Sternbergia 2008

[Gerry Webster]

I think there could be two explanations:
1. The plants are virused, but the visibility of the virus markings change accordingly to how well the plants are feed. (Or to the age of the leaves.)
2. The plants are not virused, but due to bad weather conditions or some misfeeding (maybe lack of lime) the leaves show virus like markings. Has anyone seen that?  Or what is the sign of misfeeding on Sternbergias?

Poul - I think you may be right regarding the age of the leaves. I just found a piece on the internet which states that this can be the case with bulbous irises. I'm not sure about lime - all my Sternbergias are grown in a compost which contains 40% limestone chips. They are regularly fed with a high potash fertiser.
I have one Sternbergia which is certainly virused - both the leaves &, to some extent, the flowers are marked. Nevertheless it remains very vigorous & free flowering. 

[Anthony Darby]

Anthony,
I think your two pictures show Sternbergia sicula.

Hans, here is the PC plant in 2006.

[Hans J]

Hi all ,

here are new pics from today

St. spec. Youchtas ( central Crete )
St. spec. Plakia ( southern Crete )

both plants I have received from nice friends 

I think that both is St. sicula...

[Gerry Webster]

Very nice Hans, I particularly like the one from Mt Youchtas.

[snowdropman]

I have not heard that virus can be transmitted through the soil (BAD news if it can)

Tony - I am not an expert in this field, but my understanding, in relation to snowdrop viruses, is that they can be spread in basically 3 ways viz

- through handling infected bulbs
- transmission by aphids
- transmission by nematodes in the soil

If this is the case for snowdrop (see section on Viral Disease in the 'Snowdrops' book by Bishop et al) then I would have thought there was every likelihood that it would apply equally to other plants & this seems to be borne out in the AGS publication 'Pests and Diseases of Alpine Plants' by Ellis, Entwistle & Walkey (see section on Viral Diseases - Transmission by Eelworms (Nematodes)).

For snowdrops affected by virus, which are planted in the garden, the advice is to remove the plant (avoiding hand contact by placing a plastic bag, or similar, over the plant), remove the immediately surrounding soil & safely dispose of both - timing is key here & if at all possible this should be done before the soil starts to warm up, because this is when the nematodes become active. Oh, and don't forget to wash hands & clean the garden tools afterwards!

Sorry to harp on about snowdrops, in the Sternbergia thread

[Maggi Young]

Sorry to harp on about snowdrops, in the Sternbergia thread

No apology needed, Chris... the question of virus spread and control is of interest to us all regarding our plants, is it not?   

[Tony Willis]

My sternbergia are just starting to flower. Sicula today

[Hans A.]

Hans & Tony thanks for showing this nice sicula (? ;o)) forms.

Here my first Sternbergia-Autumn-Clone is in flower, I received it as Sternbergia lutea but I am not very sure about it, as it is something intermediate between other St.luteas with broad leafs and narrow leafs of that ones I got as St. angustifolia - surprisingly all the others did not appear yet.

[Gerdk]

This is Sternbergia greuteriana MK 0187 from Paul Christian, a Manfred Koenen (Botanical Garden of Bonn) collection from Karpathos.
The third picture shows a small S. lutea, perhaps with some influence of S. greuteriana or vice-versa.
All pics from today in Erich Pasche's greenhouse.

Gerd

[Gerry Webster]

Thanks for the pics  Gerd. I now think that my plant, initially identified as  S. greuteriana, but, for a time, thought to be S. pulchella, is, after all, S. greuteriana. These small Sternbergias (& maybe the big ones too)  were put on earth to torment us. 

[Gerdk]

These small Sternbergias (& maybe the big ones too)  were put on earth to torment us. 

Yes, they are a muddle - but a pretty one. Thanks god we are no taxonomists!

Gerd

[Pauli]

Gerd,
many thanks for showing us pictures of Sternbergia greuteriana of the collection of Mr. Pasche, one of the Gurus of the genus.
I grow two collections of greuterianas, but after seeing these pictures I am no longer sure about their correct identification.
The first is from Janis Ruksans without any data on their origin, the second is from Karpatos.

In his Monograph of the genus from 2002 , Pasche used the length of the filaments for distinguishing between sicula and greuteriana: 10 - 17 mm for sicula and 15-32 mm for greuteriana.
I am also not sure, if this key is right when using it on the big flowered siculas from north-west Greece; but on the other hand, these are easy to identify.

All the best from Linz

Herbert

[Gerdk]

Herbert,
There are a lot of plants from Crete or the adjacent islands to the east which are
in between greuteriana and sicula/lutea. So you can have all transitions between them.
According Erich Pasche a typical greuteriana has small and narrow perianth segments with a rounded tip and long filaments.

Gerd

[Maggi Young]

I was questioned at the SRGC Weekend about Sternbergia identification: I could only say that most were yellow, some were large and some were small, flowering with, or without leaves, which may, or may not, have a white central stripe..... ..... my questioner was less than happy with my answer, but it was the best I could do! 

[ashley]

I was questioned at the SRGC Weekend about Sternbergia identification: I could only say that most were yellow, some were large and some were small, flowering with, or without leaves, which may, or may not, have a white central stripe..... .....

 
Like those little white jobs d'you mean?