Crocus September 2018

[Janis Ruksans]

Here some cool nights (temperature "only" + 9 C) encouraged start of blooming, but new hot wave is coming from Wednesday. But the reason for this entry is amazing finding in my former garden place. As I wrote before there were some species which were very poor this season and the poorest were Crocus veluchensis (all stocks) and C. banaticus (again all stocks). I repotted them but I'm not sure that there many will come up in spring. In my old garden still are my bee hives and a week ago I went there for so named "autumn revision" - checking of winter food reserves, taking of last surplus honey (yielded additional 10 kg in average from family) and was really shocked seeing under trees where used potting mix were always deposited two brightest white flowers of C. banaticus albino. By shape they looks as cv. 'Snowdrift'. Unfortunately I hadn't camera with me and when some days later I revisited the place both flowers wilted. I carefully opened soil around dry flower stems. It was absolutely dust dry! No signs of minor moisture. There were in total 3 corms - laying only some 7 cm deep. All abundantly rooted and roots were around 5-6 cm long. Both were carefully together with soil taken out, not damaging roots and carefully potted. Another one confirmation that may be request for moisture during summer rest is not so important as suspected. Excellent crop of pelistericus and scardicus left in greenhouse without watering all the last summer and quite poor crop when they were brought outside and exposed to summer rains in former years. Up to now only one species really benefit from bringing outside was C. abantensis. So for next year I will build up roof over my summer pot deposit place to protect plants from summer rains. Will see the results...
On attached picture seedlings from 'Snowdrift' pictured in greenhouse 2 years ago, most likely at repotting time some corms escaped my attention and were thrown away together with the old used potting mix, but may be they were just cv. 'Snowdrift'.

[sokol]

Too warm again and Crocus flowers suffered again. Despite moist ground the flowers did not open well besides Crocus mazziaricus from Enos, Kefallonia.

[Chrish]

Does anyone have a source of crocus vallicolal?
Asking for a friend

[Janis Ruksans]

Does anyone have a source of crocus vallicolal?
Asking for a friend

It is far too late - C. vallicola just started blooming.
Janis

[Mariette]

Crocus banaticus is one of my favourites.

[Janis Ruksans]

Today I maid herbarium of fantastical autumn bloomer from Turkey with tiny flowers, tunics as in cancellatus group but with only 3-branched (?) stigma as in pallasii. Makes up to 5 tiny (less than 25 mm long) flowers per corm. There are some other Turkish species, too – description of one is almost finished, two still need some data. Today started blooming one superb Greek crocus from near Macedonia. So I decided to go to Greece in the 2nd half of November and just to Central and North Greece, not to Islands as I planned before.
Returning to Rhizoglyphus mite. I think that I have minor problems (I only once found this mite on single died corm got from ...) for several reasons. At first it is sanitary, then my growing style - repotting and immediate replacing of pots in greenhouse where temperature this summer reached even +54 C. Mite stop increase in temperatures over 25 and dies at 44 C. Pots are kept dry up to temperature falls down in autumn to 10-15 C. But mite again inactivates at such temperatures. So there is very short period when it can increase and damage corms. I agree with Henrik Zetterlund that mite makes damage only together with fungal disease, especially with Fusarium. If your bulbs are healthy - no problems.
More problems I had with Scilla and Muscari, having perennial bulbs. This year I found some bulbs of Scilla armena with mite (?) damage and some of Scilla bifolia looked poor, too. Last year I treated all suspicious pots watering after repotting with 0.2 % solution of Actellic (pirimifos-methyl). Some bulbs in each pot were lost (may be they were more invaded) but those which alive now looked perfect. So this year I replaced acaricide to another - Dimetoat and instead of watering, sprayed with its solution after placing in pot and then covered with soil. I did this to all Scilla, Muscari, Ornithogalum species. I’m joking that I use “mite Novichok” as the medical treatment if you accidentally became poisoned with dimetoate is the same what was used to save life of Skripal in Solsbery.
But weather here is still dry and hot. How looks our water-lilies - you can see in attached photo, they are 1 m over water level in pond. A year before all the summer water stayed over banks and few rowan trees planted in adjacent meadow died - get drowned after 20 years of succesful growing.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Darkness push inside from greenhouse every day earlier and earlier, so I have more time to sit at computer and can show you some crocuses.
Crocus scharojanii flavus of course suffer from such unusual hot and stay short. Today in greenhouse was + 36 C.
Unusually early started blooming of Crocus dispathaceus.
Crocus hadriaticus is one of brightest white at this moment.
Seem that very hot weather induced appearing of double flowers - here two such curiosities - Crocus turcicus and Crocus cartwrightianus

[Armin]

A single Crocus banaticus pushed through the ground at temperatures 31°C day /10°C night the last couple of days!

My garden, lawn, hedges and fields around my home are bone dry and brown.
The 8 m³ cistern run low already in June, had to partial re-fill 5x times, always hoping for some rainfall but nothing significant (13 mm June, 4 mm July, 10 mm Aug., zero in Sept.) - can't remember such drought.

[sokol]

Also here the first Crocus banaticus but it is not so dry not far from the Alps.





Also Crocus cancellatus is starting to bloom, some surrounded by Sideritis syriaca seedlings





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[Janis Ruksans]

Seem that was passed the hottest day of 21st September ever recorded - temperature outside reached 29 C, in greenhouse I even didn't check. Regardless of this I finished potting of Muscari s.l. , potted all Geranium's and even 45 pots with Alliums and maid a lot of pictures. Seem that tonight temperature will drop dramatically and for following two weeks only + 10-12 degrees are offered and finally seem that some rains will come, too.
Crocuses blooms and wilts but now I hope that better days will start. So some pictures of today:
Crocus assumaniae JP 88-47
Crocus boryi PELO-001
Crocus cappadocicus JRRK-090
Crocus cartwrightianus Purple Eyes
Crocus damascenus - Iraq Kurdistan

[Janis Ruksans]

And some more
Crocus dispathaceus Icel, Turkery
Crocus kotschyanus HKEP-9205 - SE Turkey near Syrian border
Crocus pallasii type locality, Crimea, Ukraina (temporary occupied by Russia)
Crocus pulchellus Goldag, Manissa, Turkey
Crocus speciosus aff. possibly ilgazensis LST-374 (near Pinarbasi, alt. 1890 m)

[Yann]

Very nice set Janis, still nothing here too hot and dry.
The heart of HKEP-9205 

[Steve Garvie]

Some Crocus in flower here at the start of this month:

Crocus vallicola


Crocus scharojanii flavus


Crocus scharojanii


Crocus autranii

[GordonT]

Steve, as always, your photography is exquisite!

[pehe]

Steve, beautiful photos of 4 of my favourite Crocus species. I envy your skills in both growing and photographing them!

Poul