Crocus: October 2010

[Janis Ruksans]

Here started sunny and cold weather - days are sunny and moderately warm, but nights cold. With me still left replanting of Juno irises, but I overcooled in very cold soil and got some virus. This allowed to turn to forum, to show some pictures. Some early bloomers still are blooming, some finished but mass flowering still didn't started. You can see how today looks my crocus greenhouse in first picture.
Still is blooming Crocus sharojanii v. flavus
Mass flowering started with C. vallicola
Usually C. cambessedesii is late, but now are blooming 2 forms of it.
Other pictures in another entry.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

From Crocus banaticus the first to bloom was white cv. First Snow, now it is joined by traditional purple form
Blooms two forms of Crocus gilanicus
Not plesant surprise got when started blooming 3 pots of commercially obtained C. speciosus ilgazensis. At first they turned mix - one form was usual C. speciosus, but another - Crocus pulchellus, nice form, but not ilgazensis as I baught it.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Few more pictures from today
Crocus cancellatus are presented by subsp. mazziaricus and damascenus(? - not checked corm tunics, but looks as damascenus) and
3 different forms of quite uniform Crocus hadriaticus
Janis

[krisderaeymaeker]

Nice Crocus-show Janis !
Yesterday we had a nice sunday or is it a nice sunny day....Blue sky and warm temperatures..
And my Crocus like it. 
First two pictures of an ordinary Crocus speciosus ,one of my first Crocus bought in 1994.
Picture 3 - Crocus speciosus 'Aino'
Picture 4  Crocus asumanniae
Picture 5 - Crocus oreocreticus
Picture 6 -  a young Crocus banaticus planted in my peatgarden.

[Janis Ruksans]

Few more crocuses from today
Five different forms and subspecies of Crocus kotschyanus. Some doubt about subsp. hakkariensis - although collected by Jim Archibald in its locus classicus, I can't find hairs in flowers throat, although petals shape well agree with description.
The last for today - Crocus mathewii from corms which were sent to me by Jenny Archibald following wish of late husband. My own still only showed noses out of soil.
Janis

[Armin]

Tony and Janis,
simply mouthwatering looking at your marvelous collection - a pity I do not call a green house my own

Chris,
your unknown Greece crocus - in my eyes - resembles a C. cancellatus ssp. mazziaricus.
But I have to say the form of style in your photo is not typical. A pity it is out of focus and unsharp.
Does the stem show Bract and Bracteole?
From where in Greece is it?

Maybe the real experts have different opinions.

[christian pfalz]

hello armin,
near korinth, loutraki.....
cheers
chris

[Armin]

Chris,
I'll stay with my opinion...

Kris,
nice images of sumptuous crocus species. I like your photo of C. oreocreticus.

I find it intriguing to compare C. asumaniae with Janis C. mathewii. Both are closest relatives in the phylogeny.
It remains a wonder how probably only a few different genes completely change appearance and habitus.

Janis,
also intriguing to see the variation of C. kotschyanus HKEP9201 vs. your first of C. kotschyanus. 

[Janis Ruksans]

Today few more of pictures made yesterday
Crocus nudiflorus here can be grown outside but good blooming is only in greenhouse
Just now is culmination of Crimean Crocus pallasii - it really is best of pallasii
Compare it with Crocus pallasii subsp. ?  from Kubbe gec in Malatya region of Turkey
And as last for this entry two forms of Crocus pulchellus - white seedling from cv. Zephyr and early blooming form which I started from seeds at end of seventies last century. I got those seeds from Harkov Botanical Garden in Ukraina as C. salzmannii. It nicely passed through decades, sometimes suffered in unfavourable winters, sometimes from rodents, but allways alive. It is smaller by size than Dutch form and blooming starts earlier.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

I had problems when tried to post allowed 10 pictures, so I'm limiting myself with around 5 by entry.
Still nicely blooms various Crocus speciosus, just showed noses xantholaimos and Iranian forms - those I will show you later, but now forms from Armenia (Gornus) and Abant lake in Turkey. Blooms the largest flowering cv. Artabir.
From Crocus serotinus for the first time with me flowers white form 'El Torcal' and from Sierra Nevada got as subsp. serotinus but by corm tunic is nothing else that common salzmannii. So I'm still looking for true type subsp. serotinus - May be some of you have and can offer for me next season?
As last are Crocus thomasii from Apulia in Italy. The flower segment is mechanically damaged. it isn't virus.
As last another shot from greenhouse view.
Janis

[Maggi Young]

I agree  with you about the beauty of the Crimean Crocus pallasii , Janis. It is a lovely form.

[pehe]

Crocus flowering now in my garden:

Crocus vallicola
Crocus speciosus
Crocus speciosus 'Oxonian'
Crocus nudiflorus

Poul

[pehe]

Variation in Crocus banaticus seedlings.

Poul

[Thomas Huber]

Great photos everyone - and finally it made booom and the Crocus season also started in Neustadt.
Within only two days they started everywhere in the garden:

- banaticus Albus, the beautiful white form of the Romanian wood crocus
- cambessedesii, the smallest of all from Mallorca
- goulimyi ssp leucanthus, a wonderful whitish form from Monemvassia
- karduchorum, one of the rarest from Lake Van in Turkey
- 2 medius from different locations is Eastern and middle Liguria / Italy

[Thomas Huber]

some more close-up's:

- vallicola
- tournefortii, opening white and turning to blue within one or two days
- speciosus Aino, or better the one that is sold in Holland as 'Aino'
- speciosus ssp xantholaimos, with its yellow throat
- speciosus 'Oxonian', the darkest speciosus cultivar
- my favourite speciosus - I was sure it is 'Artabir' because it has the dark feathering and
the beautiful scent that is described from this cultivar. But it doesn't fit with the photo
that Janis showed this morning  At least I love it and it's standing much stronger than
all the other speciosus flowers I have.