Star of Bronkhorst - J. Mak Oriental™
Spicy fragrance, 3 to 4 Feet. Mid / Late July flowering.
Johan reported on July 21 that he will have an additional 15 bulbs of 'Star of Bronkhorst' available for spring shipping. While doing field evaluations on new introductions, he discovered a small planting he had previously overlooked.
'Star of Bronkhorst', as described by Johan Mak, “is not an extraordinary lily for color such as 'Kon-Tiki (which sold out in less than 20 hours of introduction) but it really catches your eyes from younder, is very tall and very sturdy flowering, a bit later in the season than the main body of Orientals".
What Johan did not mention in his email about 'Star of Bronkhorst' was that it came into flower at the height of a heat wave with afternoon temperatures hitting 101 and 102 for several days and how well it held its color. As can be seen from the insert photo, the lower flowers are just as richly colored as the newer, fresher blooms. 'Star of Bronkhorst' has proven that it can take the heat!
Our field photo shows stems that were produced from scale bulblets planted in the spring of 2020. Three years later, Star's stems were at 6.5 feet. Johan commented that "this usually means a very strong root system which means they can handle most of the tricks that Mother Nature can throw at them. In the garden it should be planted at the back of the bed rather than out front and center where its mass will hide lilies of lesser stature. Starting to flower the last week of July in 2022, again during a heat spike, in “normal” years, bloom will probably be early August. These photos were taken on August 1 of this year.
Our insert photo shows 'Star of Bronkhorst' standing head and shoulders above it neighbors whom were all scale bulblets planted at the same time in the spring of 2020. This lily is an animal and Johan calls it "not extraordinary"! It is like saying this isn't a diamond, it is just a rock.
Bulb Size - Our standard for bulbs of this lily cultivar ranges from Premium-size (16/18cm) to Exhibition-size (over 20 cm). Click here for details.
Classification: Oriental Hybrid Lily (USDA Zones 7b-9, lows to +5 F. Winter mulch recommended in the colder climates)
Stock # 7330 - 'Star of Bronkhurst' - Oriental Hybrid Lily
J. Mak Oriental Hybrid™ is a trademark of Mak-Leek Inc.
Editorial Note How are lilies named? When it comes to Johan Mak's creations, such as 'Kon-Tiki' or 'Ombra mi fu', it can be quite difficult. In fact, I can write a half dozen or more descriptions for new varieties coming out of Holland in the time it takes to do a single name / description for most of Johan's lilies. 'Kon-Tiki' for example went through three names with descriptions and approximately 9 hours of thought and writing for the final text.
Where did 'Star of Bronkhorst' come from? This time is was basically bouncing ideas back and forth through emails. After telling Johan, “I am coming up with a total blank on this one” his reply was “how about 'Star of' something. My next email was “'Star of' what, thinking of last seasons L. speciosum hybrid introduction, 'Song of Japan'. I can't think of a country that fits”. Johan's reply was “How about Holland, everyone likes Holland (Johan is somewhat bias at times). It was late and I was tired and Googled “smallest town in Holland” and sent back “how about Bronkhorst”, in jest, and went to bed.
The next morning upon opening his email reply I found, “I love it”. I thought who on earth outside the the 120 or so residents of Bronkhorst would even know it was a town and asked Johan about his thinking. His reply was “even small towns have a star to look up at during the night”. We had a name. Here was a 6.5 foot lily that certainly would be a star that one could look up to. Not only did the name fit the lily, but the lily fit the name. It was a perfect match, a "Star was born".
