Sternbergia
Jane McGary (Mon, 01 Sep 2003 08:54:51 PDT)

In my experience, no Sternbergia species (I grow six, if you count S.
sicula as separate from S. lutea) needs lime to flower. Mine are all in a
mildly acid soil mixture. However, I admit that S. candida has never
flowered here, and I have three clones, one of which I've had for almsot
ten years.

I believe the main prerequisite for flowering in this genus is a warm
position. They don't flower well in the open garden for me; I suppose the
spring is wet for too long. However, I have seen them flowering well for
years in Oregon gardens at slightly lower elevation, up against a
south-facing wall.

Therefore, I grow them all in a bulb frame and occasionally commit some S.
lutea or S. sicula to the garden, where they make leaves but no flowers. In
the frame, with very limited water from May through September, they bloom
prodigiously.

Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA