Crocus November 2009

[Sinchets]

Thanks for your comments related to crocus niveus.
Another further question.
Crocus niveus under cold glass vegetate all the winter and spring and forms very huge tulip-sized corms (if planted in big pots). In garden, as far as I understand, it can overwinter under snow cover withour leaf damage and continue to vegetate in spring keeping on forming and growing its replacement corms. Am I right?

The Crocus niveus I have outside here have been unprotected for the last 2 years. We have had good snow cover for these 2 winters and the leaves have been completely undamaged by the 3months they were under snow (when air temps were as low as minus26C, or by the frosts we had either side of snow cover- to about minus9C. The leaves remained on the plants for until midspring when they dried off and were removed. The groups of corms have bulked up and been able to produce flowers over a period of 4 weeks this autumn so I assume the corms made a good size during their growing period.
What will happen in a cold snow free winter I do not yet know - and certainly don't want to find out!

[Janis Ruksans]

Few hours ago returned from Turkey. Trip was good, a lot of new information, beautiful crocuses, but bad weather, bad pictures (mostly my own faults - not understand why). Every day rains, not far was horrible floods with victims (watched in TV). Usually first half of day was more or less acceptable but in afternoon started heavy rains, even horrible rains, hail and thunderstorms. Flowers in most cases were closed due wetness and cold, a lot damaged during night and sometimes I sat at some bloom waiting for it will open at least partly when some sun shined through clouds. I will try in few entries to show all what I saw. In this entry Crocus cancellatus subsp. mazziaricus from near Uzuncaburc (Silifke district). Here it grew on quite stony ground between sparse pinewood, only on open spots. Population was quite uniform, mostly varied petal color. Another population seen later was more variable but about this in another entry. I will go day by day.
In Latvia is winter. Minus 6 C now, I still didn't saw my flowers in my greenhouses as I returned in darkness.
Janis

[Hendrik Van Bogaert]

Hi Janis,
Pity to hear that the weather during your trip in Turkey was so bad!

[Hristo]

Hi Janis,
A shame the weather was not so good.
Great to see yet another population of Crocus cancellatus subsp. mazziaricus
Look forward to seeing the more variable population, 
in Greece too we found some populations to be more variable that others.
Sympathise with your return to -6c in Latvia, our return to the Stara PLanina was in snow!

[Sinchets]

I think I have finally tracked down my missing Crous asumaniae behind the patch of Crocus niveus I showed here a few weeks ago. I am open to alternative ids 

[Janis Ruksans]

I went to Turkey for one Crocus - the strange plant pictured and showed on forum in 2008 (?) by Kees as possible hybrid between cancellatus and kotschyanus. I thought that it is new species and even took with me herbarium press to make type herbarium for it. We came to Antalya (late evening) and next day passed driving to East by coast in direction to Mersin. As windguru.cz informed that on Tuesday is expected heavy rains in this district I kept as reserve variant cultural program visiting ruins of Uzuncaburc and Silifke. We found acceptable hotel at Erdemli and as weather broadcast predicted - in night started very heavy rain with thunderstorm. So we went for "cultural program" next morning, but by the way found nice population of C. cancellatus mazziaricus shown you yesterday. Really day turned very nice but in evening mountains again were covered with almost black clouds. In night again was heavy rain but morning was bright. So we drove to village Tepekoy (see picture). Near that we found several populations of beautiful Crocus kotschyanus subsp. kotschyanus growing mostly in grass but more on sides of earlier ploughed fields. Some were very beautiful with very deep colored throat. Unfortunately heavy showers washed away surface of ground roads opening basic rock and making roads unusable for our car. So we walked up in hills for around 2 hours and found extremely beautiful specimen of C. kotschyanus (last picture). Unfortunately again clouds became denser and denser forcing us to return to car. Fortunately halfway down we were picked up by one local driver with better car and reached our car together with heavy shower. So I didn't found this mysterious crocus but later discoveries showed that most possibly it is only unusual form of C. cancellatus, but about that in later entries.

Janis

[Thomas Huber]

What a wonderful trip, Janis.
Today I found a strange Crocus kotschyanus: It flowered last week and today I found, that the leaves
are already 5cm long. Have you ever seen such a kotschyanus? The corms came from a 1989 collection
made by Helmut Kerndorff in the Eastern Adana region. Since that time they were cultivated in his garden,
perhaps it's just a hybrid, but the flower looked like 100% kotschyanus. Sorry, I have no photo because
I thought it's just a simple kotschyanus, before I found the leaves.

[tonyg]

What a wonderful trip, Janis.
Today I found a strange Crocus kotschyanus: It flowered last week and today I found, that the leaves
are already 5cm long. Have you ever seen such a kotschyanus? The corms came from a 1989 collection
made by Helmut Kerndorff in the Eastern Adana region. Since that time they were cultivated in his garden,
perhaps it's just a hybrid, but the flower looked like 100% kotschyanus. Sorry, I have no photo because
I thought it's just a simple kotschyanus, before I found the leaves.

I too have a similar Crocus kotschyanus collection.  Today there is one flower, leafless but the three corms which flowered earlier have leaves about 5cm long now.  Perhaps variation that goes un-noticed in the wild ... we are looking for flowers and the leaves after flowers would be easily missed, especially in grassy places, grass long and green in autumn.  Possible though that this is a feature of cultivation away from the wild places, with warm, wet weather after flowering encouraging early leaf development.

[Janis Ruksans]

What a wonderful trip, Janis.
Today I found a strange Crocus kotschyanus: It flowered last week and today I found, that the leaves
are already 5cm long. Have you ever seen such a kotschyanus? The corms came from a 1989 collection
made by Helmut Kerndorff in the Eastern Adana region. Since that time they were cultivated in his garden,
perhaps it's just a hybrid, but the flower looked like 100% kotschyanus. Sorry, I have no photo because
I thought it's just a simple kotschyanus, before I found the leaves.

I too have a similar Crocus kotschyanus collection.  Today there is one flower, leafless but the three corms which flowered earlier have leaves about 5cm long now.  Perhaps variation that goes un-noticed in the wild ... we are looking for flowers and the leaves after flowers would be easily missed, especially in grassy places, grass long and green in autumn.  Possible though that this is a feature of cultivation away from the wild places, with warm, wet weather after flowering encouraging early leaf development.

Crocus cancellatus normally is leafless in autumn but during this trip I found a pair of plants into large population of subsp. mazziaricus with 3 cm long leaves (in wild) whilst all others were completely leafless.
Janis

[Alex]

Speaking of early growth, I've got some pots of C. baytopiorum which are already coming up, quite well developed too with buds clearly visible. In fact, a few things seem early this year, perhaps it's the very mild Autumn we're having so far.

Alex

[Janis Ruksans]

Speaking of early growth, I've got some pots of C. baytopiorum which are already coming up, quite well developed too with buds clearly visible. In fact, a few things seem early this year, perhaps it's the very mild Autumn we're having so far.

Alex

Few years ago Crocus michelsonii bloomed with me in mid November.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

I continue my travel report with pictures. Today I'm dedicated to Crocus nerimaniae. In spring 2008 I collected 10 corms of this beautiful species and this autumn it bloomed for first time in my collection and... I was shocked for 4 specimens clearly showing virus infection. Similar reports I got from my trip partners. Presence of virus infected plants in wild populations isn't great surprise for me - I saw Allium, Fritillaria, Tulipa, juno Iris etc. But so great percentage. Incredible, so I wanted to see wild population at flowering time and I was shocked seeing groups where 90% of flowers showed more or less heavy virus infection, there were groups with ~10%, but in average almost 50% of flowers looked suspicious. May be some were for rain damage but in any case nowhere else I saw such degree. And they were plants with expressed symptoms, certainly must be a lot infected which still didn't show infection.
Question is about agent of distribution. It is place where I saw highest number of beehives. Every more or less flat spot were covered with beehives. The honey is harvested from greenflies parasiteing on Pinus trees and from Erica flowers just starting blooming. There are theories that bees are distributing viruses but I don't think so and both my colleagues (both biologists, one famous lily breeder) agree with me that bees didn't work as virus distribution agent. Most possibly there are plenty of greenflies specialised on other plants, may be on Crocuses, too.
There will be two entries - on first I will show good nerimaniae, on another some variability and virus infected plants. Crocus nerimaniae has little variation. Mostly outside base color from deep purple to light yellow with darker brown stripes. I saw only 2 specimens with striped flowers and 2 almost whitish, with only slight lilac shade. Others more or less uniform.
At end of this entry I want to warn crocophiles don't introduce Crocus nerimaniae from wild - look for nursery grown stocks raised up from seeds. My stock raised from seeds collected by some Czech seed collector at Labranda before description of this species as seeds of C. biflorus s.l. which later turned as C. nerimaniae were absolutely free from virus infection.
Janis   see this and next entry

[Janis Ruksans]

Next entry with Crocus nerimaniae - at first variation, after that virus infection.
Janis

[Thomas Huber]

Janis, my own plants of cancellatus are flowering without leaves, too. But the leaves appear a few days after
flowering - just like in my strange kotschyanus. But on the standard kotschyanus I have never seen leaves
before spring.

By the way: Great photos of Crocus nerimaniae. Must try to get some seeds of this wonderful species in future.

[tonyg]

By the way: Great photos of Crocus nerimaniae. Must try to get some seeds of this wonderful species in future.

Great photos of Crocus nerimaniae. Must try to get some seeds of this wonderful species in future.

Once again, many thanks Janis for sharing these observations.