Hymenocallis festalis Zwanenburg

This beautiful flower with its heavenly appearance dates back to 1912. It was introduced by the famous flower bulb company Van Tubergen. At that time, Van Tubergen was the best-known Dutch flower bulb company with worldwide import and export of flower bulbs and a, for that time, enormous nursery west of Haarlem.

The name of this nursery was 'Zwanenburg' and when they introduced a really unique or beautiful bulbous plant they gave it the name Zwanenburg. So also this fantastic Hymenocallis festalis. Many of you will know her as Ismene festalis Zwanenburg which until recently was her official name, but the taxonomists have decided that it should be Hymenocallis.

When I look up articles about this beautiful bulb I always read that it smells wonderful, I find this only partly true. Yes, if you sniff well there is indeed a pleasant scent of vanilla, but I would not label it as a flower that spreads a lot of scent. The Hymenocallis Sulpher Queen does that much more.

But whether it smells strongly or not, the Hymenocallis festalis Zwanenburg is a truly fantastically beautiful bulbous plant and easy to force into bloom. About 4 to 5 weeks after planting it shows its first flowers that are so beautiful that everyone walks over to see them up close.

It is also easy to force into bloom in a pot, but keep in mind that its flower stems can grow to 50 to 70 cm high and that it will wobble a bit when in full bloom. The Hymenocallis Sulpher Queen is in that respect better suited to planting in a pot with its shorter and sturdier stems.