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 the time, Van Tubergen was the best-known Dutch flower bulb company with worldwide import and export of flower bulbs and an enormous nursery west of Haarlem.

The name of this nursery was 'Zwanenburg' and when they introduced this unique bulbous plant, they gave it the name Zwanenburg. Many of you will know it as Ismene festalis Zwanenburg which was its official name until recently, 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, but I think this is only partly true. Yes, if you sniff carefully there is indeed a pleasant scent of vanilla, but I would not label it as a flower that gives off a lot of scent. The Hymenocallis Sulfur Queen does that much more. But whether it smells strongly or not, the Hymenocallis festalis Zwanenburg is a truly fantastically beautiful bulbous plant and is easy to bring into flower. About 4 to 5 weeks after planting, she shows her first flowers, which are so beautiful that everyone walks over to see them up close.

It is also easy to get it to bloom in a pot, but keep in mind that its flower stems can reach a height of 50 to 70 cm and that it will sway a bit when in full bloom. In that respect, the Hymenocallis Sulfur Queen is better suited for planting in a pot with its shorter and sturdier stems.