Connoisseur Collection

[Lvandelft]

Here is one tulip, Zhirair asked for to show when available, which I forgot to post
until now.
Here it is:

Tulipa Greigii Group Bokhara           

[Boyed]

Luit,

thanks a lot for "Bokhara" picture.
Why I wanted to see it - because it is one of the tallest and largest-flowered in the goup. During the 80s (when the company D.W. Lebeber & Co was active) it was popular and wild-spread, but now it is very rare and non-commercial variety, as it has low propagation rate. Anyway, I managed to find a supplier of it in Czech republic and going to order it for my collection.

And I hope that you didn't forget about the breeder tulips: "Lous XIV", "Tantalus", "Panorama" and some other of this group to show

[Jim McKenney]

And I hope that you didn't forget about the breeder tulips: "Lous XIV", "Tantalus", "Panorama" and some other of this group to show

Boyed, you have just given me a real thrill: are you saying that you know that Tulipa 'Louis XIV' still exists? It is mentioned in all of the early twentieth century books and lists. I grew it thirty-five or forty years ago, and have an old slide image of it. I have not seen it mentioned in the Hortus Bulborum collections, and an inquiry to their sales agent here in the US came up blank.
That is wonderful news to me if it's true. 

[Lvandelft]

Last Saturday I made some more pictures in the Collection.
After 5 sunny days and temps above 20 C most flowers were over
and now when posting this, I think that there wil be no more tulips in flower.
We had 3 days with at least 25 C now so Tulip time is over.
Here a last picture from Saturday.
But it's Allium time now so here I show some of them:

Tulipa beds 10.05.08     
Allium aflatunense Purple Sensation (prob. the same as A. holl. Purple Sensation)
Allium Beau Regard       
Allium falcifolium                   
Allium Globemaster                 
Allium hollandicum Purple Sensation           
Allium jesdianum Shing               
Allium rosenbachianum Early Emperor           
Allium tschimganicum             
Allium Mars   

[Lvandelft]

Here are the tulip beds, somehow not in the first batch (my fault)

[Lvandelft]

Last week I showed a field with Allium for cutflowers'here a picture after
cutting a big part of the field.
And some other bulbous plants flowering now:

Allium Mars field [ Harvesting flowers]
Camassia Electra                     
Camassia leichtlinii Magdalen         
Camassia quamash Orion
Hyacinthoides hispanica White City               
Iris stolonifera George Barr                 
Ixiolirion tataricum               
Scilla vincentina                   
Gladiolus spec. nova Beyes Dag Cam. B.
Iris x Vera     

[David Nicholson]

as usual Luit, beautiful!

[Jim McKenney]

Luit, I’ve been growing bulbs all my adult life and you are showing us things of which I’ve never heard ,  much less seen. What a pity that the tulip season is so fleeting.

It might come as a surprise to you , but here in Maryland, USA, about a thousand miles south of you, the season is at an approximately similar phase: the last tulips are dropping their petals as the big alliums come into bloom. In fact, my plants of Allium ‘Beau Regard’ are at about the same state of development as those shown in your picture.

Thank you so much for doing this!

What might be next? Eremurus? Lilies? Calochortus?

I’ll be waiting with keen anticipation – as I’m sure many others will be. 

I've attached an image of one of my Iris stolonifera which bloomed on April 26, 2008.

[Lesley Cox]

Luit, would it be possible for you to get a couple of pictures of Iris 'Vera' from the side, showing the outside of the standards and the falls. I'm having a (light-hearted) argument or discussion about the identity of 'Vera' as we know it in NZ and it would be good to see someone else's plant. Thank you.

[Lvandelft]

Luit, would it be possible for you to get a couple of pictures of Iris 'Vera' from the side, showing the outside of the standards and the falls. I'm having a (light-hearted) argument or discussion about the identity of 'Vera' as we know it in NZ and it would be good to see someone else's plant. Thank you.

Lesley it took me at least 10 mins. to take a picture, where the falls were not blown
up by the strong wind.
There were only a few flowers and due to the hot weather the last days I'm afraid
there's nothing left. But I'll have a look.

[Lvandelft]

Here are some Breeder tulips from the Collection

Tulipa SLG Cardinal Manning
Tulipa SLG Columbine            pre 1929
Tulipa SLG General Ney               1837                           
Tulipa SLG Music                  pre 1939
Tulipa SLG Panorama                             
Tulipa SLG Papago                     1940 Rijnveld                 

[Lvandelft]

and some more. But looking at Roses des Dames I am not sure it is a Breeder tulip.

Tulipa SLG Rose des Dames    pre 1863
Tulipa SLG Peer Gynt                  1973 K+M             
Tulipa SLG Professor Schotel  pre 1870   
Tulipa SLG Southern Cross          1934 Krelage
Tulipa SLG Tantalus     
Tulipa SLG Samuel Barlow            1880

[Boyed]

Luit,

Breeder tulips are just fantastic!!! They look much more better, atractive and interesting than most of SLG modern varieties sold in the market.

An interesting question to you.
You said that tulip Rose des Dames  doesn't  look much as a breeder tulip. Then I would like to ask you: what do you think what is the difference (I mean diference in appearance) between breeder and, for example, Darwin tulips (not Darwin Hybrids).

Studying and reading the literature, I made such a conclusion -
Breders are very old tulips with transitional unusual rare colours not found in the tulips from other divisions. I noticed that most of Dutch breeders by their flower shape resemble Darwins, and only some  Cottage tulips.

But I also noticed that English Breeder tulips mainly have a normal distinct colour and rounded goblet-shaped and a bit smaller flowers compared to those of Dutch ones.

So what is your and your collegues' opinion about this matter? I hope that I can hear something new from you. 

[Boyed]

Luit,

You showed us many wonderful photos of the bulbs grown in Connoisseur collection. The only thing you forgot, is making a small advertisement for Mr. Connoisseur, to mention that, besides being a great collector, he is also a tulip breeder to a some extend, as such greigii tulips like “Flaming Torch”, “Inflammantion”, “Kaizerwalzer”, “Majestic” and some others were bred by Mr. Connoisseur.

[Lvandelft]

I never asked him and he would be the last telling me!
But now I will, when I see him again.