Crocus October 2015

[Maggi Young]

Good pollen shed on the Crocus serotinus salzmanii El Torcal 

[YT]

Crocus asumaniae, double flower.  This has flowered double before but is not consistent.

A nice multi-petaled asumaniae, Cyril

[YT]

Crocus mathewii, JJA 347.908.

[Melvyn Jope]

I have a plant collected north of Sparta in the Peloponnese many years ago which Brian Mathew has advised is Crocus boryi. For the first time this year l have noticed that after fully opening during the day it closes  with the inner petals closing around the outside petals, I hope the photos clarify what I am trying to explain. Has anyone else ever noticed this with crocus?

[Maggi Young]

An interesting observation, Melvyn - and one that seems counter to what one would expect - I hope this leads to something of a "mass observation" project as we all keep a closer eye on our Crocus.

[ruben]

Great pictures Cyril!

I really like you're pink mathewii and bicolored banaticus! 

I never noticed that type of closing and never noticed such a nice striped Crocus boryi! 

Crocus goulimyi MELJ 95059 - very nice collection from Melvyn from Aeropolis Greece
Crocus mathewii
Crocus laevigatus AH 0153 - a nice gold back laevigatus

[Yann]

Crocus gilanicus on my desk.

[Cyril L]

A nice multi-petaled asumaniae, Cyril

Regrettably not reliably stable.

Great pictures Cyril!

I really like you're pink mathewii and bicolored banaticus! 

The bicoloured banaticus is unlikely to be stable but I will watch it.  The pink mathewii on the other hand is always the same colour.

[Janis Ruksans]

I have a plant collected north of Sparta in the Peloponnese many years ago which Brian Mathew has advised is Crocus boryi. For the first time this year l have noticed that after fully opening during the day it closes  with the inner petals closing around the outside petals, I hope the photos clarify what I am trying to explain. Has anyone else ever noticed this with crocus?

It is boryi. I have similar forms.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Yesterday was the first day again with my crocuses after a week long interruption. Together with my wife we passed marvellous weak in N Italy enjoying monuments, art and Italian wines and cheese. It was pure holiday with touristic group without any sidestep for watching wild nature and autumn crocuses. During our absence Liga finished replanting of bulbs in her new nursery, but in my place crocuses bloomed and bloomed. So my first job was plucking off the died flowers. We had first rainy day in October (the driest October in Latvia ever recorded). so only in afternoon crocus flowers started to open, but today is promised some sun and warmer weather. Although all the day was wet, outside soil still is extremely dry. Great disaster for farmers and wells becomes dry, too. We are using drinking water very economically now. Fortunately for watering we still have water in pools although water level there dropped dramatically, too. Few days before leaving to Italy died my best friend - Ginger. It was very hard job to dig the tomb for her in my home-animal cemetery. Up to 1.5 m depth it was only brick hard and dust dry clayish sand. No signs of moisture in soil. It is very great loss for us. I'm very short of her greetings at my coming although during last year she much slowed down.

[Janis Ruksans]

But now something about crocuses. At first some from speciosus group and as very first - Crocus archibaldiorum from Iran. Just in full bloom now.
Then follow two pictures of crocus which I want to name Crocus armeniacum - one from locus classicus near Goris, another from Vahagni - locality not visited by me but corms I got from Zhirair. I think that Zhirair regards that they are different types, but here I specially selected specimen from Goris with similar colour type, so I suppose that both belongs to same species, but may be I'm wrong.
Then one of greatest joys of this autumn - first flower of Crocus banaticus found by Dima during our common trip to E Carpathian mountains in W Ukraina this spring. It is the most northern population of this beautiful species.
The last in this entry is another "speciosus" - Crocus brachyphylus of Schneider or C. elegans of Ruksans - easy identifiable in spring as usually forms only 2(3) leaves, but flower is of perfect shape and purest white in throat, even glistening white.

[Janis Ruksans]

After two generations of seedlings now I'm sure that mine stock of C. nerimaniae is virus free. In wild it is for at least 90% virus infected. Flowers are closed due dull day - only slightly started to open.
Crocus vallicola still are in full blooms. The white one is from Melo Dag near Artvin, grown up from seeds kindly sent to me by Erich Pasche
Next is vallicola named by Henrik Zetterlund BLUSHING MARMOT - it starts white but gradually turns lilac. Originally it was collected by W. Kletzing near Artvin, too.
Last two pictures are of C. niveus - the vegetative clone of pure white, and another - the darkest blue niveus seen by me - both collected at same locality in Pellopones, Greece.

[Janis Ruksans]

Now two Greek crocuses.
Crocus melantherus pictures in tight buds to show variation in outside colour - both are extremes, not the m ost distributed colour.
Following is one of very few crocuses which didn't close flowers at night - so they werfe open regardless of so cloudy day - they are Crocus tournefortii and you can see variability in throat colour and in flower shape. They are not my collections - the first was collected by Jim Archibald, second by Mike Saqlmon and the third by Arnis Seisums. My own gatherings from Karpathos and Rhodos still not started blooming.

[Janis Ruksans]

Outside started sunshine, so I must hurry to greenhouse and so the last entry this morning.
There were some discussion about yellow colour in autumn crocuses. Here two yellowish toned buds of C. laevigatus and C. pumilus - both from yesterday morning.
Then one of very nice Crocus cancellatus s.l., collected by Arnis Seisums, Norman Stevens and Jim Archibald.
And as last - two selections of Crocus goulimyi - the pinkish toned PINK WONDER was found by Liga and another which I named NEW HARLEQUIN (both from Pelloponess, from same locality), not so good as Herlequin by colour contrast but better increaser.

[YT]

Few days before leaving to Italy died my best friend - Ginger. It was very hard job to dig the tomb for her in my home-animal cemetery. Up to 1.5 m depth it was only brick hard and dust dry clayish sand. No signs of moisture in soil. It is very great loss for us. I'm very short of her greetings at my coming although during last year she much slowed down.

Dear Janis, so sorry to hear such sad news. I'm sure Ginger had a good life with you and your family.