Crocus October, 2018

[Janis Ruksans]

The 1st October came with nice sunny day, I even thought that started Indian Summer, but in late evening again came clouds, but we had last evening glass of wine sitting outside. Crocuses in greenhouse bloomed as crazy. On the first picture in front blooms C. niveus acquisitions and farther by bed comes Spanish autumn bloomers. On second picture in front are crocuses forming speciosus alliance.

When I have surplus corms of some crocuses I'm giving those to my wife and she plants them in open garden - mostly between peonies and hostas. Here on the second pair of pictures is one of the best cultivars raised by me and well usable for outside garden here - it is hybrid between Crocus ilgazensis and some of C. pulchellus samples, named by me 'Fantasy'. Pollination was done by bees, and it is excellent grower and increaser, so I had many corms for my wife. They were planted in autumn, 2017. Really I raised two varieties very well growing outside - it is already mentioned 'Fantasy' and spring blooming 'Yalta'.

On the last picture is cultivar from speciosus group (most likely C. armeniensis) 'Artabir'. I'm not sure about name, but in this case it is not so important, as it is not for sale. It is planted between peonies.

Yesterday actually was very important for me day - I FINISHED REPLANTING OF MY BULB COLLECTION - the last planted in greenhouse ground were mine wild tulip hybrids - mostly between vvedenskyi, kaufmanniana, fosteriana, greigii and some other wild species from Central Asia.

So now started paperwork - preparing of planting books, writing of papers etc. There are some new crocus species in preparation, too.

[Janis Ruksans]

It is cloudy and rainy at this moment - so I went inside to prepair some pictures from the last 2 days.

Again I will start with gilanicus and F 2 seedlings of autranii x gilanicus. Now I specially pictured both from side to show how inseparable they are from outer view, only some yellow from basal spots shine through flower segments of F-2 seedling.

I have two albinos found in wild between Crocus speciosus sensu lato. One of them is typical speciosus albino from forest near Ijevan in Armenia, another is from C. bolensis from heights of Abant in N Turkey. This year both are not so pure white as before - they are slightly bluish, may be will whiten with blooming, but may be it is effect of very hot summer. Unfortunately the third albino of C. puringii was lost. The old Dutch white speciosus is glistening white this season.

And the last picture in this entry is Crocus aleppicus. It is typical form, but there will come two new species of this group. I was ready to publish them, but stepped off for not to intercross with HKEP researches. Our interrelations even without this are not on the best status...

[Janis Ruksans]

Still some of Crocus vallicola are blooming - here very typical form with long "tails" on top of flower segments.
Very beautiful - milky white - are flowers of Crocus kotschyanus Albus.
This Crocus longiflorus corm was sent to me by Erich Pasche under name of C. siculus.
But this crocus from C. speciosus group comes from Iran, from Ulang Pass, where it grows on open meadow together with Tulipa ulophylla. At lower altitudes under shade of shrubs and trees is growing C. zubovii. This is the first blooming of this acquisition with me, so about its name - is it zubovii or something different - too early to judge. I decided to add here picture of neighbour of this crocus - pictured in May, 2008.

[Yann]

your raised beds looks like a crocuses highway 
The cross autranii x gilanicus is interesting, does the second generation keep the stripes?

[Mariette]

One flower of the first Crocus goulimyi sown 2014 is a Harlequin-type. 

[Janis Ruksans]

F-2 is extremely variable, the striped is just F-2 seedling, Yann. F-1 looks just as autranii.
As I already noted, this year are extremely high number of individuals with semi double flowers. Here 4 more of such plants:
Crocus cartwrightianus Michael
Crocus mazziaricus from Pelloponesse, Greece
Crocus pumilus from Crete
Crocus archibaldiorum from HKEP

[Yann]

ok. does the heat trigger double flowering? i've already read that in a book.

Here it's slowly wake up in the garden and greenhouse, i found this nudiflorus in my tulips "field"

[Janis Ruksans]

The second virus infected crocus this autumn - Turkish so named C. mazziaricus - the corm was received last autumn from famous German grower.

[Yann]

indeed, however beautiful as a van gogh painting

[Roma]

Crocus pulchellus gradually taking over a large part of my front garden

[Janis Ruksans]

Finishing of replanting season give me some time before paperwork will start for sorting and naming of autumn crocus pictures. I'm going through files +/- in chronological order - so there will be pictures from around week ago up to current date. There will be many entries and I hope you will enjoy those from my "crocus highway".
One of the most spectacular from speciosus group is crocus named by me C. elegans, but as I used this on subsp. status it was renamed by Ingo Schneider as C. brachyphilus.
Crocus cancellatus BATM-383 is oner of the smallest cancellatus s.l. collected in Central Turkey where it grows on pure calkstone - ground there was white as chalk. It is very spectacular and really the smallest between all cancellatus.
Crocus cancellatus VISA-0408 was collected in Jordania by Arnis Seisums.
Crocus cartwrightianus CEH-613 is very variable. Here white form but in background you can see lilac toned plant.
The last in this entry is Crocus damascenus from Iran - 17IRS-087

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus hadriaticus is widely distributed Greece. On the first picture seedling, on next one of the best forms from vil. Papigo in NW Greece.
Crocus hakkariensis still is little known and I long searched for it. Up to last it was known only from E Turkey, region where travelling now is not easy, but very recently I found it in Iran and here you can see blooming of just Iranian sample.
This crocus lycius with purest white flowers and something elongated flower segments comes from Tuzla Beli, where together are growing 5-6 crocus species.
Crocus mathewii this year didn't bloom well with me - flowers are smaller than could be, comes out very irregulary and are not making "flower carpet" as usually. Today I destroyed pot which I suspected virus-infected (I'm always destroying even plants where I'm not sure about infection but for some reason I don't like shape of flower - better delete 10 healthy than left one ill). I didn't picture destroyed plants, but when I took out them from pot I saw very perfect rooting and otherwise.  excellent growth. On picture healthy stock from locus classicus.

[Janis Ruksans]

Now several samples of Crocus kotschyanus s.l. Under this name at least 2 species are hidden - one with 2n=8 another with 2n=10.
Plants on the first picture came from Gothenburg and was collected as karduchorum near Lake Van. It almost certainly isn't karduchorum, but is it kotschyanus or hybrid - I don't know. By flower they resembles kotschyanus, although flowers are very small, comparing with other kotschyanus.
C. kotschyanus from Gezbeli gec. seems has the largest flowers between all kotschyanus
And as last are 3 gatherings originally collected in S Turkey by Kerndorff and Pasche.

[Janis Ruksans]

Two more kotschyanus
The first is from Hatay, near Syrian border.
The second is another "karduchorum" from Gothenburg. What it really is - I have no idea. Most likely another hybrid or another form of kotschyanus leucopharynx? I'm really confused with this.
Next two mazziaricus comes from small micro population on Peloponnesus where only blue striped individuals were observed
The last certainly needs own name, but still grown under label "mazziaricus" - it comes from NE part of Greece.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Crocus pulchellus gradually taking over a large part of my front garden

Looking good Roma !
Excellent excuse not to have to maw the lawn by the way !