Sternbergia 2021

[Gail]

At home Sternbergia clusiana is flowering;

[Nik]

Wow! Stunning! Thanks for posting these pictures.
Are the plants in situ S. lutea or S. sicula?
My 30 or so original bulbs are from Bulgaria.

[Maggi Young]

Gail, stunning images of the  sternbergia - especially  with the  other  little bulbs keeping them company!

[Gail]

Thanks for rotating the images Maggi, and yes I do like how Mother Nature creates the perfect gardens...
Nik, we were told that the first ones, with the grey-ish central stripe down the leaves (as in the third image) were sicula, the last lot lutea. But opinions vary!

[Nik]

Here is a picture of the bulbs from the Netherlands, I hope I will be able to post photos of the flowers is a week or so.

[ashley]

Great photos Gail; thanks for sharing. 
The variability is considerable (e.g. 2nd photo) & interesting to see.  If these were snowdrops we'd be looking for pink ones
Are the crocus goulimyi?

[Gail]

Yes C. goulimyi. I'll try and get round to posting some crocus photos tomorrow. And the snowdrops (found one creamy unmarked one and one with 4 outers but no pinks!).

[Nik]

One more example of the Bulgarian Sternbergia lutea from the end of September

[Nik]

.. and today, showing a developing seed capsule.

[Nik]

Here is the most advanced of the Dutch bulbs today, planted a month ago.

[fermi de Sousa]

Question: Do they seem to be a good ‘clone’? (They all looked the same)

Hi Nik,
considering how they had to be treated (foliage and roots cut off) and they are now flowering, I would call it a "good" clone!
I hope they multiply and spread for you.
Hi Gail,
thanks for sharing your pics from the wild - absolutely wonderful!
cheers
fermi

[Nik]

Hi Nik,
considering how they had to be treated (foliage and roots cut off) and they are now flowering, I would call it a "good" clone!

Hi Fermi and thank you! That answer made me very happy.
I have seen many of your Sternbergia posts from previous years and your plants are fantastic! I have planted mine in what seems like very similar to your setting, in crevices between large rock outcrops. I hope they do well. Do you have any advice how to care for them in such conditions? So far I have not done anything and was planning to do nothing, just leave them alone..
(I am in USDA hardiness zone 7, my mother’s plants are in zone 6)

[Nik]

One bulb produced two flowers, but the second one was smaller (in the picture compared to normal size neighboring flower).

[Nik]

And two more pictures of visitors, but slightly out of focus..
By observing them, I know they are not pollinators, they appeared to be trying to mate with the base of the flowers.

[Nik]

Forgot to mention, the soil in our yard is very acidic, pH 4- pH 4.5.