Crocus november 2015

[Maggi Young]

 They do keep everything very neat!

[Steve Garvie]

Crocus cartwrightianus, JJA 342.810

Lovely plants Tatsuo!
Forgive me for asking but what compost mix do you use? Is it pure pumice?

[YT]

Hi Steve. I usually use pre-mixed soil. There are several kind of pumice and loam in it.
No organic matter for preventing root/bulb rot during relatively hot temperature season - summer and early to mid autumn.
The largest grains for bottom (or top, sometimes) of the pot, middle ones for top dressing and the finest ones for growing medium with some perlite, charcoal chips and montmorillonite grains.

[YT]

Crocus laevigatus, JJA 347.421. "Greece, Crete, Mt. Vouvala. Ex an A. Edwards coll."

Is this Crocus pumilus now?

[WimB]

Crocus laevigatus, JJA 347.421. "Greece, Crete, Mt. Vouvala. Ex an A. Edwards coll."

Is this Crocus pumilus now?

Yes YT, they are C. pumilus now!

[YT]

Thanks for your quick answer, Wim

[Janis Ruksans]

The collection of autumn crocuses in Istanbul University botanic garden. For understandable reasons it was impossible to get closer to them. There is a big collection of flowering bulbs (also raised beds like these but wooden) in the second botanic garden of Istanbul, а much bigger one. Both gardens there are not that easy to find.

I think those are  raised beds of Osman Erol (looks just as his).

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus laevigatus, JJA 347.421. "Greece, Crete, Mt. Vouvala. Ex an A. Edwards coll."

Is this Crocus pumilus now?

Yes

 edit by maggi to add this information :

Crocus pumilus (Rukšāns) Rukšāns status nova. Syn. Crocus laevigatus subsp. pumilus Rukšāns. The Alpine Gardener; 81: 193 (2013).
The Alpine Gardener**: The taxa (other than C. macedonicus C. vaclavii) named in this paper have since been raised to species status by J. R. The IRG issue #52 of April 2014 has Jānis' reiteration of his decision to re-classify some of his earlier naming, as published in The Alpine Gardener; 80(2012) and 81(2013) from subspecies to species status.

[Steve Garvie]

Many thanks Tatsuo!
This is very helpful guidance for a man who gardens in perpetual rain. 
How often do you fertilise and do you use a similar mix for summer-growing bulbs?
(No more questions after these!  )

[annew]

Wonderful tassels of stigmas in the Crocus pumilus, Tatsuo.

[Alex]

Tatsuo, I have a question too if I may. Do you repot every year ,since you use inorganic soil which does not decompose and therefore may not need to? Also, do you grow moisture-loving species like pelistericus or vallicola in this soil?

Thanks very much,

Alex

[YT]

Thanks, Janis and Anne

How often do you fertilise and do you use a similar mix for summer-growing bulbs?

I feed slow release fertiliser (NPK:5-10-15, 5mm pellet), 6 pellets for 15cm pot twice, at November and March with organic liquid (3-3-2, diluted in 1000 times) roughly every 10 days.
Yes, I use the same mix for temperate and alpine plants. Normal rich soil for sub-tropicals and larger hybrid daffs.

Do you repot every year ,since you use inorganic soil which does not decompose and therefore may not need to? Also, do you grow moisture-loving species like pelistericus or vallicola in this soil?

Hi, Alex. I usually repot them every 2 or 3 years. So I use organic liquid fertiliser to feed them decomposed substances rather than nutrients.
Unfortunately, it seems impossible to grow such cool and moisture loving crocuses at my place.

[Steve Garvie]

Very many thanks Tatsuo.

[Alex]

Thank you very much, Tatsuo.

Alex

[YT]

Crocus laevigatus, JJA 347.402.
Interesting for me that their pistils are vary in form.