Crocus January 2016

[tonyg]

Many nice crocus already this year .... and much head scratching over how to name them 

Here we hope for a cold spell to slow down the rush to flower for many plants.  Below just a couple of the crocus now in flower, Crocus sieberi sublimis  and Crocus nevadensis.

[Gabriela]

All very beautiful, thank you - I can pretend spring is coming...

[Janis Ruksans]

All very beautiful, thank you - I can pretend spring is coming...

Ai, ai, ai - here tonight promissed "only" minus 29 C...
Really was minus 30 C 

[YT]

Ai, ai, ai - here tonight promissed "only" minus 29 C...
Really was minus 30 C 

I've never experienced such severe cold
Please take care of yourself, Janis.

[Maggi Young]

And still no snow, Janis?  Black frost so dangerous for plants.

[YT]

Crocus danfordiae from blue form, JJA 344.205 Its flower is not blue and pistil is orange.
Should I call it danfordiae or minutus

[ruben]

very nice one YT, even how he calls! But i understand you're questions, its very difficult for determination.

Here a very Sunny day with 8 degrees. Forecast for next week is colder overday 4 degrees, and light nightfrost minus 1 degree.

Crocus biflorus ssp. fibroannulatus
Crocus crysanthus 'Sunspot'
Crocus biflorus ssp. nubigena JP 8604 : the best one out of the 8 selections i grow of nubigena

[Maggi Young]

Crocus biflorus ssp. nubigena JP 8604 : the best one out of the 8 selections i grow of nubigena

 A real beauty!

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus danfordiae from blue form, JJA 344.205 Its flower is not blue and pistil is orange.
Should I call it danfordiae or minutus

It is good danfordiae. C. minutus has white stigma. Blue and white danfordiae often are growing together, so no wonder for white seedling.

[Janis Ruksans]

And still no snow, Janis?  Black frost so dangerous for plants.

Fortunately all is covered by very powdery snow - around 7 cm, Usually it is sufficient. 5 cm of snow saved everything at even minus 49 at snow level at Christmas in late seventies or early eighties, not remember in which year it was. This winter was great disaster in UK, too. Minus thirty is normal for our winters and usually last around week or so (not in previous 3 winters, when temperature never dropped till minus 20, and we joked, that we had no winter at all).
Tonight started warming. We had only minus 17, although in late evening still was minus 22-23 C. In greenhouse all pots are covered with 5 cm sheets of glass-wool, but yesterday I really worried about them, too. Checking temperature in greenhouse where under cover is temperature sensor it showed still +1 C. So all is OK.

[WimB]

Jani,

I hope you're keeping yourself warm too 

Still no frost over here, so Crocusses keep on flowering unprotected:

Crocus ancyrensis
3 x Crocus cyprius
Crocus dalmaticus 'Petrovac'

[WimB]

Crocus fleischeri
Crocus rujanensis
2 x Crocus vitellinus

[Yann]

Crocus korolkowii - RI form

[David Nicholson]

Yann, what does 'RI' mean please?

[Yann]

RI form has straight and well drawn brown stripes, the bud is well tubular which is typical.
other korolwokii can have spotted brown stripes and bud are often conical.