Crocus in pots March 2010

[Maggi Young]

Sheasbies marvellous book BULBOUS PLANTS OF TURKEY AND IRAN.

Bulbous Plants of Turkey and Iran

A photographic guide
Peter Sheasby
280 pages, colour photos.
Alpine Garden Publications

[Janis Ruksans]

Some beautiful Crocuses are blooming in greenhouse today. Most interesting were C. chrysanthus with black connective on anthers, another one with black anthers and today opened flower with black stigma shown a little earlier in half opened stage.
Marvellous is the greenish shaded C. baytopiorum, far better than usual commercial form.
Crocus rujanensis widely opened its flowers as well as C. biflorus subsp. pseudonubigena.
Crocus abantensis is quite variable. This year the first starting flowering was dark form which I got from Gothenburg Botanical Garden.
But real gem of today was here, in my nursery maid C. x paulinae where I repeated natural cross between C. abantensis and C. ancyrensis.
Janis

[Armin]

Janis,
x paulinae - wonderful maroon! Congratulations!
Baytopiorum and rujanenis are brillant, too.

The black anthered chrysanthus has a very different style compared to the other forms, you mentioned earlier it is not hybrid, amazing.
I hope your intended cross pollination will be successful to breed a golden yellow chrysanthus with black anthers and style.  

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Jans,
x paulinae - wonderful maroon! Congratulations!

Janis,
I agree with Armin, what a formidable flower !! Simply stunning !
Thanks for showing !

[Janis Ruksans]

Few more from today:
Here still in full bloom C. michelsonii
Very deep orange yellow toned seedling of Crocus korolkowii
Flower of C. danfordiae with 8 petals - it isn't permanent feature.
Two different forms of Crocus buflorus taurii
Crocus biflorus subsp. adamii from Armenia, Getahovit
and as last a pair of hybrids between C. biflorus isauricus and chrysanthus (one was shown before, too)
Janis

[Lesley Cox]

Just when I'm thinking we must have seen them all, Janis comes up with the delicious speckled, black stigma form of chrysanthus, then the stunning x Paulinae. Now matter how many we see and grow, there's always something new and exciting. Many thanks for these Janis.

[krisderaeymaeker]

Beautiful Crocus Janis ! Thanks for showing.

Today in flower here :

Crocus corsicus (pict 1,2,3 )

Crocus heuffelianus x 'WILDLIFE'

[Gerry Webster]

Very nice Kris. Whether the plant with the yellow throat is actually C. corsicus or a hybrid has been debated before on the forum.

[TheOnionMan]

Sheasbies marvellous book BULBOUS PLANTS OF TURKEY AND IRAN.

Bulbous Plants of Turkey and Iran

A photographic guide
Peter Sheasby
280 pages, colour photos.
Alpine Garden Publications

Is this book still available?

[Maggi Young]

Yes, McMark, ISBN 9780900048777
 from the AGS,
http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/sales/books/bulbous/Bulbous+Plants+of+Turkey+Iran/179/

 or from :
http://www.nhbs.com/title.php?bkfno=166045&ad_id=428

...maybe on Amazon, too... no, out of stock meantime.

[TheOnionMan]

The crocus being shown here are fantastic.  Janis, really like the chrysanthus forms with various black elements, and I have said it before but I'll say it again, C. baytopiorum (particularly your "best form") is probably the most beautiful crocus I've ever seen.

With C. x paulinae and biflorus isauricus x chrysanthus, I'm beginning to think almost any color combination is possible with Crocus... it's great being a croconut.

Is C. michelsonii tough enough to grow outdoors?  Has anyone hybridized with it?  It has such a unique look to it, I imagine hyrids with it could add something unique.

Kris, your C. corsicus pictures show off the flowers beatifully.

[Janis Ruksans]

The crocus being shown here are fantastic.  Janis, really like the chrysanthus forms with various black elements, and I have said it before but I'll say it again, C. baytopiorum (particularly you "best form") is probably the most beautiful crocus I've ever seen.

With C. x paulinae and biflorus isauricus x chrysanthus, I'm beginning to think almost any color combination is possible with Crocus... it's great being a croconut.

Is C. michelsonii tough enough to grow outdoors?  Has anyone hybridized with it?  It has such a unique look to it, I imagine hyrids with it could add something unique.

Kris, your C. corsicus pictures show off the flowers beatifully.

Thanks. Mark,

More natural hybrids will be shown in my travel report. Colors really incredible. But this xpaulinae schoked even myself.

There were several attempts to interbreed Central Asian Crocus species trio (michelsonii, alatavicus and korolkowii) as they have identical chromosome numbers. I'm doing it every spring but still didn't succeed. I read about some seeds got, but never hear about real hybrids and didn't saw them. Ideas about white korolkowii as hybrid really is only very rare mutations of yellow korolkowii. There are something which not allows them to interbreed.

Crocus michelsonii I grew outside when I had garden based on coarse sand soil where soil surface drained out of water in quater of hour even very heavy shower. There it grew well. Now having clay based soil I lost it allways when planted outside.

Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Finally came a little warmer days, although a little sun is shining. Crocuses develops very, very slowly. Seems that some frost damage happens and many flowers are smaller than usually. But they came one by other and may be slow development is better in those busy days. Taking out a pair of mixes in pots I checked roots and corms and they look normal. Hope that those with noses only at top of soil will come.
Now few more pictures:
Earlier I showed Crocus abantensis dark form, now the opposite - pure white pictured in wild and slightly bluish shaded from my collection. After those a pair of x paulinae - the first is from wild, the second the darkest from my seedlings.
Crocus michelsonii T4Z-1116 was collected in Iran by Gothenburg people - it is the latest of michelsonii in my collection.
Next is one of my C. korolkowii seedlings, but now I'm doubtful is it worth to keep it.
And again some extra beauties:
Another Crocus chrysanthus form with black connective, this case with striped back of petals R2CV-054
Following is plant which you show to others in January. Here it only started - it is famous C. chrysanthus 'Sunspot'.
And as last another hybrid between C. chrysanthus and biflorus isauricus - one of "gems" of my collection.
Janis
P.S. All will be posted by two mails.

[Janis Ruksans]

Other pictures

[art600]

JATU 069-11

 

One to dream about owning