Crocus November 2012

[JimF]

Some crocus straddling the months

Crocus longiflorus

Crocus medius 'Millesimo' thanks to Dirk S.

Crocus niveus 'White Form'

Crocus robertianus - from a local croconut. The flower on the left is nearly twice the size of the others which vary in size and color. I've selected out "pink" forms but they are really lavender as Janis says.

Crocus speciosus ssp speciosus each flower from a different bulb bought from a large grower as anothes subspecies or clone. When I contacted him, he said he contracts out to other growers for many crocus so doesn't get to see them in bloom! At least is a lovely species. From now on I'll be looking for clones and ssp. from the smaller growers who know their stock.

Jim

[Lesley Cox]

I would be interested to hear the evidence of virusing.

I've had two batches of medius (ligusticus), first many years ago from Van Tubergen's in Holland and much more recently from my man in Tasmania. Both have apparently healthy foliage but the flowers are streaked - not heavily to my mind, with a darker shade of the same colour, which I take to be the evidence of virus infection. I do keep both away from other crocuses and have not seen a similar symptom elsewhere. If it is a virus it does not seem to affect the vigour of the corms which continue to grow and increase.

A few years back TH sent me some seed of wild collected medius but unlike all his other seeds, it didn't germinate. 

[Gerry Webster]

Lesley - David's comment related to C. cartwightianus albus hort.

Most (or all) Dutch stocks of C. ligusticus have been virused for years but are sent out regardless. Dirk's plant,  'Millesimo',  (posted above by Jim F) seems virus free. It appears very similar to the commercial stock, including the poorly developed anthers.

[Gerry Webster]

Gerry,
i harvested the seed about 15 years ago. At that time was cartwrightianus 'Albus' hort. my first winter-green Crocus.
I cannot exclude a hybrid in general, but it is not very probable.

Thanks Dirk.
Looking at pictures of C. cartwrightianus 'albus'hort. on the internet, there seem to be two distinct forms: one resembles C. hadriaticus, with short style branches, & the other has longer style branches which (sometimes) divide high up. I would guess that the first may be the plant collected by Oliver Wyatt to which BM refers & the second may be a hybrid with C. cartwrightianus. I would further guess that this may have arisen in cultivation since, as far as I am aware, the two species are not sympatric.

[Gerry Webster]

Dirk - another question.  Do you know the origin of your C. ligusticus 'Millesimo' ?

[Gerry Webster]

Crocus laevigatus

Originally from Ronald Ginns via Ray Cobb, David Stephens & Alan Edwards   

[udo]

Dirk - another question.  Do you know the origin of your C. ligusticus 'Millesimo' ?

Gerry, my Crocus medius 'Millesimo' is from P.C. Nijssen in the year 2005.
 

[Gerry Webster]

Thanks Dirk.

[Gerry Webster]

Crocus robertianus Unidentified species

A form of unknown provenance.

[ArnoldT]

Here's two more photos of the Crocus cartwrightianus albus taken earlier today.

[Gerry Webster]

Crocus cartwrightianus

Ex CEH613; my own seed sown 1.10.09.
Most of the seedlings are various shades of lilac-purple, this is the only white one.

[Armin]

Gerry,
congratulation! Very lovely form

Resembles C. cartwrightianus x hadriaticus 'Purple Heart'.

[johnw]

Crocus goulimyi closed yesterday and opened today.

Crocus medius (clean)

johnw

[tonyg]

Crocus robertianus

A form of unknown provenance.

I don’t find this species easy to grow. It seems to do better kept all the year round in an open sand plunge.

Gerry - lovely crocus but ?robertianus,  All the forms I have grown have a very pronounced yellow throat ala sieberi which it often resembles (although with longer floral tube,  Here is one from this week

[Gerry Webster]

Gerry - lovely crocus but ?robertianus,  All the forms I have grown have a very pronounced yellow throat ala sieberi which it often resembles (although with longer floral tube,  Here is one from this week

Tony  - I grovel! I must confess I had not looked closely at this plant which came from Pottertons a couple of years ago. Looking at a photo of a plant grown from JJA seed (which is not flowering this year), the throat is certainly yellow. What could this be I wonder? Thanks for pointing  out my error.

edit: I wonder about a form of C. speciosus? -  a species I'm not familiar with.

edit 2: This is the real C. robertianus from JJA seed (flowering last year).