Crocus: October 2010

[Janis Ruksans]

As the first I enter seedling of Crocus hadriaticus. May be not very bright, but I like its strong lines and delicate cool color.
Janis

Janis - a very attractive flower but it seems to have white anthers. Is this just the photograph?

Anthers are creamy white. It surprises me, too. It is the first plant blooming from this seedling portion. Although my stock grown under name 'Tom Blanchard' has creamy yellow anthers, of course darker than on this specimen. Will see what will show other seedlings from same pot if they will bloom.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Yesterday I was too tired to post other pictures. Today is cold rain and just finished minor hail, so no more flowers expected today. I'm posting few which left from yesterday.
This C. niveus attached my attention by its bicolored color contrast between outer and inner segments.
Another flower from Crocus ochroleucus from Israel. Flowers are very small, but corms were small, too, so I'm really surprised and happy for their blooming.
Crocus pulchellus has several albino forms, too. The brightest throat is in cv. 'Michael Hoog' selected in Hoog's nursery and distributed by Antoine Hoog. My own selection has lighter yellow throat but its petals are wider and more rounded.
As the last in this entry - Crocus robertianus albus.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

In this entry several Crocus speciosus forms
cv. 'Cloudy Sky' is selected by Zhirair from material collected wild in Armenia. As all Caucasian speciosus - it has large flowers. Larger flowers I observed only in some old Dutch cultivars and on specimens from Crimea.
Then follows two acquisitions from Iran. They are something intermediate between subsp. ilgazensis and subsp. xantholaimos. They are late blooming (as xantholaimos, ilgazensis is very early). Throat is yellow but not so deep as in xantholaimos (on next picture), but stigmatic branches very rarely slightly exceed anthers which makes it closer to subsp. ilgazensis.
And as last picture - how will look my coming book. Its front cover picture appeared on Timber Press home-page. It will be available from 5th of January (personal information from Timber Press).
Janis

[Diane Clement]

Diane, keep this clusii isolated - may be all will be OK, only two fl. segments is suspicious, but it can be machanical damage, too as other petals seem to be completely healthy. If next autumn symptoms will repeat - then...
Janis

Thanks very much for this advice, Janis, I'll pull it out of the pot and keep checking

[TheOnionMan]

Janis, have truly enjoyed your succession of beautiful crocus, I can see why you are so specially interested in them.  Congratulations on your book too, it looks to be a "must have" book for any serious bulb lover, I can't wait to see it.

On that note, I post two photos of C. sativus, as it was looking particularly fine, one photo while shaded from a bush and a photo back-lit from the sun.  I was working on extending a flower bed, about 6 meters from the Crocus planting, and I could smell this crocus' sweet perfume from that far away!  Sunny and warm that day, to amplify the perfume.

From wikipedia, an in depth discussion on saffron, very interesting!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saffron
Here's a quote from it:
"C. sativus thrives in the Mediterranean maquis, the North American chaparral, and like climates where hot, dry summer breezes sweep semi-arid lands. It can nonetheless survive cold winters by tolerating frosts as low as −10 °C (14 °F) and short periods of snow cover."

I think C. sativus is much more winter hardy than 14 °F, as I've had mine for about 8 years.  It is VERY SLOW to get going and increase, but once established it appears to be one of the more reliable of the autumn crocus for this climate in northeastern USA.

[Janis Ruksans]

On that note, I post two photos of C. sativus, as it was looking particularly fine, one photo while shaded from a bush and a photo back-lit from the sun.  I was working on extending a flower bed, about 6 meters from the Crocus planting, and I could smell this crocus' sweet perfume from that far away!  Sunny and warm that day, to amplify the perfume.

I think C. sativus is much more winter hardy than 14 °F, as I've had mine for about 8 years.  It is VERY SLOW to get going and increase, but once established it appears to be one of the more reliable of the autumn crocus for this climate in northeastern USA.

Thanks for nice words. Unfortunately Crocus sativus here is growing (only in pots) but even left in hot greenhouse during summer it never flowered with me. Seem to be too "cold" in summer, may be other factors involved, too.
Janis

[ArnoldT]

I have read somewhere, maybe B. Mathew's book that planting the C. sativus corms deep improves their growth.

 

[olegKon]

Janis, congratulations on the book. I recon everybody has their mouths wet waiting for it to be released.
Here are some crocus enjoying the last warm days
1. The palest form of Crocus kotchianus I have
2. Crocus kotchianus
3.4. Crocus kotchianus leucopharynx (I think) received as C.golimii
5. Crocus speciosus

[BULBISSIME]

I'm growing Crocus sativus since many many years, about 5-6 cm deep and we had -18°C for several days.
Corms increase well and I collect lot of saffron every year.
They're just begining to flower .

[Tony Willis]

Crocus wattiorum in flower today. The second picture is when it has opened wide in full sun and shows its black stamens and red stigma which are characteristic of it.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Absolutely brilliant Tony !! 

[Hagen Engelmann]

Thank you all for these fine crocus pics. They are a feast for the eyes. But Janis, your Crocus niveus PELOPONES is an eyecatcher. I like the soft blue on the outer segments. I hope it is the truth. .

[David Nicholson]

Beautiful Tony. Well grown.

[BULBISSIME]

C. wattiorum is gorgeous Tony !

[Tony Willis]

thanks all it is a little gem