Crocus in the garden March 2010

[Maggi Young]

Should not Crocus sieberi Creatan Wonder  be 'Cretan Wonder'?

[Armin]

I thought it was just me in the Alps that had small crocus - my Blue Pearl is tiny but they have all at least come up    Do you feed or use bone meal after flowering Armin?

Robin,
I have fed my meadow E/October with a potassium-phosphate-magnesium-calcium fertilizer. I intend to give a second quantity after crocus flower is over and just before rainfall. I do not give any nitrogen in my meadow because of the heavy loam/clay soil. Many wild flowers (primulas, marguerites and other 'good weeds') dislike nitrogen and I want to limit the gras growth because I'll not mow before E/May-M/June. Probably you have noticed the 'yellow' meadows in May where liquid manure was used and weeds like dandelion and buttercups get out of hand.

In the raised bed (light sand/grit/compost mix) I gave potassium-phosphate-magnesium-calcium plus cow manure pellets (3-5% N) by E/November (after autuum crocus flower). The positive effects of cow manure to the soil microbes fauna is undoubted and makes it fluffily.
An important side effect of the smelling cow manure pellets I recognized is that it keeps off cats for a limited time to misuse the raised beds as their toilet. I've spread cow manure pellets yesterday again as I noticed some 'misuse' again. I'll give P-P-M-C fertilizer after flower again. Sofar my fertilizer and mow treatment.

But I have not yet found the optimum. In an attempt I'll try liquid leave fertilizer in a small part of the raised beds.

[Armin]

Should not Crocus sieberi Creatan Wonder  be 'Cretan Wonder'?

Maggi, you are right! sorry, typo. 'Cretan Wonder'

[hadacekf]

The meadow flowers

[Armin]

Marvelous meadow as every year.  

How is your fertilizer treatment, Franz?

[Thomas Huber]

Should not Crocus sieberi Creatan Wonder  be 'Cretan Wonder'?

Sorry, my fault. Have corrected it in my posting.

[Lesley Cox]

Well Creatan is better than Cretin!

Thomas your lawn gets better and better each year. I bet the passers by go back and forth, back and forth to enjoy it many times.

[Thomas Huber]

Robin, unfortunately it's still the only plant of 'Cretan Wonder' I have, no clump available but I'm hoping!!!

Great sights, Franz. Good to see the 'father' of my lawn,
which has already been colourful 10 years ago, when mine was all green.

Lesley, both names don't appreciate this plant, so better 'Cretan'.

[Armin]

Some more pictures taken yesterday

C. tommasinianus:
pale wild form: vigorous, spreading quickly throughout the garden
darker form: seedling, color variant
'Pictus': thank you Thomas. First time for me to flower
'Ruby Giant': infertile hybrid - larger then standard tommy.
'Whitewell Purple' (with white stem): there is second (with dark stem) form in commerce flowering later and with larger flowers. Forum crocus specialist are divided by disagreement which is the 'real cultivar'.
8 pedaled tommy: not a steady feature

C. vernus
'-gestreift-': purchased under -gestreift- (striped), resembles 'Pickwick' but is earlier and flower is not as strong goblet shaped. I'll compare later when 'Pickwick' is in flower.
'King of the striped': a seedling which strongly resembles the cv. Will compare later when 'King of the striped' is in flower. I'm not sure if it comes true from seed.
'Vanguard': unusually flower suffered of frost (or maybe I damaged the hidden flower bud by accidentally walking on it).

[Armin]

a few more:

C. vernus:
'Michael's Memory Purple': heuffelianus group, increasing quickly. Thanks to Dirk.
'Yalta': vernus x tommasinianus, nice cultivar found and selected by Janis. Growing much better (larger) in my meadow compared to my raised bed. It seems to confirm that I purchased it under 'rare vernus ssp. vernus species' when it was not yet grown in high volumes and broadly available.

[Guff]

The crocus meadows are looking great everyone.

Armin, Michael's Purple? I have one called that and kinda looks like yours. It has lots of vigor, I can see 6 shoots popping up from one corm that I bought in fall 08.

[ArnoldT]

Armin:

Had to do a bit of digging in the old papers and catalogs.

It was purchased from the firm of Hoog and Dix in 1999.

It is listed as collection # LP.7260.

The catalog attributes this number to Hans Leep and Erich Pasche.

Arnold

[udo]

a few more:

C. vernus:
'Michael's Memory': heuffelianus group, increasing quickly. Thanks to Dirk.
'Yalta': vernus x tommasinianus, nice cultivar found and selected by Janis. Growing much better (larger) in my meadow compared to my raised bed. It seems to confirm that I purchased it under 'rare vernus ssp. vernus species' when it was not yet grown in high volumes and broadly available.

Armin, this is Crocus vernus`Michael's Purple`.
`Michael Hoog's Memory`is a Crocus sieberi ( atticus ).

[hadacekf]

Armin,
I never fertilize the meadow!

[udo]

two days after snowmelting,
Cr.veluchensis from Rila Mts in Bulgaria