Crocus: November 2010

[YT]

Armin & Thomas, Thank you for your helpful advices. I'll take them next time!

KJ, All your botanical trips are great especially to asia!

[Maren]

After leaves got already brownish with visible mite web, the use of rape oil was the genius thought to end the tragedy.
The successful treatment of mites needs to be repeated 2-3times to kill all the new hatched mites from surviving eggs...
Last time I applied it again in September when I noticed aphids and downey mildew.
The advantage of rape oil over mineral oil it is ecologially harmless and cheap.

Hi, I got to this post rather late but am very interested in your use of rape oil. I wonder if it has the same properties as Neem oil or other spraying oils which I use on my pleiones during the dormant period to combat the Brevipalpus mite. Neem oil is very expensive and hard to get. where do you get rape oil? is it the same as culinary rape seed oil?

[Armin]

Hello Maren,

it is culinary rape seed oil from the discounter I use. It kills Panonychus ulmi and Tetranychus urticae outside in the garden.

I have no idea if it has an effect against Brevipalpus mites and Pleiones leaves tolerate rape oil.

Rape oil is not harmfull and has no systemic effect. The film of oil encapsules the mites. They get glued, can't move, breath and finally die.
Important is to spray the undersides of leaves with highest infestation.

Have you tried to spray / water preventive with a cold water maceration of onion- and garlic skins? (available in every household)
The active substance Allicin frighten away the saugers.

[johnw]

Hi, I got to this post rather late but am very interested in your use of rape oil. I wonder if it has the same properties as Neem oil or other spraying oils which I use on my pleiones during the dormant period to combat the Brevipalpus mite. Neem oil is very expensive and hard to get. where do you get rape oil? is it the same as culinary rape seed oil?

Maren - I am curious to know if you have had success with Neem.  When it first came out I was given samples and gave some to Glendoick Gardens for testing.  They reported back that it was not really useful for their purposes in such a cool climate.  I understand in warm & hot climates it has been very effective outdoors.

johnw

[mark smyth]

I have a pot of Crocus, just open today, that have no label. They look like a very blue C. niveus with narrow petals. How variable are they?

[Janis Ruksans]

Wonderful images Kees Jan !
By the way, your website is utterly fantastic !!  

How right you are Luc!

Here some pics of a few Crocus - a relative new addiction thanks to this forum and especially Hubi.
A blue form of Crocus cambessedesii, C.laevigatus, two forms of C. mathewii (second from a very genorous forumist!), C. sativus and C.speciosus. As C. sativus is known as triploid clone I am surprised about the variation in colour, C. speciosus is nothing special for most growers in the north but here it survives hot and dry conditions during summer without any problem.

Only yesterday returned from Israel, so late reply, but can't withstand from for this cambessedesii. Nothing similar saw before!
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

YT - welcome to the world of croconuts. Great to have the first crocusgrower from Japan with us. Did you ever try crocus in the open garden? In your climate it should be no problem I guess. Most of them will feel like in their native habitat around the Mediterranean Sea.

Hi Thomas, Thank you for your welcome Yes, I’ve already tried growing nudiflorus, longiflorus and niveus with some other dwarf bulbs and perennials in my garden about 5 years ago. We have very wet rainy season during June and July (the monsoon) in Japan so I made a mound with well drained blended soil (sand grid, pumice and Akadama etc.) and volcanic stones to avoid bulbs rotting under such high humidity and temperature condition. At last I planted bulbs and plants, and went to bed and dreamed the mound covered with my plants The next morning I found all my longiflorus bulbs were dug up roughly and there was a stinky brownish object there I removed it and replanted bulbs again. Several days later, a Pseudolysimachion sieboldianum flew away and same stinky object there again I realised I made a luxurious cats toilet! I tried protecting my mound from cats and took many steps but it was impossible to keep my mound away from cats completely Then, my little gems got serious damages day by day and I was exhausted fighting against cats Now I’m growing almost my dwarf bulbs in pots or container (except Ipheion and grape Muscari) and all happy

Armin, so I'll try my crocus in the open garden again some day

Cover your bed with wire-net and hide it by thin layer of stone chips. It helps against cats. Their legs dont like stone chips and especially the wire-net just below.
Janis

[Maren]

Maren - I am curious to know if you have had success with Neem.  When it first came out I was given samples and gave some to Glendoick Gardens for testing.  They reported back that it was not really useful for their purposes in such a cool climate.  I understand in warm & hot climates it has been very effective outdoors.

johnw

Hello John,

it's hard to say whether Neem oil is successful or not for my purpose, I guess it must be because I have never had any Brevipalpus mite in my collection. According to Ian Butterfield, it is easy to spot because it turns pleione pseudobulbs to mush.

I feel a bit guilty about elaborating on this topic, maybe we could have a separate one for Treatment with Spraying Oils or something like that. then I can explain what I do, which is quite different to what others have described here.

[Maggi Young]

Good point, Maren.... I have taken the posts from here to a new topic, as you suggest.... see it here: 
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6238.msg172457#msg172457


 Please make further posts on the subject of Spraying Oils for pest control there, Folks.

[Maggi Young]

Fellow Croconuts and Bulb lovers, see this new thread for posts from Janis about his recent trip to Israel.....
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6241.0

[Janis Ruksans]

After returning from Israel all day passed taking off dead flowers of my crocuses. Nothing I lost due absence. Weather in Latvia was and are cold, dark, wet and flower development is very slow. So I can show you only two newcomers - the first is flower bud of Crocus hyemalis. This specimen comes from Jordan. How Crocus hyemalis looks when flowers are open you can see in entry - Crocuses and bulbs in Israel.
Another bud surprised me by color. It is the first time when it flowers with me. It is Crocus laevigatus GOLD BACK - plant with amazing history. I think it was sent from United Kingdom by Roger Poulet some 20 years ago to "down under" - to Marcus Harvey in Australia. Last summer Markus very kindly sent me corm of it. So it returned from "exile" to its native hemisphere and now made first flower here. I'm shocked by its color!
Janis

[Martin Baxendale]

Crocus laevigatus Gold Back looks stunning 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Amazing !! 

[Gerdk]

I think it was sent from United Kingdom by Roger Poulet some 20 years ago to "down under" - to Marcus Harvey in Australia.

When I came along Roger Poulett a bell rang. I had an interesting correspondence about Cyclamen with him in 1994 and until today I cultivate Cyclamen colchicum which originated from him.
He had an excellent handwriting and  - he wrote in perfect German!
Some years later I was told - true or not - that he gave up all his plants and went to sunnier climes.
I was very impressed by him and I am curious to know whether there is someone in this community who is able to tell me something about the fate of Roger.

Gerd

[johnw]

This one has been popping up either and yon. I can't remember the species. Seems very late given the rains we've had in the last 6 weeks.

johnw