Crocus January 2008

[Martin Baxendale]

Is there a way of vegetatively propagating crocuses, other than waiting for them to split?

I think there was a short discussion about this last year. And as I recall someone said you can cut crocus into chips down through the basal plate and hope to get the chips growing on and eventually putting up leaves, although they don't actually produce a new cormlet from the chip - it's the chip itself which produces a leaf. Does anyone know more about chipping corms?

That may be based on the fact that crocus corms can be induced to form offsets by removing the growing point. This encourages new cormlets to shoot from around the sides of the corm. So if you were chipping a corm, you'd need to cut off the shoot(s) at the top, just as you cut off the top part of a snowdrop bulb for chipping.

But this is all just conjecture as I've never personally tried chipping or decapitating a crocus.

[Tony Willis]

I have taken off the main growing point a few times to try and get the dormant buds around the edges to shoot. Sometimes it works and a few grow away which then make very tiny corms.Other times just one moves and you have lost that years flower and also risked losing the corm through disease. The same can be tried with arisaema.Not the best idea I find and only to be tried if you have a surplus in the first place which really negates the whole idea.

[annew]

Thanks, Martin. Maybe I'll have a go with something common first!
Here are a couple of my crocuses, and I apologise for the poor photographs: Crocus korolkowii 'Mountain Glory', competing with 'Sunspot', this is one corm and I've already removed 3 flowers. Thank you Thomas (it has 3 noses now)!
Crocus baytopiorum, which is falling over as soon as it opens, but is such a lovely colour.
Crocus imperati 'de Jaeger form', at least that's what I have it as, any comments?

[Armin]

Anne,

your C.korolkowii "Mountains Glory" is very impressive for just one corm It can compete with Marks C. chrysanthus "Sunspot"!

All my crocus are in the open. They still waiting for better weather. I saw some orange shining shots (C.ancryensis) in my lawn which will be next open. But my first crocus in my lawn is C.imperati De Jager.

To my total surprise I found a C.speciosus in flower!
It has terrible suffered from the stormy days and I regret the poor quality.

It is the first time I found this autuum species mid January in flower. A latecomer...
Does anybody has made such a experience too?

brgds

[annew]

I have the odd flower on Colchicum agrippinum.

[Maggi Young]

We have sometimes had a Crocus speciosus throw up a flower very late.... not perhaps as late as this, but in December. We do have one Crocus banaticus form which gives late flowers and we find that our C. banaticus have a very wide flowering season anyway, depending on the clone.
 

[mark smyth]

Maybe Tony G will tell us the difference between imperati, imperati suaveolens and imperati 'De Jager'

[Maggi Young]

A quote from Tony elsewhere.... "Crocus imperati, which is officially a spring flowering
species can flower as early as December.  Native to Western Italy it
flowers in the wild from January to March, buff coloured buds marked
with purple stripes opening to reveal bright lilac purple inside the
flower.  There are two subspecies separated by small botanical
differences.  Despite the often inclement winter weather this species
makes a good garden plant in well drained soils in a sunny spot.  I
have seen buds encased in ice after a January snowfall open in perfect
shape a week later.  In a cool settled spell the plant can be in
flower for four or five weeks at a time of year when there is little
colour in the garden.  Some specialist bulb suppliers offer a form
named 'De Jager' which is probably a form of subspecies suaveolens.
Subspecies imperati, which may have larger more extravagantly marked
flowers, is occasionally offered by the seed distributions."

[Maggi Young]

Also see here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/5012/22898.html  for forms from Mark, John Forrest and Tony G.

[Maggi Young]

And this Bulb Log feedback page : http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/321/1408.html which also refers to Log no 3 of 2004... don't know why the feedback page refers to 2002 ?

The Log in question is here: Log No. 3 ....14th January 2004  http://www.srgc.org.uk/bulblog/log2004/140104/log.html

Today, 20th January 2008, this lovely croucus is sitting waiting for another day of sunshine, perhaps with warm sunshine, to open it!

[tonyg]

Anne W - that is a very fine pot of C baytopiorum.  I take my hat off to anyone who can produce such a healthy potful.  Is it all one clone or a seed raised form?  (And where did you get it?

Crocus imperati ssp suaveolens does not have a bracteole (the second, smaller papery bract around the flower).  The flowers are generally smaller and less well marked than ssp imperati.  BUT ssp suaveolens seems to be more widely grown and is still a beauty.  The form 'de Jager' which is widely available from specialist bulb merchants is a clone so, Mark, they should always look the alike, even down to the external markings.

Tony Willis observations on increasing crocuses are well founded.  Seed is best if you can get it.

[Maggi Young]

Yes, Tony, Anne's pot of Crocus baytopiorum is very good... we don't find it very willing to increase... a great shame when it is such a lovely colour.

[dominique]

To day bright sun....Crocus open

[dominique]

and others

[dominique]

the end !!!