Colchicum 2024

[ashley]

Aričge? it makes me think about Soulcem valley.

On the Spanish side Yann, and further west.  However, I've come across such lmagnificent sights often during my walk from west to east.

Colchicum autumnale seems much more local in its distribution.

[Leena]

Very nice Colchicums everyone.
They have also started to flower here. First flowers appeared already in late August, the first was C.davisii planted this summer. I have had this earlier, too, but lost my plant in winter 2022,
and wanted to try it again.



Next to flower is C.bivonae, it is one of my favourites, and increases well here. Behind it is Aster pyrenaeus 'Lutetia'.


'William Dykes' is also an early one and a good doer.


'Autumn Queen', I believe a C.bivonae hybrid.


I have gotten this one unnamed, but it is very similar to 'Nancy Lindsay'.

[Leena]

I like the flower shape of C. x byzantinum.


I have bought this as 'Album', but maybe it is the same as 'Innocence'


'Emerald Town'


An unnamed Colchicum, close to 'Giant', but I'm not sure if it is just the same.


'Gracia'

[Leena]

One more, this was bought as 'Violet Queen', but according to Colchicum book it may be 'Felbrigg Violet'. In the background 'Neptun' just coming up.

[Mariette]

Very beautiful clumps, Leena! Unfortunately, none of the hybrids and foreign species flowers in my garden this year, with the exception of this one from Georgia - maybe Colchicum woronowii. This species self-seeds in my garden.

[Leena]

Very beautiful clumps, Leena! Unfortunately, none of the hybrids and foreign species flowers in my garden this year, with the exception of this one from Georgia - maybe Colchicum woronowii. This species self-seeds in my garden.

That is a very nice Colchicum. I don't have many species and mine are mostly hybrids. Some years ago I tried Colchicum kotschyi, Colchicum macrophyllum and
Colchicum montanum, but they all died the following bad winter.
Colchicum davisii is the only species which has been hardy here (besides autumnale, bivonae and speciosus).

Here are some more pictures from late September and October. Now all are over, though weather is still relatively warm, around +5C and now snow yet, luckily.

Colchicum x byzantinum 'Album'


Colchicum x byzantinum



'Glory of Heemstede'





'Flamenco Dance'

[Leena]

'Faberge Silver'


'Neptun'


'Rosy Dawn'


These are my own seedlings


C.autumnale 'Album'

[Leena]

C.bivonae "Mount Giona", not like my older C.bivonae and also later


'Benton End' and 'E.A.Bowles', both quite dark coloured


'Herbstkügel', this was very pretty

[Robert]

Hi Leena,

Thank you so much for sharing the photographs of your garden and the many Colchicum species and varieties. I always enjoy the lighting in parts of your garden, the light and dark of the dappled shade. For me it has such a pleasing ambience. I also enjoy the lushness of your garden. For me it is nice to see something different. At times it feels like Jasmin and I garden in the Sahara Desert.  We are doing the best we can to turn our garden into an oasis, but with ever increasing summertime high temperatures and increasing aridity it is not easy. We love our home and California so moving to a more favorable climate is not an option. I view our gardening challenges as an opportunity to create something better with plants that will thrive here.

We grow a number of different Colchicum in our garden. For the most part, they were all grown from seed, so I am reluctant to attribute species names to them. Nevertheless, they are all lovely and perform well in our garden. They are all keepers. We do get plenty of seedlings. Maybe something interesting or notably different will turn up, however I make no effort to purposely breed them – I just let the seedlings grow wherever they turn up and see what happens.

Thank you again for sharing the photographs.

BTW – Jasmin enjoys the photograph of the fallen Colchicum flowers and the autumn leaves.

[Leena]

Thank you Robert and Jasmin. 
Sun shines so low here in October, and so it creates spotlights in the garden.
In the woodland part of the garden it still looks lush, but in the sunnier part there are no evergreens and plants are dyeing down for the winter.
Also I like the contrast with yellow autumn leaves to Colchicum colour.
They pop out when many other plants are turning yellow or brown.
Here I get seeds in some years, but I have never found self sown plants, maybe the seedlings are too tender the first year or two.
Our challenges in the garden are different but I learn from you and try to grow plants which thrive here in my garden. It takes trial and error,
but when I find plant genus which does well and which I like, I want to learn all there is about them and try to grow more of their relatives.

[Robert]

Hi Leena,

Here in our part of California, summer is our dormant season, like your winter. Our summertime is so hot these days that the plants just sulk, or burn up and die. Gardening always has its challenges and yet there are always opportunities to learn more. I like your strategy of finding a genus that you like, does well in your garden, then learn about them and then grow and experiment with their relatives. I look forward to see what you will be working with next. I learn from this too and I just like seeing beautiful gardens and plant species that are impossible to grow in our climate. Meconopsis is a good example.

A few days ago I sowed several flats of our local California native annuals. Layia platyglossa, L. gaillardioides and Phacelia campanularia have already germinated. The weather is perfect for their germination so the others will be coming along quickly. I have also sown seeds my bulbous and perennial species for the coming season. We have to start as soon as possible due to the lack of winter chilling in our region. Some of the Aquilegias, Erythroniums, Eriogonums, and Penstemons will go in the refrigerator to stratify.

Life and circumstances have changed and I rarely can get out to do botanical fieldwork these days. I never reached the high county of the Sierra Nevada or the east side this year. Gathering Primula (Dodecatheon) seed, obviously, did not happen. I know that this is a genus that you are interested in and I am keenly interested in how our high elevation species would perform in your garden. Life is full of surprises and unexpected twists and turns, so for me, it is best to never say never.

[Mariette]

Leena, You grow a stunning range of colchicums, such big and beautiful clumps! I wonder whether the seedling is a chance one or was raised intentionally? Colchicum woronowii is the only one in my garden which produces seed regularly and self-seeds.

[Leena]

I wonder whether the seedling is a chance one or was raised intentionally? .

Mariette, these were sown from seed pods of 'Autumn Herald' and the paler one was from 'Antares' (the mother plant is not doing well, I hope the seedling is more adapted to my garden).
I haven't had any self sown seedlings from Colchicums so far. It is possible they are eaten by smails before I have noticed them, but I have collected Colchicum seeds and sown fresh and have more seedlings growing in pots now. Colchicums don't set seeds here every year, I guess it depends on the weather in autumn and the following winter. Some varieties seem sterile, but I have gotten seeds from some and also from C.autumnale (but not from 'Album'!).