Crocus in pots March 2010

[Armin]

Janis,
thank you for showing us such rare treasures your collection like Crocus paschei, kerndorfiorum, hitticus and leichtlinii.
I do not know much about kerndorfiorum and leichtlinii. Were do they naturally grow and what are the conditions to please them?

My favourites for the garden would be damaticus, imperati and sieberi x George.

Dirk,
this is a nice form of corsicus.

[Alex]

Hi all,

Wonderful photos above. While I'm here, I wonder if I can call on the collective Crocus expertise present. below is a picture of the leaves of Crocus heuffelianus 'Carpathian Wonder'. Is it virused? I am worried and would like to confirm. This is the first year I've had it, and my other Crocus seem OK.

On this topic, does anybody know whether leonticoides Corydalis suffer virus in cultivation? i have one C. macrocentra which has rather diffuse paler patches on some leaves, but nothing like the well-delineated colour breaks seen in e.g. the above pic. Am I right in thinking viruses are usually associated with sharp colour breaks like this? The Corydalis is very vigorous, anyway.

Thanks for any help!

Alex

[Janis Ruksans]

Hi all,

Wonderful photos above. While I'm here, I wonder if I can call on the collective Crocus expertise present. below is a picture of the leaves of Crocus heuffelianus 'Carpathian Wonder'. Is it virused? I am worried and would like to confirm. This is the first year I've had it, and my other Crocus seem OK.

On this topic, does anybody know whether leonticoides Corydalis suffer virus in cultivation? i have one C. macrocentra which has rather diffuse paler patches on some leaves, but nothing like the well-delineated colour breaks seen in e.g. the above pic. Am I right in thinking viruses are usually associated with sharp colour breaks like this? The Corydalis is very vigorous, anyway.

Thanks for any help!

Alex

Really I don't like such leaves (Crocus). They look suspicious. May be it is some nutrient problems as this isn't exact mosaic, but I would destroy those for safety problems.

Regarding Corydalis of Leonticoides - never saw and hear about viruses on them, but viruses can attach every kind of plants. With Leonticoides Corydalis more likely seem some growing problems, they are not very easy to keep in pots, very careful watering needed to keep just wet but not moist and not to overheat in sunny days. They are some of most difficult Corydalis for growing. In some seasons I lost most of them - suddenly leaves start to wilt and you can do nothing. I harvested them early - they dries out in box, left in box without watering - they rot. It is the reason why I don't like to offer them in catalogue - I never know will I have tubers at selling time or not. At dispatching time I'm carefully checking tubers - are they started to make some development at growing points and selling only plants which show life.
With Leonticoides it is easier to keep them healthy as they increase generally from seeds, and seedlings allways will be healthy, but in most cases you need two plants for seed crop as most of them are selfsterile. Sometimes you can get some seed from single plant but then I hardly recommend additional handpollinating. The best to use toothpick, make it not so sharp, then moisten by saliva and push in all flowers one by other. It works well (learned this in Gothenburg BG). Not so easy with cultivars.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Today is raining all the time, snow quickly melts and all ditches are full with crazy streams. Several places are flooded. So pictures today actually are photographed yesterday.
Allways I wait with impatience coming up of incredible form of C. ancyrensis with brownish shaded color. Now I tend to think that it may be is natural hybrid with some other species as it is with C. x paulinae.
Abundantly blooms box with Crocus antalyensis seedlings. Careful examination of seedlings surprised me with great amount of plants with white stigmas. In forum a little earlier was listed new subsp. striatus with slightly striped petals, but knowing variability in crocuses, this feature is a little doubtful. Another feature was white well divided stigma - but here you can see that color of stigma varies greatly between seedlings. Most surprised I was for few pure white flowers between blue ones. Enlarging digital photo was clearly visible that stigma is well divided. Something surprising is well rounded flower segments which typical antalyensis usually are more slender. Those seedlings came from plants bought from Willem van Eeden in Holland who first introduced this species in cultivation. Unfortunately mother plants were lost in hard winter, so I can't to check more their variability.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

I have very few selections of open pollinated Dutch so named Crocus chrysanthus cultivars.
One of my favourites is this one, named 'Charmer'
Very nice is form of Crocus chrysanthus from former Yugoslavia named 'Macedonian Ivory'
This one (P-8227) natural hybrid between chrysanthus and biflorus was discovered in wild by Erich Pasche
Very variable in color is population of some Crocus biflorus subsp. on Mazikiran gec. in Turkey. Never was there at blooming time, but few collected corms show their variation from pure white to deep purple, although dominates light blue plants, may be in nature it looks differently.
Just started flowering one of brightest crocuses - C. cvijicii. This one is grown up from Archibald seeds and is the earliest of my cvijicii samples.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Two samples of Crocus biflorus subsp. weldenii - both from former Yugoslavia - the first from Croatia, the second from Slovenia
Crocus biflorus subsp. leucostylosus is quite recently described and as you can suggest from its name - has prominent white stigma.
Last three on this entry shows variability of one of the smallest crocuses - Crocus danfordiae. White forms usually has light bluish shaded back of petals. Blue ones are not so often (at least as I observed them in wild). Yellows mostly are of such something pale color (the left plant has 11 petals, but it isn't permanent feature), but can be deeper yellow, too. Never met with shining yellow flowers of C. chrysanthus color, although such are just recently described from Iran as subsp. kurdica.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Although tiny in size, Crocus fleischeri is marvellous for its bright red stigmatic branches shining over glistening white flower segments. My favourites are specimens with purple stripe over back of flower segments.
Crocus gargaricus is another species with almost orange flowers but following form of Crocus olivieri subsp. olivieri can compete with it in brightnest of color and ideal flower form.
Crocus heuffelianus Carpathian Wonder allways attracts attention by its refined beauty
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

And in last entry for today (and may be for some following days, if weather will not improve) -
At first once more Crocus reticulatus variability from surroundings of Pyatigorsk in Stavropol district, N Caucasus. Incredibly bright flowers. Earlier I supposed that forms from Bessarabia are the best, but this one (lilac) surpass all seen before.
Next is the best C. sieberi ever seen by me, smaller but more refined replica of 'Hubert Edelsten' and most important - fertile. Many thanks to John F. who sent me this beauty!
Following is the best C. vitellinus grown by me. Origin is unknown.
And last two again for "tommy" lovers - two more selections made by John Grimshaw.
Janis

[Armin]

Janis,
fascinating crocus collection with exceptional beauties
Many thanks for showing us.

[Tony Willis]

Janis a wonderful selection .Many thanks for showing them,they are great to see.

[I.S.]

   Janis great selection and wonderful photos,
For subsp. striatus I am also surprised!! mine antalyensis with white stigma was from Bilecik quite north from described locations, one of yours is from Gündoğmuş quite east and I have two forms from near described area one has orange stigma the second one not checked yet!
I checked tunics from pics but I can't see any difference. Of course your babies also mixed!. So I think the stigma is not a important feature for antalyensis. I will check the corms in summer. 
You may have reason for doubt!
  Biflorus subsp. from Mazıkıran Sivas; from this province the known biflorus is subsp. tauri but I am not sure for yours! and the variation of tauri is too large. first I have to draw edge of tauri variation.
  Your biflorus subsp. leucostylosus is very nice. It seems very near to subsp. punctatus without any markings on outer petals. Even distribution should be close to punctatus, that area called Psidia!


 

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus heuffelianus CARPATHIAN WONDER pots today and
a pair of seedlings from it selected from self-saen plants by my Estonian friend Taavi Tuulik (#1 and #4 - others still coming)
At end Crocus scepusiensis from Colin Mason, reported as collected in Polland
More and more samples of C. cvijicii start blooming.
Janis

[Guff]

Janis, the Carpathian Wonder seedlings are nice. The leaves look like giant dutch vernus type.

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis, the Carpathian Wonder seedlings are nice. The leaves look like giant dutch vernus type.

May be other parent is Dutch Large crocus. They are selfsowm seedlings.
Janis

[Anthony Darby]

Wow, Taavi has produced some nice offspring from 'Carpathian Wonder'.