Crocus february 2018

[Yann]

a bit more Crocus this week-end

Crocus cvijicii x 'Rainbow Gold'
Crocus sieberi 'Ronald Ginns' (rescued from a flooded part of the garden!)
Crocus violaceus

[Yann]

Crocus thirkeanus, very compact crocus

[Janis Ruksans]

Here is winter. Last night was minus 11 C and although following days will be warmer, up to March permanent minuses is offered. Some crocuses under glass-wool sheets started blooming (in tight buds) but much less than in former seasons at the same time. Below cover temperature is between 0 to + 2 C.
I just returned from Karpathos Island in Greece where I went hoping to picture C. ruksansii in the wild and to see its variability. I think I’m unfortunate with Karpathos. My first trip there was 13th of February, 2015. All mountain was covered in snow up to 20+ cm thick, and it was not fresh snow. Next trip there was the same year 13th of April – I found two small spots with Crocus now named C. ruksansii and I think few were collected unnoticed between C. tournefortii. They all were with leaves only. I passed on mountain all day and came back absolutely out of power and in night had serious heart problems, but at least I found the crocus. Next time I was there 2nd of March – found only C. tournefortii. Now I was there 5th of February. Seem that there no winter was at all. Again only C. tournefortii was seen – a lot and everywhere, with prostrate leaves, with erect leaves, and no C. ruksansii at all. The footpass is marked as 1.5 hours long, I was back after 4 hours. Started darkening and it was dangerous to search for it longer.
So I’m confused – when it really blooms in the wild? I have some corms, each has different flower colour, so I want to see its variability in the wild. It is incredible – 4 trips to same place and no results. Too early? Too late this year? Blooming already finished, but leaves not developed? I don’t understand. I’m quite good in spotting of leaves. Next year I will go there twice – in January and again in mid-March (if will not be succesful in January). Now it is principal question for me, or is it worth to use time for this?
Unfortunately it was impossible to pass longer time on Kali Limni. Actually ascend is not too difficult. Pass is stony but not very steep and altitude difference around 400 meters only. We had tickets for Sunday’s evening to be full Monday on Karpathos, but our plain 3 times circled over Island and returned back to Athens due very strong wind. So we reached Karpathos only Monday morning at 12-00. We used all the rest of daylight to reach Kali Limni and to search crocuses on its slopes. Returning flight was on Tuesday morning.
On attached pictures Iris unguicularis blooming there everywhere along our ascend and nice pine tree close to top of Kali Limni.

[Yann]

Janis this year the aegean islands are ahead of 4-6 weeks compare to 2017, no snow under 1600m.
My self i'll advance my travels.
Karpathos is warmer than Rhodes, exposed to the east-cretan and libyan streams, i've visited it the first week of march all the geophytes were in bloom. On the Lastos plateau everything was already burnt while in Crete crocus were just in buds.

Keep care, don't climb to high for your heart!

[Jacek]

End March last year in one of my "cone beds".

A bee and a yellow boy - C. thirkeanus??

[Harald-Alex.]

the first wildgrown Crocus tommasianus flower in our gardenpark Schurigshof. They spread mostly by seeds.

[Lesley Cox]

Goodness me! A wonderful plant of Crocus iridiflorus, I thought! 
Then I remembered that that species is now C. banaticus so the photo must be of an actual iris. A very nice form of unguicularis, so short and perky, beautifully marked.

(Sorry Janis.)

[Janis Ruksans]

Horrible longtime weather broadcast in Europe for March. For Latvia offered drop of night temperatures down to minus 20 C in the first half of March. Based on last years experience we announced Crocus Days from 1st to 15th of March, but if this prognosis will realise -  all plantings will stay under cover. Some 15-20 years ago minus 20 in March was normal, but we forgot about this in last years.

[Janis Ruksans]

According last meteoprognosis - at next weekend (after a week) will start period of permanent frost with temperatures below minus 15 (up to -20) and warming (+ temperatures) will start shortly before mid-March. So crocus days will be delayed for 2 weeks - from 15-30 of March. Sorry.

[Harald-Alex.]

the first crocus in the Snowdrop-Garden Döbrichau:
Foto 1: Prins Claus
Foto 2: Zwanenburg Bronce
Foto 3: Blue Pearl

[Yann]

Crocus versicolor STILYAGA
Crocus paschei, from Janis

[tonyg]

A (looks like being) short burst of spring-like weather has brought a crocus bonanza here in Norfolk.
One of the yellow sieberi/sublimis/atticus seedling has produced a second flower.
Crocus angustifolius
Crocus raised from seed as biflorus pulchricolor.  I don't recall growing anything quite like these before yet they are from my seed - no idea what we should be calling it!
Crocus cvijicii - one of several seed raisings in flower at present - have pollinated them all so hoping for lots of seed this year.
Crocus malyi - I've had this for over twenty years but it rarely flower well.  What am I doing wrong?

[tonyg]

Crocus nevadensis - from Crocus Group seed labelled 'AW collections' ... Tony Willis I presume.
Crocus paschei
Crocus violaceus as we now call what was Crocus pestalozzae caeruleus.  The white one is still called pestalozzae but what I shall call the very pale seedlings I'm not sure.
Crocus sieberi 'George'

[tonyg]

Crocus sieberi - infinitely variable markings

[tonyg]

Crocus rujanensis - two pots of seedlings.  One fairly uniform, the other variable and seeming to show characteristics of sublimis and/or sieberi
The crocus bonanza in my cold frame
Crocus versicolor