Thanks. I don't know this name, seems to have the common name Winter Daffodil, yet looks like a crocus. But I'm not a gardener; maybe I've been seeing these forever.
Autumn flowers as bright as these are such a rarity where I live. But seeing these tonight has given me a thought for 2021. How lovely to be able to pick for indoors at this time of the year.
Flower buds just beginning to emerge in several spots in the back yard. I was not sure if they would bloom this fall after planting them in the spring. Will post updates..
Afternoon update. It is open! (I know I am overdoing it.. probably only one more update when the flower fully expands and gets its super vibrant yellow mature color.)
I know UBC BG has a patch of them (from previous posts in these forums). Maybe now is the time to look for them. Although, they could be ahead or behind, and they develop very quickly. So far I am very happy with my contraband plants. They have almost perfect conditions in our yard, super sunny location, between rocks, gritty soil that does not retain water yet remains moist. The only thing going against them is that our soil is very acidic, they seem to prefer alkaline soil pH.
Here is the luminous Sternbergia lutea on a very cloudy and gloomy afternoon. (It is even brighter when the sun hits it, but I am having trouble talking good pictures under those conditions.) It appears to be attracting some tiny flies and minuscule blue wasps (wasps not pictured).. I hope they are good pollinators. Although I read that it is difficult to impossible to propagate it by seeds. Finally this year I found a bulbs supplier to have them in stock, so I just ordered 24 more. To be planted in much smaller cracks in the rocks. I hope it is not too late for them to bloom this year, but they begin shipping in late September. There are quite a few still coming along nicely, I can’t wait. One was eaten completely, bud and leaves, by a very large caterpillar. I caught it in the act of starting a second plant nearby and quickly disposed of it.
Nice collection of photos, @Nik. I looked briefly around the alpine garden at UBCBG yesterday but didn't notice these. I did practice saying the name, though. I think we're not yet enough into autumn here.
Wendy, can you please post a picture or two (or more) of them when they appear. Anywhere on these forums. I think checking once a week is probably good enough to catch them in bloom. I think the flowers last for about two weeks.
I didn't remember that these are included in the September 2021 in the Garden - UBC Botanical Garden blog, with two photos by the curator of the Alpine Garden. The dates given are September 28 and October 2, so if those dates mean anything, these are from some other year.
Just received my two dozen extra bulbs. Planted them right away between cracks in the rocks. Hopefully they will bloom this year.
No, this is just before they were planted. In few locations, that’s probably close enough, but they still have at least a couple of inches of space between the rocks. Fingers crossed.
About a third went at the base of this large stone, and the rest were planted in this rock crack, both very close to the back deck. Just like my other bulbs, which are still in bloom. Highly recommend this plant to anyone who can provide good drainage and hot dry summer days.
After the flower is pollinated the stem bends down and the developing seed capsule touches the ground. The reason, it turns out, is because ants are responsible for dispersing the seeds. Last picture is the same plant in flower earlier.
Sternbergia fans may be interested in Ian Young's latest weekly Bulb Log Diary on the Scottish Rock Garden Club website where he shares photos and comments (and frustrations). https://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2021Oct061633516551BULB_LOG_4021.pdf