The MGS Forum
Our gardens, a month-by-month pictorial diary of what's looking good now => Our Gardens => Topic started by: Joanna Savage on September 17, 2012, 11:55:50 AM
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My first Sternbergia lutea for the year has appeared here in Toscana. It is surrounded by a dozen or so Cyclamen hederfolium, some Centaurea bracteata and a couple of plants of Campanula glomerata. It is low key but I couldn't ask for more.
The Sternbergia is much at its best on day1, by the end of its season the plant becomes rather coarse.
I am posting here rather than on the Sternbergia site which tells me that it is already 120 days old and asks if I really want to continue the discussion. My observation is not taxonomic so it seemed better to start a new topic.
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Thank you Joanna. Having belatedly read your post i went immediately to investigate my own sternbergias and there was the first flower coming out.
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Hello Fleur, It is interesting that our Sternbergias have begun to flower at almost the same time although they are well separated geographically, Greece and central Italy. I wonder what triggers the onset of flowering. Daylength, lower night temps or the first rains? Perhaps our bulb experts will know the answer.
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I wonder what triggers the onset of flowering. Daylength, lower night temps or the first rains?
Joanna,
In the case of Sternbergia lutea it is the combination of lower night temperatures and rain, these factors are needed for most of the sternbergias: S. lutea, S. Sicula, S. greuteriana and S. colchiciflora, all Mediterranean species.
The only exception is S. clusiana which flower depend less on rain.
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Thank you Oron for most interesting info.
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Mine in pots here in London haven't shown any sign yet apart from S. lutea which has started to move as it got wet recently without me realising!
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Still not got round to watering mine in pots but most of the Sternbergia sicula are in full flower now.
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I have watered now and most have gone over but haven't had time to repot this year. They are very tough though.
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Here on the eastern Algarve my Sternbergia lutea in the sun have flowered already and are now producing their leaves. There are some bulbs planted in the shade and they are still flowering. We have just had our first significant rainfall of the autumn (Hurray !) and I would agree that cooler nights and some early drizzle seems to have triggered the first flowers of this lovely small bulb. We are experimenting with Galanthus reginae-olgae and hope to see it survive it's second summer together with G. elwesii - fingers firmly crossed.
The Amaryllis belladonna have also flowered and finished in the sun but we are hopeful of more flowers from bulbs planted in the shade of carob trees. Our Urginea maritima are the first harbingers of autumn and signal the cooler days to come, they are forming seed here now. Cyclamen persicum is in full leaf and I have had the first few flowers on C. hederifolium.