Crocus January - 2009

[Janis Ruksans]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I’m a little impudent starting new topic on Forum as there will be no flowers in my greenhouses in January. After a pair or more days I will cover all my beds and pots with rockwool sheets to protect against offered frost – at least first half of January the days with minus 15 C will change with less cold spells, the other half supposed proximally the same. But I will be happy to see your crocuses and will take part in discussions.

It is time when I can think about last year travels, to plan the new ones. Last year was very rich – 4(!) trips to mountains and one recreation trip with my wife. The mountain trips were extremely successful, too. Not every year you can find new taxa – last season I found two new crocuses – new subspecies of C. flavus in Turkey and new of C. speciosus in Iran.

Now I’m planning trips for new year and want ask help from you. I want to go for pictures of few Crocuses but I don’t know exactly where and when would be best time. I need them for my new book about bulbs. Many of you traveled and possibly know localities. I know that localities are not for publications on internet to save nature populations. Those who traveled with me well know that I’m never collecting commercially. All bulbs in my catalogues are nursery grown and raised. All species in which I’m interested I have in my collection so I’m not intending collecting. You can inform me on my personal e-mail address: janis.bulb@hawk.lv. I’m interested in following species:
Crocus pelistericus, scardicus, cvijicii and aerius.

Today I finished manuscript of new catalogue. It was difficult job as ever. Almost 600 items included. Not so many crocuses as I’m still recovering from serious losses in last years on outside grown plants due climate extremes and rodent attacks. But some extreme rarities of very limited numbers are included. Text part you can receive by e-mail asking to me personally. Printed copy will be available at end of month.

Last year was the first one when I felt as victim of unhonest customers who received bulbs and didn’t pay.


 Hoping many interesting discussions and wishing you all the best, sincerely Yours
Janis

[DaveM]

And a very happy new year to you, Janis.

Some superb crocuses you mention. Both pelistericus and cvijicii are readily accessible from public roads in northern Greece. Pelistericus grows in abundance (with equally abundant C. veluchensis) on Mount Voras, the ski resort, north of Edessa, and cvijicii on Mount Vermion, another ski resort just to the south. Both were targeted by the AGS's MESE expedition in 1999. So, you can find good descriptions and locations in the AGS Bulletin for September 2000 (see John Richards' diary of the expedition). I can supply you with latitude/longitude readings if you require, but I'll do that by personal email. The MESE reports that make up this part of the bulletin also give information on earlier articles by Alan Edwards, also in the AGS bulletin. MESE collected seed of both these species: the recce trip in late June was able to collect ripe seed of cvijicii, but pelistericus was only collected by the later trip in September. If I remember rightly, both species are in flower in early May (see Alan Edwards' article).

Personally, I am already looking forward to my trip for this year. I shall be returning to the Taurus Mountains at the end of February and early March, hoping to see a range of crocus, colchicum, iris and some snowdrops, to mention but a few! I have previously visited this area in the autumn and found it captivating.

Good luck with your trip - hope you find the species you want!

[Tony Willis]

Janis I will write to you on your  private email. I have made five trips to see the Greek crocus you mention and have also found Crocus aerius in NE Turkey on two occasions. C. scardicus is one I am my self planning to go and find at some stage.

[Alex]

Since this is the Jan 2009 thread, I'll show a plant - Crocus baytopiorum out today (with a little help from an hour or so blast from our central heating before being returned to the greenhouse!). These corms were from Janis.

Cheers,

Alex

[mark smyth]

no sign of mine so far

[Lars S]

Mine has only just put their noses up in the pots and are now thoroughly deep frozen in the green house 

[Alex]

I put this and my other pot of baytopiorum in the fridge at sub-4C in October in order to give them the proper cold Winter we're always told they like. Temp. never rose above 4C (and was usually 1-2C) but within about a month at least a cm of white shoot(s) was poking above the surface in both pots, so out of the fridge they came.

Usually, I put Fritillaria alburyana and F. minima in the fridge for similar reasons, which works OK, but this year I haven't bothered. Happily, no sign of either yet, except roots out of the bottom, so they don't seem to bolt and flower in December like I feared...

Alex

[art600]

Alex

You have captured the blue of baytopiorum beautifully.

Your avatar shows an excellent Iris - do you also collect these?

[Alex]

Hi,

Thanks for the compliment - if thst's true, the key is definitely not trying too hard, this was taken with a compact camera in poor light! I do also grow a lot of Junos and some reticulatas, the one in the picture is iris stenophylla ssp alisonii last year.

Cheers,

Alex

[David Nicholson]

Hi Alex, lovely little Crocus. I get shouted at for having the fridge full of seed packets so I dread to think what would happen if I started putting pots of Crocuses in there as well!

[David Nicholson]

Although I'm suffering with the 'sniffles' today and had promised myself a day in-doors Alex's picture tempted me outside to check on my Crocus baytopiorum. Having run out of space in the greenhouse I have a lot of pots of various bulbs in a little plastic 'greenhouse' of the kind most garden centres stock these days (very similar to the one Diane is using for her seed pots) and my C baytopiorum was one of these. Glad I did because one of the corms was in flower, this from Anne Wright-thank you Anne- and here it is, a pretty little thing.

[annew]

Mine still only in bud!

[art600]

I have never seen a 'striped' baytopiorum before - very nice.

[Janis Ruksans]

I have never seen a 'striped' baytopiorum before - very nice.

My C. baytopiorum - of course last years pictures. They still are underground here as outside even in day temperature didn't raised above minus 8 C.
Janis

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Here's my Crocus baytopiorum - from the same stable as David's (Thank you Anne !) - it doesn't show on the picture, but it's much more elongated - flowering on a stem of approx. 12 cm... but I like it very much anyway