Crocus November 2019

[Tim Harberd]

I see the Crocus Oct 2019 thread was visited more than 3,000 times! I guess 20 of them were me, catching up on the latest photos from Janis’s remarkable collection.

I’m not good at remembering ‘there is no such thing as a free lunch’. So in the interests of the feast continuing here… and on the snowdrop threads in the grey months to come.. I’ve just hit the ‘Donate’ button.

Tim DH

[Maggi Young]

Very sporting of you, Tim- many thanks  from SRGC for your  kindness!

[Yann]

a bit of sunshine for Tim and all of us in northern countries, Crocus niveus above Aeropoli, Greece.

Crocus are easy from seeds, here's Crocus allepicus from Oron's seeds, sown in 2015 and blooming right now...sorry for the dark photos.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Very nice Yann !  Super images !

[Yann]

and a new one, again result from Oron's seeds: Crocus hyemalis.
I grow many forms of this species but this one is really special 

Crocus thomasii from seeds collected in Montenegro

[CRSHEP0]

I have seeds for Crocus Tournefortii, it is Autumn blooming.  Do I plant the same time and methods for Spring blooming, with Monsoon watering, or, do I wait until early March, I assume I keep moist over the Summer.
Also, I want to try Colchicum seed propagation, but, it seems many of these are Autumn blooming,
so, do I treat these like Crocus seeds and plant other than September, or what month do you recommend?
Cecile Shepard

[Janis Ruksans]

I have seeds for Crocus Tournefortii, it is Autumn blooming.  Do I plant the same time and methods for Spring blooming, with Monsoon watering, or, do I wait until early March, I assume I keep moist over the Summer.
Also, I want to try Colchicum seed propagation, but, it seems many of these are Autumn blooming,
so, do I treat these like Crocus seeds and plant other than September, or what month do you recommend?
Cecile Shepard

As earlier you will saw seeds as better germination you will have. Own seeds I'm sawing immediately after harvesting, seeds from others - at day of coming. Watering for autumn and spring crocuses are +/- same - depends from species. You can read about each species in my book.

[Janis Ruksans]

Weather is dark and wet. Even crocuses as C. moabiticus which stay open even during night, don't want to bloom. So for pollination and getting of seeds I brought a pair of pots into room where in dry and warm air flowers quickly opened, were pollinated and brought back to greenhouse.

[Steve Garvie]

Janis, what is the lowest temperature that moabiticus are exposed to in your greenhouse?

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis, what is the lowest temperature that moabiticus are exposed to in your greenhouse?

When temperature drops down to minus 10 C for 2 nights I cover all pots ( they are frozen up to 2-3 cm deep) with 5 cm thick glass-wool sheets and temperature below cover rises and stay around +/- 1 C, although if weather are cloudy and with hard frost, occasionally pots freeze up to bottom, but from frost I occasionally lost only Crocus caspius. Some other species of "no frost" localities I'm growing last 5-6 years and they never got such freezing.

[Steve Garvie]

Many thanks.

[ielaba2011]

Crocus serotinus subsp. clusii. found in the wild in Central Portugal.
Love them.

[Gerdk]

Interesting variation - thank you for posting!

Gerd

[ashley]

Thanks Jaime; always lovely to see crocus in the wild

[Joakim B]

Jaime for how long are the crocus in flower?
I am going to Coimbra in Christmas and wonder if there is any chance to see crocus at that time?
Great to see the variation
All the best
Joakim