Sternbergia Species, Fall Crocus, Winter Daffodil

I received this plant as part of a trade five or six years ago, knowing that I was a zone colder than it normally grows. It has put up f...Read Moreoliage every year, but never bloomed. I had decided to send it to my daughter who lives in zone 7a, a more appropriate zone, but low and behold, two little buds have become two lovely clear yellow blooms. I can truthfully say it was worth the wait.

They are naturalised on a sunny bank that just gets a little dappled shade here in SW France and are doing very well. The flowers appear ...Read Moresturdier than a crocus and are a wonderfully rich yellow. They open wide in sunshine and close as the sun goes in.

This plant was a squirrel gift in my garden a few years ago; the single bulb multiplied to a large stand within 3 years.

T...Read Morehe flowers appear in early September, and stay until mid-October. Foliage appears and grows along with the flowers, ultimately growing to about 10" high. It remains upright and growing until March, when it starts to go dormant.

Reputedly difficult to get established; resents transplanting. I haven't tried yet.

Some disreputable companies sell wild-collected and mis-labeled sternbergias, which are becoming threatened in their native habitat.

Flowers appear at the same time as fall-blooming crocus, which they resemble, but the cups are much larger, and a brilliant yellow.