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 December
2002
 Pedicularis
kanei ssp kanei
November
2002
Crocus
tournefortii
October
2002
Cyclamen
mirabile
 September
2002
Sternbergia
sicula
Colchicum
byzantinum album
August
2002
Gentiana
septemfida
July
2002
Oxytropis
shokanbetsuensis
June
2002
Silene
caroliniana
May
2002
Jeffersonia
dubia
April
2002
Tulipa
vvedenskyi
March
2002
Draba
aizoides
February
2002
Diapensia
lapponica
January
2002
Chamaecyparis
obtusa 'Nana'
Archive 2004
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2003
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2001
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2000
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1999
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1998
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1997
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Plants
of the Month
September
2002
Sternbergia
sicula
Colchicum byzantinum album
by John Lonsdale
Spoilt for
choice in what heralds the start of the New Year for hardy
bulbs, this month's selection features two indispensable and
complementary garden stalwarts,
Sternbergia sicula and
Colchicum byzantinum album.
Both are easy to grow and increase, they are very
floriferous and reliably make an appearance in the first
days of September just when the alpine gardener is starting
to despair for some 'proper' flowers and cooler weather. In
the Amaryllidaceae and Colchicaceae families, respectively,
they hail from the Mediterranean region, requiring sun to
part shade and well drained soils, in which conditions they
are trouble free.
 S.
sicula is widespread in Greece and the Greek islands
and exhibits some variation in flower size and shape. It is
like a compact version of Sternbergia
lutea, but much more refined. Flowering just ahead of
the foliage, with a succession of flowers over several weeks
on short stems (generally 1-2"), a good clump makes a
spectacular statement in the rock garden, appearing as if by
magic from ground which was bare a day earlier. The flowers
can be up to 2" long in the best forms, with pointed and
well textured segments opening wide but not quite flat in
the sun. The leaves, which appear as the later flowers are
fading, are relatively narrow (less than 1/4") and deep
green, with an attractive silver stripe running the length
of the upper surface. Mature leaves are up to 12" long but
not untidy, standing up well to the rigors of winter. Bulbs
are readily obtained from specialist bulb suppliers and
offset freely in the right conditions to ensure that a good
clump is built up rapidly. Seed does not appear to be set in
cultivation but bulbs are easily lifted and divided, usually
during the May to September dormant period, being replanted
approximately 4" deep.
C.
byzantinum album is found a little further east in
Turkey and thrives in much the same conditions as
S. sicula, flowering
coincidentally. Established bulbs can produce upwards of 15
flowers over a period of a couple of weeks, in this case
well before the appearance of the leaves, which do not
develop until the spring. Flowers are pure white but
intriguingly the tips of the styles are picked out in
purple, a color which also tends to tint the fading flowers.
The latter are up to 3" long, on tubes a little longer when
they are mature. Unlike the leaves of the sternbergia, those
of C. byzantinum album are much
more robust, being several inches wide and a foot or so long
and quite strongly pleated. The leaves are attractive when
fresh but the bulbs should be placed so that mature leaves
don't collapse on smaller subjects as they start to yellow
and go over in late spring. Seed is not usually set in
cultivation but, like the previous subject, vegetative
increase is excellent and division should follow the same
protocol. It is also readily available in the bulb
trade.
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