Janis Ruksans' plant collection - mostly bulbs April 2021

[Maggi Young]

Yellow form of Tulipa albertii - Kazakhstan


Fritillaria crassifolia crassifolia from Turkey


Fritillaria olivieri


Fritillaria tortifolia - China

[Maggi Young]

Muscari latifolia alba



Muscari sivrihisardaghlarense  from locus classicus, Turkey

[Maggi Young]

Now this bed is full with spring blooming bulbs but from mid-May it will be covered by collection of hosta leaves.

[Maggi Young]

more  photos from Janis ....


Bellevalia cyanopoda EGO.IQ-107 - Iraq Kurdistan


Fritillaria grandiflora as it is regarded by Russian botanists - I got it from Dima Zubov


Fritillaria hermonis ssp. hermonis


Seedling from Tulipa greigii aurea


Tulipa cf. armena 16IRS-030 Iran, after Sultaniyeh, alt. 2160 m - could be new species

[Maggi Young]

Tulipa vvedenskeyi hybrid 'Girlfriend' belongs to 'chameleon' type - it changes colour during blooming from yellow to almost red.


The same 'Girlfriend' pictured in 2000 at world exhibition Floriade in Holland where it was awarded with diploma (scanned from slide)


Tulipa humilis JJJL-029 - Karabel pass, Turkey - in cultivation



And the same Tulipa humilis JJJL-029 - Karabel pass, Turkey as seen in wild - everywhere forming clumps and very uniform throughout population, medium tall


Tulipa humilis SLIZE-008 - Tochal, Iran

[Maggi Young]

Tulipa heteropetala 12KZ-101 - Mramornij (Marble) pass, W end of Altai. alt. 1400 m


Tulipa hewerii from Afganistan - multiflowering relative of T. praestans


Tulipa kolpakowskiana selection Voronin #4


Tulipa systola from Iraq

[Maggi Young]

"This afternoon I decided to show few of the most famous cultivars raised by me - they just now are in full bloom."


Incredibly gigantic and bright hybrid between Dutch cultivar of Tulipa greigii 'Lovely Surprise'(raised by Lafeber?) with wild T. fosteriana. Certainly polyploid, with very thick and strong stem around 60-70 cm tall, huge flowers and good increaser. Single "fault" by Dutch bulbgrower's opinion - makes too large bulbs and can't be packed in standard box sufficient number of bulbs... Named 'Akadēmiķis Saharovs'



I raised it in Soviet time and named after famous dissident of soviet regime as 'Academician Sacharov'


Another excellent increaser - Tulipa greigii aurea cultivar 'Saulriets' ('Sunset').


Tulipa kaufmanniana hybrid with T. greigii named 'Latvian Gold' - 'Latvju Zelts'


Close up of 'Latvian Gold' - really flowers are something more yellow shaded.

[Maggi Young]

Janis: "My most famous daffodil cultivar 'Freedom Stars' ('Brīvības Zvaigznes') raised from cross between N. triandrus 'April Tears' and split corona 'Canasta'. Named after 3 stars on top of Freedom monument in center of Riga - capital of Latvia. Most often it bears 3 flowers on top of stem, but could be even 5."


'Freedom Stars'


'Monument of Freedom in center of Riga after which I named my daffodil cultivar. Picture from Internet.'


Narcissus 'Freedom Stars'

'To get this hybrid I pollinated 50 flowers of 'April Tears' and got only 15 seeds, 8 of them reached flowering and turned that 4 were ordinar split corona, 4 showed triandrus shape - two were split coronas and 2 ordinary looking. The first blooming was 8 years after sowing.'

[Maggi Young]

Janis' photos from today ....


Anemone banketovii clone 19-04


Corydalis vittae from N Caucasus is one of the latest bloomers from solida type species.


Erythronium citrinum from Gothenburg BG



'Erythronium krylovii at first was published by me as E. sibiricum subsp. altaicum, but later status was raised by Russian botanists and it needed new name. It don't like greenhouse but marvelously is selfsowing in garden'



Erythronium revolutum 'Rose Beauty'

[Maggi Young]

Iris khasanovii ARJA-9761 - Uzbekistan


White seedling of Iris warleyensis, in background typical form.


Ornithogalum luschanii - JJJL-044 - Turkey, Nemrut-dag


Erythronium purdyi hybrid - raised by Eugenius Dambrauskas, Lithuania

[Maggi Young]

Tulipa stapfii I got from Norman Stevens, Cambridge Bulbs - stock comes from Iran


Tulipa ophiophylla bestashica - Krim, Ukraina, at present occupied by Russia


Tulipa berkariense now blooms in outside garden, where it spread staying without replanting for the 4th year


Another tulip pictured in garden - Tulipa orthopoda - dwarf relative of T. turkestanica from Kara-tau mountains


Another tulip pictured now in garden - Tulipa turkestanica - Uzbekistan

[Maggi Young]

from Janis ....
"Pictures from greenhouse and garden - pictured 2 days ago, yesterday it was too cold, rain and snow..."


Anemone blanda in my outside garden rockery


Erythronium revolutum seedlings I got from Antoine Hoog


Erythronium x Joanna


Fritillaria rixii EZ-99


Very fragrant Muscari macrocarpum I got from Chris Brickell

[Maggi Young]

some  more tulips ...


Tulipa berkariense Little Ilze (Mazā Ilze) I named after my daughter



Tulipa clusiana


Tulipa fosteriana x Rigas Barikades (Barricades of Riga - remembering our fighting for freedom against Russian occupation) - selected by Latvian tulip grower Gunārs Eltiņš. It is mutation of Dutch Tulipa fosteriana hybrid Toulon, raised by van Tubergen company.


Tulipa kaufmanniana Parsteigums (Surprise) - semi-double hybrid raised by Latvian breeder Juris Egle - in greenhouse very tall and finished blooming long ago, in outside garden dwarf and beautifully blooms just now.

[Maggi Young]

Tulipa koktebelica Lisja Bay - I got it from Dimitri Zubov


Tulipa micheliana WHIR-041- Iran, Kuh-e Hazar Masjed ridge, between Emam Qoli and Kabkan, alt. 1900 m

[Maggi Young]

Flowers from Janis' poly tunnel


Iris bucharica selection 'Swan Wings'


Iris capnoides - from locus classicus in Uzbekistan, collected by me and Arnis Seisums


Tall form of Iris warleyensis from Tahta-Karacha (Aman-Kutan) pass in Uzbekistan. I collected it during my 2nd trip to Central Asia in 1978.


Muscari armeniacum Gul (Pink) was found wild in Turkey by Rob and Rannweig Wallis


Muscari sp. from Iran. Unfortunately label was lost and I don't know where this beauty was collected.