Crocus March 2011

[Graham Catlow]

I don't have a collection of crocus and nothing 'special' but 'Ard Schenk' never fails and I think it's special.
We've had no rain for weeks but the sun hasn't shone either, and I began to think they were going to go over without opening. Today the sun shone on them and they opened.

Crocus 'Ard Schenk'

[Armin]

Ibrahim,
why don't you soak them with a watering can to imitate floated meadow?

Luc,
fine croci. 'Prinz Claus' is a nice appearance but I find it a weak doer in my meadow. Do you kept it for a long time?
Is there a significant difference between 'Firefly' and 'Stunner'?

Jamie,
the rounded flowers resemble cv. "Yellow Mammoth" (angustifolius x flavus). It has a few thin short stripes on the outside.
I believe almost everybody made similar bad experiences after having bought cheap croci from garden center or super markets.
Goldilocks substitutes E.P. Bowles, Dorothy subst. Fuscotinctus or Gipsy Girl, C.etruscus 'Zwanenburg' subst. any blue flowering species...
It's a bit of lottery...

Janis,
good luck for cross pollination and a bit warmer conditions with less snow and frost!

Frankie,
nice cultivars. 'Advance' is so nice but in my meadow (heavy loam soil) it is one of the very weak bloomers .

Karl,
marvelous croci!
Like the velvet veluchensis, purple stem chrysanthus and the well contrasted biflorus ssp. weldenii

Graham,
nice clump! I agree 'Ard Schenk' is an excellent large flowering chrysanthus hybrid/cultivar.

[mark smyth]

I had purchased a bag of C. 'Advance', but they are all blooming as some blue-white, a bit like Prinz Claus, but not so round and a bit less intense in colour.  What a drag!

Does anyone know a 100% reliable source for Crocus Advance? I have bought it twice and been disappointed twice.

[I.S.]

  Armin thanks for advice I do that each week but it seems that is not enough,

[ChrisB]

Mark,  I got mine at the Discussion Weekend last year and they have been stunning.  Luit brought them....

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Luc,
fine croci. 'Prinz Claus' is a nice appearance but I find it a weak doer in my meadow. Do you kept it for a long time?
Is there a significant difference between 'Firefly' and 'Stunner'?

Hi Armin,

I don't grow "Firefly" Armin, I had not heard of the name "Stunner" before either, but as I saw the potfol being offered for sale, I couldn't resist...  ... as happens so (too) often... 

I must admit, I grew Prins Claus some years ago and then suddenly lost it for no obvious reason.  This is a newly planted (last autumn) clump, so I'll have to wait and see again....

[Janis Ruksans]

My easy days finished. Although outside still is more than half meter of snow, temperature started to rise and today I took away covering in my greenhouses and... Crocus flowers exploded as firework. Second half of day up to dark were passed with camera - so now you will have "floods" of my pictures every day. And not only Crocuses - Snowdrops, Eranthis, spring colchicums, reticulata irises etc. etc. Only days are too short. So in this entry
At first Crocus biflorus adamii - from Bulgaria and Armenia - quite far distance, may be different, but must be checked
Next two although labeled as adamii, most likely are different. They comes from Iran. I mostly like this one with yellow flush on outside
Follows Crocus adanensis - note the prominent white zone surrounding yellow throat
The one of my brightest C. olivieri
and as last in this entry - again member of biflorus family - subsp. artvinensis
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Now Crocus biflorus subsp. atrospermus. First two pictures are from type collection of Helmut Kerndorff and Erich Pasche, others are my acquisitions. Some doubt about this black anthered plant. I don't remember that I collected such in wild, but may be... Those samples are carefully kept and replanted from pot to pot, to avoid some mix. Problem with this very spectacular subspecies is that it can be identified with certainity only when you receive seed crop - if they are black - it means OK!
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

For some break in blue - now some quite unusual forms of Crocus chrysanthus. At first those with black anthers or at least with black connective. Then typical chrysanthus, collected at Ossa - that one I got by wish of Jim Archibald. And as "cream" touch - natural hybrid between chrysanthus and biflorus isauricus.
Janis

[I.S.]

  Janis You made a süper entry to your crocus season realy admirable crocuses!
First I was thinking that kind of adanensis with white corona might be some hybridation with paschei!
A püre adanensis should has püre yellow throat. isn't it!
 Your adamii also looks different them mines!
 For me the best ones are first two chrysanthus. I was planning to see them also last week but my time was limited so I had to shorten thr trip.

[I.S.]

 And your atrospermus with black anthers. I don't believe that it can't be neither atrospermus nor ionopharynx. I have visited a atrospermus location last year but there were no one with balck anthers

[ArnoldT]

Here's two whose labels were lost in the recent ice age.



 edit by maggi to the pix

[daveyp1970]

Janis the last two  Crocus chrysanthus are incredible wow stunning finds you must be over the moon with them finds.

[Lvandelft]

Luc,
fine croci. 'Prinz Claus' is a nice appearance but I find it a weak doer in my meadow. Do you kept it for a long time?

Here's my Crocus Prins Claus group next to the raised bed. Doing (still)? well since at least 4 years.

[Diane Clement]

Does anyone know a 100% reliable source for Crocus Advance? I have bought it twice and been disappointed twice.  

Mine came from Kevock about 5 years ago, I bought 6 different cultivars for naturalising in the lawn.  'Advance' is surviving, but not doing particularly well (nor is Zwanenburg bronze or Romance).  The ones that are doing best are Ard Schenk, Bluebird and Negro Boy.  
Pictures are:
Crocus 'Advance'
Crocus 'Ard Schenk'
Crocus 'Bluebird' and 'Negro Boy'
Crocus 'Negro Boy'

And  not in the lawn, but in the rockery, seems to almost glow:
Crocus 'Whitewell Purple'