Sternbergia 2008

[Gerry Webster]

Whew - what a strain for an old brain - I hope this kind of exercise will prevent to develope Alzheimer's disease. 

I hope so too Gerd! It's what I hoped after translating the Latin description of crocus. Anyhow many thanks.This description is very similar to that published by Brian Mathew & based on living material. He describes the flower stem as "very short, subterranean" but his photo shows a plant with a short stem above ground!

[hadacekf]

I have two forms of Sternbergia lutea. With long sheets comes from former Yugoslavia, the other one from Sicily.

Sternbergia lutea
Sternbergia sicula

[mark smyth]

wolf whistle!

[Gerry Webster]

Wonderful Franz. I wish I could grow Sternbergias outside like that.

[Hans A.]

Fantastic to see Sternbergia sicula in your meadow, Franz - thanks for showing this pictures. See your Sternbergias have leafs when they flower - here normally Sternbergias bloom before they get leafs - like this double flowering, now open.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Franz, you grow all these wonderful things like I grow weeds... 

They're beautiful !

[pehe]

Franz, I am green of envy. Your Sternbergia meadow are outstanding!

Here in Denmark, Sternbergia needs a warm place near a wall to flower well in the open garden.
This year my Sternbergia flower very early (1-2 month earlier than normal), and surprisingly the ones in the open garden about 3 weeks before the ones under glass.
I think that is because we had a long hot and dry May followed by a rainy Juli. The bulbs must have thought that July was September.
I have seen the same effect on my Colchicum montana, Col. agrippum, Acis autumnalis, Galanthus rgo and Schizostylis coccenea but not on crocus. They flower at normal time.

1. St. sicula Dodona Gold
2. St. greuteriana
3. St. lutea
4. St. sicula graeca
5. Sternbergia wall
6. St. lutea virus?
7. St. lutea virus?
I think the last 2 has virus, but I am not sure. 5 years ago I had a large clump of lutea, which showed signs of virus (stripes on the leaves), but they performed very well with lots of flowers and increasing fast. As they performed so good, I moved them to other places in the garden(!!!), to observe them further. Now they still look healthy and flowers well, and the stripes has disappeared on some of them. So is it virus? Or is the stripes symptom of some lack of minerals?
Fortunately, all my other Sternbergia have no stripes.

[Gerry Webster]

Poul - Very nice Sternbergias. I was interested in your experience of possibly virused plants. This year I obtained some new plants of S. lutea & when the leaves emerged about 2 weeks ago they looked quite obviously virused. Now they look a nice dark green & very healthy with no virus-like markings at all. Very odd.

[Cris]

If it is any consolation Cris my Sternbergia lutea hasn't flowered yet either.

David, sorry for the late answer, thanks for you support I would realy like to see them flower

[Cris]

Cris & David - Sternbergias need to be well-fed & to be kept hot & dry during the summer in order to flower well - probably hotter & drier than you think is good for them. In my garden S. lutea is later than other species. 

Gerry, thanks, I'll follow your tips.  I'll not forget "probably hotter & drier than you think is good for them" 

One question: how hard is cultivate this plant from seed? Sorry for my question of a starter, but I've never tried to sow these plants

I must confess: is wonderfull to see all your plants, those of Franz, growing in the ground are amazing. Maybe ond day I can show you photos of mine too.

 

[art600]

My latest sternbergia - believe sicula, but the flower is very large.

[Hans J]

Cris ,

Sternbergia are easy to sow -try it !

[Gerry Webster]

Art -  from the leaves &  the flower shape looks like S. sicula to me.

[hadacekf]

Thank you all together for the kind comments.
Hans, I have plants with and without leaves!

By the way, before 30 years it was not possible to cultivate sternbergia outside.

[Armin]

Franz,

do you think of global warming or better hardy selections of Sternbergia available now when you state "30years ago it was not possible to grow Sternbergia outside?"