Crocuses in December - 2008

[mark smyth]

As ever Franz your photo is superb

[Luc Gilgemyn]

I agree with Mark, Franz !!!  Wonderful flowers and superbly photographed !!!

[Lesley Cox]

And then back to paperwork, to order garden notes, to manuscript of new catalogue, to new book...

Yours sincerely
Janis

A new book? Oh wonderful. When?

[Anthony Darby]

I have just received and email from Jānis Rukšāns saying that Crocus michelsonii 'Turkmenian Night' is virussed and he has now destroyed his stock. Should anyone who has this stock and didnae ken, well ye ken noo.

[tonyg]

A Crocus never flowered before at this time outside in my garden. Crocus ‘laevigatus late flowering form’ from Tony Goode. Thanks!

I noticed mine coming into flower here today Franz!  Glad you like it.

[Janis Ruksans]

I have just received and email from Jānis Rukšāns saying that Crocus michelsonii 'Turkmenian Night' is virussed and he has now destroyed his stock. Should anyone who has this stock and didnae ken, well ye ken noo.

Ladies and Gentelmens, don't hurry with destroying of TURKMENIAN NIGHT - before that, check your plants! Can be that some corms were infected and some are still healthy. It is not a cheap plant to hurry with decision but plants on picture seen by me certainly were (look back in Forum)
Sincerely
Janis

[Boyed]

Janis,

crocus kotschyanis Albus is splendid! I am highly impressed!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Maggi Young]

Janis, here are two links to pictures of Crocus 'Turkmenian Night' in the Forum....
......here:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=158.msg3277;topicseen#msg3277
and here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=1286.msg30136;topicseen#msg30136

Can you tell us what the problem is.... I think many, like me, are just seeing a lovely flower.... how can we tell there is virus in such heavily marked petals? The leaves look fine.....?

[Janis Ruksans]

Re: C. michelsonii TURKMENIAN NIGHT. I checked pictures shown by Anthony Darby #82 from 16-Jan-07, msg 3277.
Enlarge pictures (but you can see it even without) and you will clearly see that petals are crimpled, uneven margin, irregular lighter stripes on petals. It is very typical virus infection on crocuses. Usually flowers didn't open completely, too.
Janis

[Maggi Young]

Thank you, Janis.
It is sometimes hard, is it not, to determine if suchdetails are symptoms of virus or a sign of some physical damage/stress to which  the flower has been subjected ? 

  It's a hard life being a grower, eh?

[Janis Ruksans]

Still Re: C. michelsonii TURKMENIAN NIGHT.
Now checked Anthony's pictures from 2008. There flowers looks far better and if I would be seeing those, I wouldn't be writing to Anthony (I'm slowly going through all topics of New Forum starting from the first). But in any case I don't like petal margin in those, too although color and shape is far better. There are one problem with some viruses - if growing conditions are excellent, the symptoms can be hided and returning at bad conditions. This autumn I destroyed several stocks of C. oreocreticus, goulimyi Mani White (two stocks, third looked healthy - I never mix stocks of different origin, although it takes more job, more pots and space) and few others.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

The last "Crocus News" in going year. Today got back parcel with bulbs which I posted to USA 6-th of August. Where it travelled - don't know. Fortunately there were only few bulbs in it and for greatest surprise two item still were alive - Crocus korolkowii and Scilla siberica. All others were died - dried out Corydalis, Anemone, Scilla rosenii. But those two - champions in surviving still were living (crosscutting confirmed it).
Janis

[mark smyth]

Today was a lovely day, 12C, with no rain. Looking around my pots I see Crocus coming up fast. Showing colour through ?sheaths include chrysanthus 'Sunspot', chrysanthus with black tubes, various chrysanthus, michelsonii, korolkowii, a few with lost labels and a few autumn floweres still producing flowers.

[Anthony Darby]

You out and about in shorts today Mark? We had 10^oC.

[Boyed]

Thank you, Janis.
It is sometimes hard, is it not, to determine if suchdetails are symptoms of virus or a sign of some physical damage/stress to which  the flower has been subjected ? 

  It's a hard life being a grower, eh?

Maggi,

the best way to determine virus from physical damage among suspicious samples, is keeping those plants for one more year. In case of physical damage the symptoms should disappear in the next season.

As you might knoticed, I take a great attention to virus deceases, so conduct studies and make experiments. During my crocus growing experience I observed the following virus types and symptoms on them:

1. colour breaking virus - alien stripes on flowers, which are not distorted, leaves are healthy;
2. unknown virus I - flowers are distorted, sometimes there can be also alien stripes on flowers (but its not always so), leaves are healthy;
3. unknown virus II - (this applies to mostly white and sometimes other-coloured  varieties) -   flowers look somewhat transparent as if polished, the surface of   petals usually is not smooth, leaves are healthy:
4. virus mosaic - (most common) flowers are perfect without any signs of distortion or alien stripes, leaves are not healthy  - darker stripes on them;
5. combined virus - virus mosaic of leaves plus any types of virus mentioned above.

I attache the picture of cr. salzmanii 'El Torcal' infected with unknown virus II.