Sternbergia 2011

[Maggi Young]

Probably the last flowers of Sternbergia sicula 'Dodona Gold'

It has been a very long season this year. Sicula has flowered from August until end of November!

Poul

I cannot get over how long you have been enjoying those flowers this year..... lucky you!

[jshields]

Probably the last flowers of Sternbergia sicula 'Dodona Gold'

It has been a very long season this year. Sicula has flowered from August until end of November!

Poul

I cannot get over how long you have been enjoying those flowers this year..... lucky you!

I feel the same way.  I have only the commercial Sternbergia lutea planted here, but numerous little clumps in various beds.  Only one clump bloomed this year, and those blooms lasted only a few days, until we had a hard rain.  I think I'm not doing things right.

How much and when should one feed Sternbergia?  Bear in mind that this is a cold climate in winter.  The ground is still fairly warm, but will probably be frozen hard in another month.  It usually stays frozen until sometime in March.

Jim

[Gerry Webster]

Probably the last flowers of Sternbergia sicula 'Dodona Gold'

It has been a very long season this year. Sicula has flowered from August until end of November!

Poul

I cannot get over how long you have been enjoying those flowers this year..... lucky you!

How much and when should one feed Sternbergia?  Bear in mind that this is a cold climate in winter.  The ground is still fairly warm, but will probably be frozen hard in another month.  It usually stays frozen until sometime in March.

Jim

In my experience they respond to heavy feeding with a high potash fertiliser - once a week perhaps. In my part of the world they need to be kept completely dry & as hot as possible when dormant.

[jshields]

.......

How much and when should one feed Sternbergia?  Bear in mind that this is a cold climate in winter.  The ground is still fairly warm, but will probably be frozen hard in another month.  It usually stays frozen until sometime in March.

Jim

In my experience they respond to heavy feeding with a high potash fertiliser - once a week perhaps. In my part of the world they need to be kept completely dry & as hot as possible when dormant.

Thanks!

We get about 39 inches/1000 mm of rainfall a year here, more or less equally spread through the year.  The beds where the Sternbergia clumps are planted get no extra watering, but they are not dry in most summers.  Since they have also not gotten much feeding in the past, I'll have to try that.  We use a soluble 20-10-20 in the greenhouses here; that might work.

Jim

[pehe]

Probably the last flowers of Sternbergia sicula 'Dodona Gold'

It has been a very long season this year. Sicula has flowered from August until end of November!

Poul

I cannot get over how long you have been enjoying those flowers this year..... lucky you!

Thank you!
The long season is one of the reasons that I love Sternbergia so much. Another is that each flower last for long time even if the weather is rainy and windy. The 3. reason is that they are not too easy - but if you threat them right they reward you.

[pehe]

Probably the last flowers of Sternbergia sicula 'Dodona Gold'

It has been a very long season this year. Sicula has flowered from August until end of November!

Poul

I cannot get over how long you have been enjoying those flowers this year..... lucky you!

I feel the same way.  I have only the commercial Sternbergia lutea planted here, but numerous little clumps in various beds.  Only one clump bloomed this year, and those blooms lasted only a few days, until we had a hard rain.  I think I'm not doing things right.

How much and when should one feed Sternbergia?  Bear in mind that this is a cold climate in winter.  The ground is still fairly warm, but will probably be frozen hard in another month.  It usually stays frozen until sometime in March.

Jim

I feed my my garden Sternbergias one time a year with bone meal and one time with potassium sulphate. The soil is sandy loam. If you have a richer soil less feeding is OK.
My pots are watered 2-3 times with a tomato fertiliser and gets a teaspoon of potassium sulphate.
But other important factors for success is the location and what clone you choose.
In general they need a warm summer rest to flower well. The best spot in my garden is close to a Southwest facing brick wall. Here lutea, sicula and greuteriana flowers reliable every year. But some clones/hybrids need less summer baking. (Lutea 'Autumn Gold', angustifolia and some sicula clones)
I have some 'garden forms' of lutea too. In the open garden I am lucky if I have one flower (even placed at the wall). Some years ago I potted some of them and now they flowers very well in the green house. So this clone really appreciate a warm and dry summer rest.
My experience is that they are quite hardy  and can handle a lot of rain in the garden provided that the drainage is excellent. All my garden Sternbergias survived the last two hard winters where the ground was frozen for months.

[Gerry Webster]

But other important factors for success is the location and what clone you choose.........
In general they need a warm summer rest to flower well. The best spot in my garden is close to a Southwest facing brick wall. Here lutea, sicula and greuteriana flowers reliable every year. But some clones/hybrids need with less summer baking. (Lutea 'Autumn Gold', angustifolia and some sicula clones)
I have some 'garden forms' of lutea too. In the open garden I am lucky if I have one flower (even placed at the wall). Some years ago I potted some of them and now they flowers very well in the green house. So this clone really appreciate a warm and dry summer rest.

I have 4 clones of sicula, 4 of lutea & 1 of greuteriana. They are all planted out under glass. Irrespective of treatment, the only 2 I find reliable & regular in flower are  lutea angustifolia & greuteriana. The others flower or not as they please. In the open garden none ever  flower.

[hadacekf]

I grow the sternbergias in my meadow and I never feed it. It usually stays frozen from January until  March. Our summer are dry and warm.
Sternbergia sicula flowers still in spite of frosty nights.