Sternbergia 2021

[Nik]

And this is where I planted all of the bulbs. Pictures from early spring (first one) and summer (rest).
All of them were positioned close to our back deck, so we can enjoy them both outdoors and from inside the house.
To be honest, I care mostly about the moss and lichen in the yard. For the rest, any survivors are welcome.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Nik,
you have a beautiful yard to look out on! I wouldn't want to spoil it by cluttering it up with garden beds.
Introducing a few geophytes here and there can enhance without detracting from the rocky outcrops.
I can't really offer much in the way of advice as our conditions are a bit different here  (around Zone 8 I think).
If the health of the bulbs deteriorates you might need to add a bit of lime to raise the pH but I wouldn't bother if the plants look healthy.
Friends who lived on Mt Dandenong (to the East of Melbourne) used to apply lime to rhododendrons because their soil was so acidic the lime didn't raise the pH enough to affect the rhodies! Lime run-off from the gravel driveway did manage to turn the hydrangeas pink!
cheers
fermi

[Nik]

Hi Nik,
you have a beautiful yard to look out on! I wouldn't want to spoil it by cluttering it up with garden beds.

Thank you, Fermi!
We are very lucky to have this natural setting in our yard. This is an early spring view of our side yard, picture taken from inside the house, second floor. We also have a stream running through the front yard.. I try to keep everything as natural as possible. Still quite an effort in terms of weeding.
A little surprising that these forums don’t seem to have dedicated threads about mosses and lichens. I can contribute quite a bit on that front. After all, it’s a rock garden club, isn’t it?
But this is supposed to be about Sternbergia. My Dutch bulbs appear to be all growing, but no sign of flower buds. I guess they were planted too late. The emerging leaves definitely look different than the Bulgarian bulbs. Much lighter in color and much wider. I suspect I will have to wait till next year to compare the flowers. After they get our yard’s treatment during the summer. Quite disappointing..

[fermi de Sousa]

...
A little surprising that these forums don’t seem to have dedicated threads about mosses and lichens. I can contribute quite a bit on that front. After all, it’s a rock garden club, isn’t it?
...

Have a look here, Nik
https://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13521.msg417939#msg417939
cheers
fermi

[Nik]

Great! Thank you!

[Nik]

For the past two weeks we’ve had at least ten frosty mornings. The Dutch bulbs planted at the end of September will definitely not flower, but they are slowly growing even in this weather. Here’s how they look today.

[Nik]

And here are some of the plants that flowered in September.

[Nik]

Few more of the Dutch bulbs, all thawed out and baking in the sun on a ‘balmy’ 7’C midday.
Having issues posting more than one image at a time, so I’ll split it into several posts. Sorry about that.

[Nik]

A little closer

[Nik]

And closer

[Nik]

Next one

[Nik]

Last one

[Nik]

I suspect that good sun exposure during the winter (rather than the summer, when the plants are dormant and require heat/dryness) is very important for good flowering the following season. This is why I cleared most of the dry leaves that had the plants half-covered after few days of strong winds. I am sure I will have to repeat the procedure few more times during the winter.
Seed capsule seems to be developing well.

[Nik]

I didn’t mention the reasoning behind my previous statement. Here it is: in my mother’s garden, Sternbergia lutea is in the shade during the summer. Still it is hot and dry in SE Europe, but the only time it gets any direct sun is wintertime. Yet, they bloom profusely every year. So, good winter sunlight, absolutely NO NO NO fertilizer, and just leave them be. I hope even with our highly acidic soil they will do just fine next year. Again, no fertilizer of any kind is critical in my opinion. They simply love poor soil..