August 2014 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Maggi Young]

Hi Maggi,
do you think this might be T. violiflora?
cheers
fermi

No, I don't really - think the "clue" is for the flower to be viola-like  - see forum  pix from  Fred  'bulbissime'  and Hans A. here: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=2667.0   

From Chileflora
http://www.chileflora.com/Florachilena/FloraEnglish/HighResPages/EH1084.htm

Described in AGS encyc. as "Leaves solitary, lanceolate, 8-20cm by 8-13mm Flowers one to ten, to 1.4cm across, blue, lilac, purple or white with narrow tepals creating a starry appearance, on peduncles 15-30cm tall, spring. Native to thinly vegetated hillsides: sea level to about 1000m.  Greatly inferior to T. cyanocrocus."

 Forgot to add page from PBS : http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Tecophilaea

[Mark Griffiths]

and also

http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=2667.0

I think I had it a while from collected seed but never flowered it.

[Jupiter]

Learning lots from this forum, Tecophilaea is another one new to me. What a gorgeous colour. What conditions do they like?

Pat, my camera is a good one and I have some nice glass too (tech speak for lenses). I hope some of it is down to the user too! I'm looking forward to taking some photos of your Irises in the spring. 

[Mark Griffiths]

In the UK I grow them frost free in pots. Usually a fairly sandy / gritty but rich mix. I never let them dry out. I find them straight forward with me.

I've proably got several hundred bulbs now from a few I originally bought - but that was 20 years ago.

[Lesley Cox]

I haven't seen T. violiflora but from reading I understand its flower is quite a lot smaller and presumably viola-like (maybe) rather that violet in colour (or maybe not). I had some of each of the 3 recognized cyanocrocus forms last year from Bill in Tauranga and the violacea form was very true and was the only one which gave me two nice seed pods (safely sown of course). If they're grown in close proximity, the three will produce an amazing variation of colour combos as can be seen in some of Ian's Bulblogs and of course any Tecophilaea is a good (very good) Tecophilaea.

[Lesley Cox]

Mark/Maggi, the references you give are great and show exactly what T. violiflora is like. If meeting it in the wild, one would not immediately think "Ah a Tecophilaea."

Marcus, that's a great selection of Cyclamen foliage. Great to have those leaves when the flowers are not out.

Can you give any information about the origins/breeding/selection of Crocus 'Midas Touch' please? Otto and I would both like to know. I've thought it was another selection from E A Bowles but from what? and anyway I may be quite wrong about that. It's another good doer here, like 'The Chocolate Soldier' (thank goodness) My spring crocuses are just about finished and it's still so early. I've never know them to start in early winter (May) and be gone by late July.

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Lesley,

If David Stephens is still on the Forum he can give you the run down. Other than that I will fish out the article he wrote for an AGS bulletin some time ago now. Alan Edwards, who raised it from seed and distributed it, also showed it at an AGS event and his description and explanation of its origins were reported, again in an AGS bulletin.

Cheers, and I will get back, Marcus

[Hillview croconut]

PS It doesn't have anything to do with Bowles. The seed was sent to Alan by Ray Cobb but the provenance is the mystery.

[Hillview croconut]

Hi, I found the article. Its in AGS vol. 66 no.3 Sept. 1998. David's article begins on page 353 and the reference is on page 360 just before a terrific article by Alan Edwards with some stunning accompanying pictures of Crocus pelistericus and a white form of C. cvijicii.

Unfortunately David was none the wiser back then (but obviously perplexed) about the plant's heritage and was still citing the original explanation. Maybe someone out there has some later information? I seem to remember Alan's little vignette might have the possible answer. Janis will know for sure.

Cheers, Marcus

[Hillview croconut]

Sorry about this long-winded reply. I remember that Tony Goode mentioned on the forum a couple of years ago that it is considered to be a hybrid between cvijicii and sieberi.

Cheers, Marcus

[fermi de Sousa]

No, I don't really - think the "clue" is for the flower to be viola-like  - see forum  pix from  Fred  'bulbissime'  and Hans A. here: http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=2667.0   

I'd forgotten that pic, Maggi.
I agree with Lesley that I'd never have picked the true violiflora for a tec!
cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks Marcus. I'll have a look in the relevant Bulletin, though they are still all in boxes  and are unlooked at for nearly 2 years! Otto wondered if it could be cvijicii x veluchensis. I'm pretty sure some of my seedlings which MAY be from that cross are actually cvijicii x sieberi, the form I have as 'Bowles' White' because I can't see where else the white seedlings in the various batches could have come from. At the time the pods developed on cvijicii, BW was in the trough next door, just half a metre away. It's not impossible of course for several compatible species to have a stake in a given seed pod. I remember once collecting seed from Mt Nimrod in South Canterbury, from Celmisia lyallii. When they germinated, at least 4 species other than lyallii could easily be identified as pollen parents. What an interesting sex life some plants have.

[Matt T]

In his book (p.170, entry for Crocus sieberi), Janis says:

"In 1994 Alan Edwards spotted an unexpected yellow seedling among a group of plants raised from seed of Crocus sieberi. He considered the new form to be on the same level with 'Bowles' White', but with the white surface colour replaced by two tones of yellow. Edwards later named it 'Midas Touch'. The seeds had come from cultivated plants of C.sieberi grown by Lyn Bezzant in Scotland. These plants undoubtedly were a hybrid with an unknown species, perhaps C.chrysanthus or C.cvijicii. The latter seems more probable because like C.sieberi it also belongs to series Reticulati."

[Lesley Cox]

Ah, thank you Matt. That sounds good and Otto will see it here too. I'll make a note in my diary (which I've kept religiously this year, for the first time ever). This makes me rethink some more of my cvijicii x veluchensis seedlings. Some were white as I mentioned above but some were like cvijicii itself (large and egg-shaped) but of soft yellow shades, often two toned, much paler than cvijicii yet without any of the purple of veluchensis and not the apricot to magenta tonings of some. Perhaps these too are cvijicii x sieberi, the white form. Next flowering I'll photograph many more of them. There was enormous variation in what I at first assumed were seeds of just cvijicii. (I've typed that word so often now I can just about spell it without thinking about it. )

[Lesley Cox]

Marcus, I meant to ask you, have you seen much variation in the depth of colour of C. pelistericus? You may remember I had some seed from you a year or two back and I got 16 flowering plants from that, flowering for the first time last year. It has yet to flower now, seemingly the last for the season but already showing colour. When they're out I'll take a picture. They've grown so quickly and are doing so well I have doubts that they're maybe not the right thing. They are lighter in colour than I expected from pictures I've seen elsewhere, especially Ian Y's flowers.