Crocus November 2009

[Oakwood]

Simon! It is Scilla autumnalis leaves, not sternbergia   

[Sinchets]

Thanks, Dimitri- yours have broader leaves than the ones we have here!

[mark smyth]

Crocus laevigatus yellow form. This flower is no longer gold like when it first appeared above ground. The colour has faded.

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus laevigatus yellow form. This flower is no longer gold like when it first appeared above ground. The colour has faded.

Nice photoshop on last picture, Mark . Compare covering-stone color on picture with white and with yellow flower. (I'm again in home from hospital, hope all will be Ok for long time!)
Janis

[ashley]

Welcome home Janis; I wish you a fast and complete recovery.

Very nice laevigatus Mark.  Did you grow this from seed?

[Hans A.]

Actually some Crocus in flower.
Crocus hyemalis and Crocus laevigatus were given to me by very generous friends.
The Crocus cambessedesii are two of my favorite seedlings of this species.

[Janis Ruksans]

Actually some Crocus in flower.
Crocus hyemalis and Crocus laevigatus were given to me by very generous friends.
The Crocus cambessedesii are two of my favorite seedlings of this species.

Superb cambessedesii!!! Never had such excellent color on my plants, especially the lilac one but that with purple throat is of equal beauty!
Janis

[mark smyth]

Yes all blue cambessedesii is very nice.

The darkest of my laevigatus above was taken during the last few rays of day light. This made it a lovely colour. I'm thinking what I wrote is misleading. The dark emerging bud can be seen in Crocus for ID thread.

I now know where it has come from. It is in a pot with speciosus. The speciosus were supplied as laevigatus by a UK supplier

[Janis Ruksans]

The darkest of my laevigatus above was taken during the last few rays of day light. This made it a lovely colour. I'm thinking what I wrote is misleading. The dark emerging bud can be seen in Crocus for ID thread.

Yes, the hour of day when you make pictures is very important for correct colors. By my experience the best time is morning and evening hours, midday doesn't give so good colors. Usually it is compensate by white balance setting on camera. On your pictures just stone chip color shows that there was problems with white balance. On my camera I use auto-wb, although it isn't the best way, but still it generally works, sometimes colors are better than in vivo but we usually like such pictures. Of course - each camera is different. On my earlier OLYMPUS RLS the colors where horrible and I couldn't correct it in any way, so after half season I changed it to CANON 400 D - excellent camera. Now I'm working with CANON 50D and 400D is used by my wife, but I still think that 400D was better in colors than more advanced 50D. The best is picturing in RAW mode. but then preparing of picture takes so long time, that now I'm picturing only in JPG mode.
Janis

[Hendrik Van Bogaert]

Actually some Crocus in flower.
Crocus hyemalis and Crocus laevigatus were given to me by very generous friends.
The Crocus cambessedesii are two of my favorite seedlings of this species.

I agree Janis! Wonderfull cambessedesii! My form is nearly white, purple striped and veined externally; I have never seen such lilac ones.
Hans, I see that you lives on the Balearic Islands. That's the home of cambessedesii. Don't you find them anymore in your country?
Hendrik

[Hendrik Van Bogaert]

Crocus laevigatus yellow form. This flower is no longer gold like when it first appeared above ground. The colour has faded.

Mark,
Are you sure that it is laevigatus?
There are white laevigatus, but they are very rare; usually with prominent purple stripes or veins on the exterior.
It's very difficult to see the difference between laevigatus and boryi.
Only examination of the corms tunics can help:
laevigatus: tough, leathery or eggshell-like tunics
boryi: softly papery tunics
Hendrik

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus laevigatus yellow form. This flower is no longer gold like when it first appeared above ground. The colour has faded.

Mark,
Are you sure that it is laevigatus?
There are white laevigatus, but they are very rare; usually with prominent purple stripes or veins on the exterior.
Hendrik

Rik,
You are right about corm tunics but pure white and nearly white laevigatus are not so rare in nature. I saw many such plants in Peloponnese a year ago. Very rare are with pale lilac base color of flower segments, I saw only one or two such. Here are some pictures showing habitat of laevigatus and some extremes of color observed by me, although in my collection are plants with almost completely purple back of outer segments.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus laevigatus yellow form. This flower is no longer gold like when it first appeared above ground. The colour has faded.

Mark,
Are you sure that it is laevigatus?
Hendrik

From other side - the flowers really are very similar and I never saw creamy laevigatus, but I have by myself boryi with very yellowish back of outer petals in first days of blooming.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Just found picture of my darkest (?) laevigatus.
Janis

[Hendrik Van Bogaert]

Crocus laevigatus yellow form. This flower is no longer gold like when it first appeared above ground. The colour has faded.

Mark,
Are you sure that it is laevigatus?
Hendrik

From other side - the flowers really are very similar and I never saw creamy laevigatus, but I have by myself boryi with very yellowish back of outer petals in first days of blooming.
Janis

Indeed Janis; I have too boryi with yellowish back of outer petals, but have never seen this by laevigatus.
Your pale lilacs laevigatus looks marvellous; I didn't know that such forms exist; I have lilac forms with purple stripes and lines, but they are 'Fontenayi'
rik