Crocus: November 2010

[Oron Peri]

Hans And Thomas,
Very nice Crocus photos in the wild, thanks for showing.

Great surprise today - came out flower of spring blooming Crocus vitellinus from Boumana. Stock originally collected by Bob and Ranweig Wallis, I got it by wish of Jim.
Pictures quality isn't very good, because it was very dark and all the day raining.
Janis

Janis,
C. vitellinus is described in Flora Palestina as a bloomer in December and January,
its distribution reaches S. Lebanon, a short distance north of Israel.
I grow a few plants originated to this area and they flower in early December with the leaves.
Your plant is probably originated to Broumana east of Beirut, 500- 750m. meaning that it doesn't receive heavy snows therefor flowering early and not in spring as the case of  high elevation populations.
There is also lack of information regarding the distributions of vitellinus and graveolens both present in this region.

[Janis Ruksans]

[/quote]

Janis,
C. vitellinus is described in Flora Palestina as a bloomer in December and January,
its distribution reaches S. Lebanon a short distance north of Israel.
I grow a few plants originated to this area and they flower in early December with leaves.
Your plant is probably originated to Broumana east of Beirut, 750m. meaning that it doesn't receive heavy snows therefor flowering early and not in spring as the case of populations originated in high elevations.
There is also lack of information regarding the distributions of vitellinus and graveolens both present in this region.


[/quote]
Many thanks for information. It is quite interesting as with me both species - vitellinus and graveolens allways were spring bloomers and not between the earliest, I suppose that even more tended to second half of season. Of course all my earlier stocks are from Turkey. This one is the first from South part of area. Misspelling caused by misreading handwritten label on parcel. Many thanks for correction. Really for me still isn't easy to separate both species. At least stocks grown as graveolens are without bad smell, recorded as very characteristic to this species. Of course there are color, number and size of leaves separating both, but in some cases features are overlapping. If there would not be difference in chromosomes I would like to join both in one species.
Janis
Janis

[olegKon]

3,4. Crocus speciosus Bowl's Blue

very nice. Does it have black styles with orange tips?

Today I saw my first C. chrysanthus  has a nose above ground.

Not exactly black, Mark, but rather dark

[Janis Ruksans]

Hans And Thomas,
Very nice Crocus photos in the wild, thanks for showing.

Great surprise today - came out flower of spring blooming Crocus vitellinus from Boumana. Stock originally collected by Bob and Ranweig Wallis, I got it by wish of Jim.
Pictures quality isn't very good, because it was very dark and all the day raining.
Janis

Janis,
C. vitellinus is described in Flora Palestina as a bloomer in December and January,
its distribution reaches S. Lebanon, a short distance north of Israel.
I grow a few plants originated to this area and they flower in early December with the leaves.
Your plant is probably originated to Broumana east of Beirut, 500- 750m. meaning that it doesn't receive heavy snows therefor flowering early and not in spring as the case of  high elevation populations.
There is also lack of information regarding the distributions of vitellinus and graveolens both present in this region.

I just checked at my office blooming times of those species last spring (2010). Majority of Crocus biflorus group species & subspecies bloomed at middle of March, but vitellinus and graveolens only at end of March (of course in greenhouse). The earliest blooming of vitellinus was some years ago in mid-February. So in my mind they both belongs to late-mid spring bloomers.
Janis

[art600]

Here are Crocus grown from NARGS seed flowering for the first time.

Can you confirm that it is Crocus caspius please.  It looks like Crocus niveus

[Thomas Huber]

Here are Crocus grown from NARGS seed flowering for the first time.

Can you confirm that it is Crocus caspius please.  It looks like Crocus niveus

Sorry, Arthur, can't confirm caspius. As you wrote it looks really like niveus.

[Armin]

but a nice one!

[art600]

Here are Crocus grown from NARGS seed flowering for the first time.

Can you confirm that it is Crocus caspius please.  It looks like Crocus niveus

Sorry, Arthur, can't confirm caspius. As you wrote it looks really like niveus.

As Armin says - a nice niveus 

[mark smyth]

Part of my birthday present arrived today. I chose some bulbs from Paul Christian. Two of the crocus are the size of dove eggs   with one 5.5x4.5x3cm having 12 noses. These are out of the top, sides and base.

[mark smyth]

here they are. Dream Dancer and Purple Heart

Anthony said in 2009
I have just received a corm of Crocus mathewii 'Dream Dancer' from Rareplants. Two shoots, and the corm was as big as an onion set: it would only just fit into the circle made by my thumb and fore finger!

[Maggi Young]

A "rare" treat indeed to get those whoppers, Mark!
We'll be waiting to see the flowers..... 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Wow !  What a treat !! 
That's value for money, to say the least !

[Thomas Huber]

WOW - looks great, Mark - at least in first sight.
But my experiences with such large corms is, that they flower wonderful in the first year and then disappear.
Would be interesting to know what your's do, so please keep us in touch.

[mark smyth]

WOW - looks great, Mark - at least in first sight.
But my experiences with such large corms is, that they flower wonderful in the first year and then disappear.
Would be interesting to know what your's do, so please keep us in touch.

I'm worrying also. Anthony's survived OK

[YT]

Hi, all! Thank you very much for your posts with wonderful and mouth-watering pictures, and practical advice from your experiences. Here is my potted Crocus mathewii, ex. HKEP. 9291, taken this morning. It’s a herald of crocus season at my place, but this year, more than 2 weeks later than usual. Cheers