colchiciflora. It is S. Ukraine, Crimea peninsula, montane ravines (1000 m), in open dry southern sea slopes (300-500 m).

[pehe]

Dima, thank you for the very informative pics and habitat descriptions. This helps understanding the bulbs and their needs. I will plant my broad leaved S. colchiciflora in a warm bed outside, where they will get rain in the spring to see if that gives better flowering. I will keep you informed about the result.

Poul

[krisderaeymaeker]

Interesting this postings from Dimitri and Poul about colchiciflora !

This form of S. sicula is planted out in my rockgarden for 4 years now and it is flowering for the third time. Only previous year it was not flowering .

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Sternbergia lutea ssp lutea started flowering here !  3 weeks later than last year !

[pehe]

This form of S. sicula is planted out in my rockgarden for 4 years now and it is flowering for the third time. Only previous year it was not flowering .

Kris your Sternbergia planting look very natural! If one didn't know it could have been pics from a mountain in Greece.
How was your summer this year compared with last year? In Denmark we had a relative warm and long summer resulting in very good Sternbergia flowering.

Poul

[pehe]

Sternbergia lutea ssp lutea started flowering here !  3 weeks later than last year !

Luc, very nice lutea! The many flowers show it likes the planting site against the wall.

Poul

[pehe]

Besides more flowers the long and warm summer has also resulted in leafless flowering in many of my Sternbergias.
In most years this Sternbergia lutea has very advanced leaves before the flowers show up, but not this year.

Poul