Description
(syn. Vagaria parviflora)
This is a lovely dwarf species known only from a few sites in Syria and Israel. Small black-skinned bulbs make growths only 20-25cm tall with glaucous narrow, short foliage. This dies back in summer but the plant re-emerges with the advent of autumn rains to make gorgeous white blooms which would, in the wild, emerge from bare sandy soils.
Ours is a good form with highly fragrant white flowers the petals of which have a lovely thick, waxen texture, subtly yet noticeably infused with green.
Fertile, well-drained soil, Good feeding will build larger bulbs (though it is a miniature species with naturally small bulbs). It is best kept from very deep cold, though it will bear a light touch of frost on the leaves as long as it does not freeze through. These bulbs are grown under unheated glass and have been in cultivation for many years without problems, from an original collection made many years ago by the late Manfred Koenen in Syria.
