Crocus August 2011

[Martin Baxendale]

Another quick question - if a Crocus wakes up very early (it's not so early any more, but let's say end of July/beginning of August when I had C. suworowianus in flower) and send sup a flower, do you begin watering or leave it till September?

Ta,

Alex

I'd start watering any bulb that's started to flower, no matter how early.

[Lesley Cox]

I would too, though mine are all in the garden so get rain anyway.

Sorry Kris, I should have said that it's nice to see Celmisias in ANY northern garden, though I perhaps mis-read Thomas's post as having found a Celmisia in Chris's bed but I guess a crocus is more likely. I don't think it would be very comfortable for him though, whichever was in his bed.

[Martin Baxendale]

his banaticus is growing on top of my latest rockgarden in bonedry soil where the sun is burning from 3pm until evening!
Generally it is said, that banaticus likes it moist and cool in summer, but this is not given there...

For the last couple of years I have been storing banaticus corms (small seedlings and mature corms) dry in plastic bags during summer, between de-potting and re-potting, and they have been fine.

[Lesley Cox]

Maybe I shouldn't mix NH and SH crocuses as it could be confusing, but this IS a Crocus August thread and it IS august in the SH so here are 3 in flower now. The weather has been snowy then rainy so a lot have been damaged and weren't worth a picture.

First, could I have an ID for this one please. I guess it's a chrysanthus/biflorus hybrid and turned up now, in a patch of C cancellatus ssp mazziaricus which has been in flower since March!


Then the lovely C. x Bornmuelleri, just a quite ordinary yellow when fully open but really beautiful in the bud. Sorry it's a bit blurry.




And lastly, the precious c. olivieri ssp balansae 'Chocolate Soldier.' In a trough now and I'm pleased to see it is increasing quite well. The moss is because the trough is shaded half the day and we've had a lot of dull, damp weather. I may move the crocus to a sunnier spot though it's doing well.

[Thomas Huber]

Lesley, your blue chrysanthus looks a bit like 'Princess Beatrix'.....

You would get your mouth wide open if you could see what is growing comfortable beneath my Crocusses 

[Kees Green]

Leslie that chocolate soldier is very nice.

[Janis Ruksans]

Hello Janis,

Yes, is that damp not wet? And when do you start keeping them wetter? I'd be really interested to hear your approach to watering these species.

Cheers,

Alex

Sorry for very late reply. Too busy last weeks with garden jobs, tomorrow will finish replanting on open field, but still must harvest and replant all alliums, frits, colchicums which are grown in pots. Scillas. Ornithogalums, muscari, irises etc. will stay for next year.
From crocuses started blooming scharojani and scharojanii flavus, suworovianus and some cancellatus. But still very few only. Really only last week I gave first watering.
But now about growing of pelistericus, scardicus  and scharojanii. I found that keeping them too wet (sorry, I supposed that damp is more waterfull than wet, but it is just opposite) isn't the best way. I was growing them earlier placing pots in pans, where allways was some water, and soil was really waterfull. But I can't tell that I was very satisfied with results. This year I put pots out of greenhouse on geo-textile film (this one not allow weed growing but allow for water to drain through). Summer was very hot and dry, so I every week well watered all Crocus pots. In early August, when leaves started to yellow I replanted those species and was pleasantly surprised for very good quality of corms - far better than earlier, when I kept them in pans. So soil during summer must be damp, but not too wet.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Dirk and Poul,
congratulations - great start of the autuum crocus blossom in the NH

I agree with Armin . Very nice and some are certainly on my wishlist 

The first to flower here this year :  Crocus banaticus 'Snowdrift' Some shots made this weekend ...

Greetings! Never so early here. Usually in October only.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

his banaticus is growing on top of my latest rockgarden in bonedry soil where the sun is burning from 3pm until evening!
Generally it is said, that banaticus likes it moist and cool in summer, but this is not given there...

For the last couple of years I have been storing banaticus corms (small seedlings and mature corms) dry in plastic bags during summer, between de-potting and re-potting, and they have been fine.

I store them in dry sand or in plastic bags. Better in plastic bags, but then shooting start earlier and replanting must be done earlier.
Janis

[pehe]

Sorry for very late reply. Too busy last weeks with garden jobs, tomorrow will finish replanting on open field, but still must harvest and replant all alliums, frits, colchicums which are grown in pots. Scillas. Ornithogalums, muscari, irises etc. will stay for next year.
From crocuses started blooming scharojani and scharojanii flavus, suworovianus and some cancellatus. But still very few only. Really only last week I gave first watering.
But now about growing of pelistericus, scardicus  and scharojanii. I found that keeping them too wet (sorry, I supposed that damp is more waterfull than wet, but it is just opposite) isn't the best way. I was growing them earlier placing pots in pans, where allways was some water, and soil was really waterfull. But I can't tell that I was very satisfied with results. This year I put pots out of greenhouse on geo-textile film (this one not allow weed growing but allow for water to drain through). Summer was very hot and dry, so I every week well watered all Crocus pots. In early August, when leaves started to yellow I replanted those species and was pleasantly surprised for very good quality of corms - far better than earlier, when I kept them in pans. So soil during summer must be damp, but not too wet.
Janis

Good news!
Then there is hope that there will be Scarojanii in your sales list next year

Poul

[Lesley Cox]

Lesley, your blue chrysanthus looks a bit like 'Princess Beatrix'.....

You would get your mouth wide open if you could see what is growing comfortable beneath my Crocusses 

Thanks Thomas, I've separated it from the others and labelled it as 'Princess Beatrix' which I did have a one stage but haven't seen for a couple of years and I didn't remember this quite richly coloured one.
So WHAT is growing beneath your crocuses?

[Alex]

Thank you Janis, very interesting and good to know. I know well how busy August is for bulb growers, and I can only imagine what it's like with a collection like yours 

About the C. pelistericus, assuming you keep them wetter in the Autumn to Spring, do you do this by just watering more frequently, or standing in a tray of water?

Cheers,

Alex

[Thomas Huber]

Thanks Thomas, I've separated it from the others and labelled it as 'Princess Beatrix' which I did have a one stage but haven't seen for a couple of years and I didn't remember this quite richly coloured one.
So WHAT is growing beneath your crocuses?

Lesley, I wrote it 'looks a bit like' Princess Beatrix - if you havn't seen them for a while, your plants are probably seedlings of the original Princess-plants. Please compare them with the photos in my cultivar-thread to be sure. I could send you some more photos if needed.....

This is growing between my crocusses:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=7040.msg202950#new

[Janis Ruksans]

Thank you Janis, very interesting and good to know. I know well how busy August is for bulb growers, and I can only imagine what it's like with a collection like yours 

About the C. pelistericus, assuming you keep them wetter in the Autumn to Spring, do you do this by just watering more frequently, or standing in a tray of water?

Cheers,

Alex

No, I'm not more standing them in trays with water, only I'm watering them more frequently than other crocuses. Plastic pots dries out slowly. In summer they (pelistericus, scardicus and their hybrids, scharojanii) receive watering once a week, if there are no natural rains. Most difficult are scardicus and scharojanii (both subsp. typica and subsp. lazicus). Pelistericus, gothoburgensis and scharojanii flavus are much easier.
Janis

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks Thomas, certainly 'Princess Beatrix' is the closest to mine but mine is deeper coloured than in the pic on the ID thread. No other is anything like it at all. It could be a seedling but I doubt it as it is miles away from where the originals were - and probably still are, under long grass. I'll replace the label and put simply "deep blue chrysanthus/biflorus type hybrid" if I can find a label long enough! Whatever, it's very nice and different from anything else that has flowered this year.