Crocus October 2009

[Michael J Campbell]

It looks to me like C. longiflorus, even though I've not seen yet such a dark form. 
Is it scented?

Don't know,I never think to check for scent. Will check it in the morning if it opens.

[mark smyth]

Armin I like what you have done with your speciosus photos. Michael I agree your longiflorus looks correct and with really good veins. Is it commercial stock or comes with a collection number? Mine are quite pale with one pot of corms lacking blue veins
http://www.marksgardenplants.com/crocus%20longiflorus.html

[Michael J Campbell]

Mark,it was grown from seed from the seed exchange.

[Armin]

Mark,
thank you. Used Irfan freeware S/W. Once you know how to do it is quite easy.
Regret your troubles with vandalism on your greenhouse and all the stolen croci pots.

Michael,
my congratulations for the breeding success!
Do you have more of them in flower?

[mark smyth]

Here is the lack of pots and broken louvres. Four pots were knocked over but not stolen.

[Armin]

Mark,
have any rare species stolen?
Will the insurance pay for the damage?

[mark smyth]

Armin I dont what is gone for sure but speciosus was among them

[Maggi Young]

Brian Duncan has been away to see autumn flowering narcissus... and look what he saw..... are these C. serotinus?

[Lesley Cox]

Armin, I think your Lydia looks too contented and well-fed to be much interested in mice. Perhaps a diet?

Which is the crocus which used to be called A. asturicus? Is it serotinus? or serotinus ssp salzmannii? If so, it flowers with its leaves. Not very long leaves but to about 1/2 or a bit more, the height of the flower tube. Mine are quite a stong purple colour, not pale, as above.

[Armin]

Lesley,
you might be right, maybe Lydia needs really a diet

C. asturicus -> C. serotinus subsp. salzmannii

[Armin]

My first C. sativus flower this year

[Ragged Robin]

A great shot Armin, looks as if you have quite a few - I look forward to my newbies flowering one day 

[tonyg]

Re Crocus moabiticus  - pictured a few pages ago.  Jane McGary kindly anticipated my forthcoming enquiry and sent me a reply before I sent the enquiry!
"The flowers your photos show are
rather different from what the parent plants produce, in that they
are more lavender where the original plants are white with violet
veins. They look like the ones in Oren's photos forwarded by Lesley
Cox. I hand-pollinated these flowers to get the seeds, but I wonder
if a bee might have got into the act as well? Naturally I have other
related crocuses in flower at the same time, notably a pot of C.
hermoneus right next to moabiticus, and hermoneus as you know is
colored, not white ground. My C. cartwrightianus forms are in
different frames, but bees probably travel from one to another; none
of the C. cartwrightianus forms here, however, are as lavender as
your photos show.

The plants John Lonsdale has are both from seed and offsets of my
original corms, which were grown from Mike Salmon's wild seed
collection. The original corms still seem alive but have not flowered
for 2 years, not too surprising as they are now 16 years old. I have
some seedlings that haven't flowered yet but one pot looks pretty
promising just now."

[Armin]

Hi Robin,

there are more flowers to come, conditional to good weather with sunshine for the next days.

I have to admit it is a new purchase from August at a local garden center / dutch clone.
The corms were quite large and looked in very good condition - so I couldn't resist

Last winter I lost my previous dutch clone bulbs. They were placed in a loamy soil which I have replaced by a sand-compost mix. I hope they like the new conditions and will grow and increase.

Hi Tony,
in spite of the fact your C.moabiticus are likely hybrids they remain little beauties.

[Rafa]

Maggy, to me it is C. serotinus salzmannii without any doubt.
This year due to the drought, autum narcissus blooming is very bad, so probably its seed production (in few weeks) will be also very low...