Crocus October 2011

[Janis Ruksans]

Few more from my greenhouse today
Crocus melantherus - very nice form from Stemnitsa in Greece
Then several forms of Crocus pallasii - the first from Israel, following three from Chios Island in Greece
On Chios I collected some Crocus with annulate corm tunics at many localities - greatest part of them now blooms as Crocus pulchellus - very uniform, only this one is of paler color than others
Blooms Crocus serotinus type subspecies got from Rik who collected it in Spain (2 pictures)
Crocus tournefortii form from Karpathos got from Jim Archibald
and as last today - autumn blooming form of Crocus vitellinus from Syria - pollinated today with Crocus caspius (in both dirrections)
Janis

[Lesley Cox]

Michael your C. longiflorus is really lovely. It's such a good doer too. I just picked 22 pods from mine this morning. For the first time I'll have something to send to the Crocus Group.

[I.S.]

  Here are a few forms from my cancellatus collection.
  first one lycicus, damascenus from two different locations and mazziaricus also fron two different locations.

[Tony Willis]

Ibrahim

lovely pictures.

I went up Yumrutepe today to look at the Crocus mathewii. One side of the road has been cleared and fenced and ploughed,the crocus are gone!

The other side is still okay but not many plants

[Armin]

Stunning images!

Frankie,
nice C. boryi and C. goulimyi. They seem to feel fine growing outside in your garden.

Janis,
I find it exiting to cross-pollinate so distant/different species like C. caspius (2n=8) with C. vitellinus (2n=24) and vice versa.
Hope you will prove it works and you finally breed a 'glowing orange' autuum blossoming gem Good luck!

Ibrahim,
your contrasting C. cancellatus ssp. mazziaricus from Yenice is a stunner! Do you have an image of the inner flower too?

Tony,
a pity another place of wild growing C. mathewii seems to be lost

[I.S.]

  Tony, that is something very sad to know that my mathewii lost its country 
It was just this spring I passed from there!. If so my mathewii should be very lucky because of seen by my eyes    I hope there is not so big damage.
 
  Armin, unfortunately I did not make picture from top view and my crocuses are all gowing in open garden, so each day many of them destroy and next day come up the new ones by the morning sunlight.
 

[Armin]

Ibrahim,
I see. It is a nice dark form - I like it much and have downloaded the image for my private photo gallery.

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis,
I find it exiting to cross-pollinate so distant/different species like C. caspius (2n=8) with C. vitellinus (2n=24) and vice versa.
Hope you will prove it works and you finally breed a 'glowing orange' autumn blossoming gem Good luck!

Yes, it sounds strange, but quite long ago (2 years?) on Crocus forum were picture of very strange crocus reported as grown up from Crocus caspius seeds reported as collected in Iran. Looked as very special, new species. Later turned that seeds were received from ScRGCl seed exchange and cytological research showed that this plant is hybrid between vitellinus and caspius and really seeds were mixed together - garden and wild origin.
I was very happy receiving last autumn this late autumn blooming form from Jim Archibald and information from Oron that this form comes from Syria. So this autumn I very waited - when my vitellinus will start blooming and hoped that some flowers of caspius still will be ready for pollination. So I used for this cross last flowers of caspius (both - white and lilac forms) and first flower from vitellinus. Still 2 flowers are coming - so they will be pollinated, too. If weather will be unfavourable - I will bring pots in room for pollination and then back. Difference in chromosome number, far position on genetic tree not allow great hopes, but may be...
Janis

[Armin]

Janis, thanks for the background details - keep my fingers crossed.