Crocuses in December - 2008

[Janis Ruksans]

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:

It seems that yours viruses unkn.#1 & 2 is the same - RATTLE VIRUS. Few years ago in Holland was edited marvellous book on bulb diseases in two volumes. There are excellent pictures to help identifying problems. Unfortunately it is in Dutch. Crocus volume I gave to my friend who is translating it for me. The other volume I can't to find in my bookshelf now so I can't give you for a moment exact references. I will do it when I will order a little my books again.
Janis

[Boyed]

Janis,

Thanks for your comments. It's quite hard to find a good literature on bulb diseases with detailed descriptions of all virus types. I am sure the unknown viruses I described have other origin than the common virus diseases, but I didn't know the names. Thanks a lot and I'll be very grateful for any other further information.

[Maggi Young]

Zhirair, Janis, I must echo those words....."Thanks a lot and I'll be very grateful for any other further information" ...... this is most instructive.

[tonyg]

I also greatly appreciate the information - Thanks!
Does Rattle virus relate to the plants that in England we call rattles ie Rhinanthus species?

[Janis Ruksans]

Dear friends,
I want to give you some small Christmas present – some slides of one of my going year trips to picture Crocuses. I went to Crimea where 5 Crocus species are growing, from those 2 autumn flowering. This autumn my target was Crocus speciosus – because trip was only 3 days long together with my Ukrainian friend Dmitriy. The second – Crocus pallasii I left for next autumn. Really I hoped to find white one speciosus, but didn’t succeed. And all my friends living in C. speciosus area reported to me that they never saw such (covered Crimea, Russian Caucasus, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan). Unfortunately weather was not with me, the day on Tschatir-dag yaila was cloudy, rainy, so all crocus flowers were closed. Fortunately on morning when we were ready to left yaila clouds were gone and bright sun greeted us. So we had a pair of hours to catch some pictures. C. speciosus there growth mostly at carst depressions where some shade by trees and shrubs are provided (pict.01). We found another species, too – it was spring bloomer C. tauricus – at first we found “footprints” of it by sheet remnants at rodent restaurants which confirmed that C. tauricus prefers open places (pict.06). By seed pod I dug out one corm which showed how old they can be on yaila (pict.07). Excellent surprise was discovering of small population (some 200-300 sq.m.) of Sternbergia colchiciflora (pict.08-10). It is quite rare in Crimea and Dima never before found it. Fortunately it keeps blooms open even in rainy weather. We walked all the day crossing yaila and nowhere found another one spot of it. Crimean population can to bloom underground and you can see plants only in spring when leaves and self-pollinated seedpods come out. I got report from Krasnodar district (Russia) about same. All my previous stocks originate from Turkey and they are “normal” blooming. It will be very interesting to compare those. Sternbergia colchiciflora is the single species successfully growable outside here as leaves are formed in spring only. Sternbergia candida can be grown outside here, too but it is not safe.
NICE CHRISTMAS EVE FOR YOU ALL!

Janis

[mark smyth]

Lovely Colchicum. My plants never look like that.

[Janis Ruksans]

Lovely Colchicum. My plants never look like that.

It is STERNBERGIA, Mark. Not Colchicum.
Janis

[mark smyth]

oops, sorry. My Sternbergia dont look like that. They are always small and seem to begin flowering below ground.

[Boyed]

Dmitriy,

has shown crocus pallassi pictures to me, which he found this year and I was very impressed by it form (very different and nicer in shape, than Turkish ones) and beauty. The white one just knocked me out.I will ask Dmitriy to post the pics in this forum as well.

[Tony Willis]

We have had a couple of hours of sun and some of the  crocus have opened. I have decided the third is laevigatus after some deliberation.It has white anthers but the flower is minute.

[Gerry Webster]

Tony - that C.cyprius is a real little bobby-dazzler (as we used to say in Yorkshire).

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Wonderful shots Tony and Janis !
Thanks a lot for showing them !

[Tony Willis]

Gerry thanks they are variable but all very nice. Not one I find easy,but that could be said for lots of things

[mark smyth]

Tony are the outer petals black?

Over night little black slugs have been having an early Christmas by eating many of my Crocus flowers. Worst affected are chrysanthus, chrysanthus 'Goldmine' and chrysanthus 'Sunspot'. The damage was done even though I have pellets down.

[Tony Willis]

Tony is C. cyprius backed with black?

Mark I am sorry I do not know what you mean by this. Enlighten me and I will try to answer.

Its no use boasting about your little black slugs,I have them to die for. I am going to use the liquid slug killer,it stops them moving and dries them up. I think they ignore the pellets which just seem okay for the larger ones of which I also have many