Wordless Wednesday – Sternberg’s Daffodil or the Biblical Lily of the Field?

Published on: by Croft Gardener Category:Bulbs, Wordless Wednesday 13 Comments
Sternbergia lutea
Sternbergia lutea
Count Kaspar Moritz von Sternberg of Prague (1761 – 1838)

13 thoughts on “Wordless Wednesday – Sternberg’s Daffodil or the Biblical Lily of the Field?”

  1. AnnetteM
    October 21, 2015

    That is lovely. How big is it – difficult to gauge scale. Is it difficult to grow?

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      October 22, 2015

      The flower is about 5cm, about the size of a big crocus, and the entire flowering stem is about 10cm. the leaves gradually elongate and will eventually reach about 20cm long. Easy to grow if you can provide the right conditions; well drained soil, not too rich, plaenty of chipping mixed in and on the surface. It need a dry summer with plenty of sunshine – think hot dry Greek mountains. I tend to grow it in pots, but I have grown it outdoors and it appears to be frost hardy, but it must not get too wet. If it like you it will multiply rapidly, but if it doesn’t get a good summer it will not flower – I’ve only the one flower this year!

      Reply
      • AnnetteM
        October 23, 2015

        Thanks so much for all that information. I will add it to my spread sheet and hope to try these soon.

        Reply
        • croftgarden
          October 23, 2015

          A pleasure. It is always worth experimenting, but not a bad strategy to try some in a pot first.

          Reply
          • AnnetteM
            October 23, 2015

            That is a good idea. I have requested an email from ‘Crocus’ next summer when they are sending them out again.I guess they don’t send them out in flower.

          • croftgarden
            October 24, 2015

            If send me an e-mail next spring, I’m sure I can find you a handful of small bulbs whem I’m repotting.

          • AnnetteM
            October 25, 2015

            Thank you so much, that would be lovely.

  2. Cathy
    October 22, 2015

    A pretty little thing – and where did Count von whose-it discover it growing (as one assumes he did)?

    Reply
    • croftgarden
      October 22, 2015

      Sternberg was a Czech paleobotanist, and although he wrote a treatise on saxifrages, I’m not sure he went roaming round the eastern Mediterranean looking for plants. The genus Sternbergia was named in his honour by Franz de Paula Adam Norbert Wenzel Ludwig Valentin von Waldstein (1759–1823 Austrian soldier, explorer and naturalist) and Pál Kitaibel (1757–1817 Hungarian botanist and chemist) who described the genus in 1804. However, this lovely little bulb has been around for a lot longer than the early 19th century and whatever its taxonomic pedigree, it is a delight and one I have grown for the past 20 years or more.

      Reply
      • Cathy
        October 23, 2015

        That’s a lot of irrelevant (but interesting!) history for such a little flower… 😉

        Reply
        • croftgarden
          October 24, 2015

          Life is full of irrelevant trivia, but it is all part of the rich tapestery of knowledge. That pompous and pretentious rubbish means that my mind is frequently stuffed full of useless junk facts. However, you never know when it might be useful!

          Reply
          • Cathy
            October 25, 2015

            Or who you might feel the need to impress … 😉

          • croftgarden
            October 26, 2015

            Well you never know who’s listening to our conversations…..

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