Muscari ... and some relatives 2010

[Gail]

Interesting Hyacinths Janis - do they smell like the cultivated ones?

[Janis Ruksans]

Interesting Hyacinths Janis - do they smell like the cultivated ones?

Yes, aromat is quite strong.
Janis

[Sinchets]

Interesting Hyacinthus, Janis. Bulgarian uses a Turkish word for true Hyacinths and Muscari muscarimi is the Paradise Hyacinth.
Two more Bellevalia I am growing here- the first I have as Bellevalia kurdestanica and the second as B.species RRW9501.

[fermi de Sousa]

Two more Bellevalia I am growing here- the first I have as Bellevalia kurdestanica and the second as B.species RRW9501.

Those look very attractive, Simon. Do they set seed?
cheers
fermi

[Ragged Robin]

Ooooo I do like your Bellevalia Simon, such unusual colouring and the shape of each floweret (is that what you call it?) is very pretty  

[Afloden]

Two Bellevalia in flower here, the first is B. forniculata from Pilous and the other is pycnantha grown from Archibald seed. The latter is such a tiny thing with the smallest of flowers, but the color is amazing.

 Aaron

[Sinchets]

Fermi, some of them set seed some years- though never as many as B.romana does 
Thanks, Robin.
Are they both young bulbs, Aaron? If so you should get more flowers as the bulbs get bigger.
Flowering here now- a second bulb of Bellevalia mauretanica from Mike Salmon seed. To me the overall colour seems the same, but the anthers are paler.
Also another recovery- a second bulb of Muscari auchadra in a different part of the xeric garden.

[Afloden]

Simon,

 Yes they are young. The B. forniculata flowered last year, but this is the inaugural year for this clone B. pycnantha. I love the B. mauretanica.

 Cannot wait to see my M. auchadra flower next year.

 Aaron

[Sinchets]

We have had a few cold mornings over the last few days- just enough to fetch out some of the colour on Muscari species nova 'Early Rose-Beauty'
aslo flowerin Muscari species nova 'Sky Blue'

[Oron Peri]

Also another recovery- a second bulb of Muscari auchadra in a different part of the xeric garden.

Simon

You have a beautiful collection of Bellevalia.!!!

Regarding Muscari auchadra, last year i have seen this name for the first time and didn't find any information about it.

Since i knew it is grown also at Wisley Garden i have asked Paul Cumbleton if they hold any information regarding this species.
Paul answered that infact there wasn't and asked Brian Mathew for details.
After an investigation made  by B.M. he came up with the following information:

''It was collected in Greece by Arne Strid under the number 26295, so i contacted him and he too knows nothing of this name. However, he collected it at a place called Achladea. So it looks as if 'auchadra' was just a mistake for Achladea.
The plant hasn't a cultivar name at present as far as i know, but M. commutatum white form would suffice for the moment.''

So that seems to solve the mystery.

[TheOnionMan]

Aaron, your photo  of B. forniculata is most revealing it terms of scale, the whole inflorescence from top to bottom is shorter than one's fingernail   Cute little blue guys.

Simon, you are causing insatiable plant lust with those photos of white/pink/sky blue Muscari!  I want them all, including M. commutatum 'Achladea Memory'   Good bit of detective work Oron

I do have a Muscari in bloom now, for which I lost the label.  Is this M. latifolium?

[Onion]

Mark,

I would say yes, this is M. latifolium. What me disturbed is the large flower stalk. My M. latifolium are only 10-15 cm high.
Hope someone of the Muscariophil-Experts can help 

[Armin]

Nice photos from erverybody.

Mark, I agree with Uli, likely M. latifolium.
M. latifolium...picture from last year for comparison.

here some from my garden
M. 'Dark Eyes'...is this armeniacum or aucheri ? or any cross? who knows?
M. neglectum...dark blue with redish stem, smaller leaves - my favourite for naturalizing.
M. botryoides...lovely too. Nowadays rarely seen in gardens, replaced by M. armeniacum
M. armeniacum... a weed but nice when in flower
M. aucheri 'Mount Hood'... still bud stage but white tip already visible - an eye catcher in the raised bed.

[TheOnionMan]

Mark, I agree with Uli, likely M. latifolium.
M. latifolium...picture from last year for comparison.

Thanks Armin and Uli for the confirmation.  Close-up photos can play tricks with scale, my M. latifolium is indeed only 10-15 cm tall, being overtaken by Allium saxatile with leaves that grow 30 cm tall.

Armin, all those Muscari are very nice... there is something about "grape hyacinths" that I really like.  Do you get down on your belly to sniff at the flowers?

[TheOnionMan]

On the protected sunny south side of my house, I grow M. 'Valerie Finnis' and M. macrocarpum 'Yellow Fragrance'.  The problem I have with these Muscari is their foliage tries to be everygreen throughout the winter, which looks tatty with lots of brown leaf tips by spring, moreso on macrocarpum.  The plants still grow well enough and flower, I just don't know how to deal that growth pattern, to avoid scrappy looking plants in spring.

Lots of seedlings started showing up... all turned out to be from Valerie Finnis, although there is a small range of variability of blue color.  I wonder if Valerie and macrocarpum can hybridize?

Behind the muscari are self-sown seedlings of rather special forms of Allium cernuum, which I must move to avoid swamping the crocus and muscari planted there.