Colchicum & relatives 2020

[olegKon]

Some spring colchicum

1. Colchicum luteum


2. Colchicum munzurense


3. Colchicum hungaricum Velebit Star


4. Bulbocodium vernum

[fermi de Sousa]

This colchicum came to me from John B (mini-bulb lover) who originally got it as Colchicum psaridis, then was told that was renamed as C. zahnii and then was told that as it has purple stamens it must be Colchicum cupanii!
cheers
fermi

[sokol]

If they have normal bulbs it is C. cupanii. If they have horizontal stolons it is psaridis/zahnii.

[Menai]

 I was given 5 small corms of Colchicum cilicicum in2008 and grew them on in pots. I had a few flowers after 4 years and again in the 2 subsequent ones. Since then all they have done is multiply and not a flower to be seen. What am I doing wrong? They are repotted evry other year. C. speciosum and autumnalis do well for me with the same treatment.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
Thank you

Erle on Anglesey
(red squirrels are charming I am sure but they play merry hell wth my pots!)

[Matt T]

I acquired a few colchicum cultivars last autumn, to trial them in our new garden with a view to adding some to a bulb meadow. We’re on a very poor, free draining sandy soil (c.4% organic matter, ph 8.5ish) and have a wet and windy climate (150cm rain per annum, winds up to 100mph in the winter just gone) and not much shelter established yet.

I’ve been super impressed with how they’ve all done, with the leaves standing up to the winds very well (I’m not surprised, having seeing them grow in the wild on Transylvanian mountainsides) and the bulbs increasing fantastically with only a light dusting of bonemeal at planting.

I trialled C. byzantinus ‘Innocence’, C. autumnale ‘Waterlily’, C. ‘Lilac Wonder’ and C. ‘Spartacus’ - the latter shown in the photo here, with each bulb producing two superb new ones. The best for flowers (duration of blooming and resilience to wind) was ‘Lilac Wonder’, although ‘Waterlily’ also did well as the flowers are born on shorter tubes. All bulbs were from J. Amand and of excellent quality with orders now placed for more ‘Lilac Wonder’ and ‘Innocence’ to be added to our meadow this autumn.

[ashley]

Merendera montana from seed collected in the southern Picos de Europa, a bit slug-damaged unfortunately.

[Gail]

Colchicum 'Innocence'

[Yann]

The season has started slowly after a long period of drought, the last fresh nights triggered the bulbs.

The classical x agrippinum and byzantinum are the first to display their colors.

[Rob-Rah]

My agrippinums are giving a super display at the moment too - it must be my favourite Colchicum of them all, with the splendid long-lasting flowering and nice tidy foliage. I have patches of these dotted over the rockery area and through an iris bed in the garden.







Also Colchicum davisii is happy in a flowerbed so far (2 years). It's got an interesting, almost-stoloniferous/rhizomatous underground habit which makes pot-culture a bit irritating. This is the "PD.26938" from rareplants.

[Mariette]

This colchicum puzzled me when emerging.



Later the true colour developed and showed that it is ´Lilac Bedder´, which I actually planted there. This appears to be a newer variety, does anybody know about its origin?



New in my garden is ´Altmarkstern´, which I like very much.

[David Nicholson]

It was a nice day yesterday (by current standards!) and a chance to get a few pictures. Today, by the way, is back to normal with drizzle and a heavy mist drifting down from Dartmoor.

My Colchicums have taken a battering this year, bu here we go.

The first is Colchicum agrippinum, which maybe I should spread out a bit?

 

The others were kindly given to me, many years ago, by Thomas Huber, again maybe I should split 'em?



What would be the best time of year to spread them out please?

[Maggi Young]

David, they won't  have  much root  now, in spite  of the  flowers  being  out, so you  could  split  them now.  Otherwise, wait  till the  leaves  yellow  next  year.
 

[David Nicholson]

Cheers for that Maggi, I'll wait until next year.

[ArnoldT]

A gift from a friend.  Flowered early.

The Jerusalem Colchicum 

Colchicum hierosolymitanum

[Leena]

The first Colchicums here have been C.bivonae and C.davisii, both started to flower already in late August.
Now more are coming up and soon are at their best.