Crocus January

[Maggi Young]

Oh Janis, what a dreadful start to the year. We are so sorry for you.

[tonyg]

New year new thread

The sun came out today and these little beauties opened properly. It is a I think a selection of laevigatus which has deep lilac inner shades and a very strong marking on the outers. I think it was from Tony G probably 6 or 7 years ago.

Happy New Year to Croconuts all.  Although happiness is tempered by the news from Janis in Latvia.

I distributed this dark form of Crocus laevigatus quite widely a few years ago.  It is a very good doer, of much stronger constitution than the beautifully feathered 'Fontenayi' which I also grow.  Dirk grows both forms (and likely many others too).  The dark form came from the garden of Primrose Warburg, so has a special affiliation for Crocus enthusiaists.  Primrose was the founder of the Crocus Group and first called us the Croconuts!

Mine are now limited to a small clump outside, which gets very little sun... here they are in bud today.

Also pictured below is a nice dark seedling which flowered recently and some other seedlings.  Raising this species from seed produces infinite variations.

[ronm]

Sunspot 

[Martin Baxendale]

Today melted snow from open field and I went to check plantings. Found only holes and shoots without bulbs... and so bed after bed almost everything, everywhere where I looked...
Janis

Have you done any further checking, Janis? I'm hoping that further investigations are showing that the situation is not as bad as you first thought it was. Is it just crocus that have been eaten or corydalis and other bulbs too?

[Graeme Strachan]

Happy New Year - Lang may yer lum reek!

I thought I might be the first but ronm beat me to it. What a lovely pot of sunspot.
I grow all of my crocuses outside and last night I found that I had a yellow bud showing. Today I brought the pot inside to the warmth to try and make the flower open. I put it back outside to take the photo. It looks as if it has two stigmas!
The weather in Aberdeen has been surprisingly mild for the past few days (11 degrees c.) after having a snowfall last year.

             Graeme

[Janis Ruksans]

Have you done any further checking, Janis? I'm hoping that further investigations are showing that the situation is not as bad as you first thought it was. Is it just crocus that have been eaten or corydalis and other bulbs too?

Yesterday I passed half a day on field checking damage (Next week I must give my new catalogue to printer). Completely destroyed were plantings of tulips, but on outside field I had only residual stocks, main part of which were planted in boxes in greenhouse. Similar situation is with Alliums, too.
Regarding Corydalis some varieties were eaten completely, but from most left some part of stock or they even escaped. Closing endless holes I found huge deposit of some thousand or more Corydalis tubers at one end of bed. Unfortunately all shoots were cut off and I'm afraid they will not grow more. Regardless I collected them all and planted on empty bed.
Regarding crocuses - they escaped bad fate, only half of one speciosus stock were eaten (around 100 corms) but at other stocks there were only shallow holes (more than hundred) not reaching bulbs. Similar I found at some Erythroniums and Fritillaries. I don't understand - what stopped mice for further digging. Of course I'm happy for they were too lazy. Of course all crocuses I have in pots, too, so even in worst case I would have few corms for restart.
Mostly I worried for Anemones, but it seem that they are not tasteful for mice. I never noted destroying of windflowers by rodents. Really Corydalis isn't the first choice for rodents. In my gardeners history this was only second or third occasion when they got attention.
Janis

[pehe]

Janis, a very sad story!

Here I have only Crocus laevigatus CEH 612 in flower now, but several others will follow soon.
I have acquired Crocus vitellinus form two different sources last year. They have shown their noses, but they are very different. Which ones are the true ones?

Poul

[Martin Baxendale]

Janis, sounds like it was pretty bad but could have been worse. It will be interesting to see what happens to the corydalis with the shoots eaten away - whether there will be time for them to develop some new shoots (or be able to grow new shoots) before the growing season, or if new small tubers will develop and feed off the old tubers without any leaf growth - at least if this happens you will still have tubers even if they end up very small.

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis, sounds like it was pretty bad but could have been worse. It will be interesting to see what happens to the corydalis with the shoots eaten away - whether there will be time for them to develop some new shoots (or be able to grow new shoots) before the growing season, or if new small tubers will develop and feed off the old tubers without any leaf growth - at least if this happens you will still have tubers even if they end up very small.

Unfortunately in best case it will be horrible mix. Really I planted them only if there will be some very good to be worth mark and keep it and again rise up stock.
Once late frost killed shoots of solida at very start of blooming but from underground stem's scale leaf was produced new shoot which even bloomed and tuber crop was not affected. Will be made new schoot from tuber? I don't know. Will see. Another problem was lacking of roots - they were cut off, too, but I think that roots can make new development in case of corydalis.
But restoring of bulbs from such rodent deposits is quite problematic. I was not very succesfull earlier with huge deposits of crocuses, Fritillaria pallidiflora. Only daffodils recovered more or less succesfully.
Janis

[krisderaeymaeker]

Happy New Year to Croconuts all.  Although happiness is tempered by the news from Janis in Latvia.
I distributed this dark form of Crocus laevigatus quite widely a few years ago.  It is a very good doer, of much stronger constitution than the beautifully feathered 'Fontenayi' which I also grow.  Dirk grows both forms (and likely many others too).  The dark form came from the garden of Primrose Warburg, so has a special affiliation for Crocus enthusiaists.  Primrose was the founder of the Crocus Group and first called us the Croconuts!
Mine are now limited to a small clump outside, which gets very little sun... here they are in bud today.
Also pictured below is a nice dark seedling which flowered recently and some other seedlings.  Raising this species from seed produces infinite variations.

Very nice form indeed Tony ! One to remind for my garden ....

[krisderaeymaeker]

Sunspot 

Really stunning plant Ron ! One of my favorites to , I lost mine 

[krisderaeymaeker]

Janis, a very sad story!
Here I have only Crocus laevigatus CEH 612 in flower now, but several others will follow soon.
I have acquired Crocus vitellinus form two different sources last year. They have shown their noses, but they are very different. Which ones are the true ones?
Poul

I did'nt realise before  that laevigatus also could flower that late in cultivation Poul. We did see them flowering late in Crete (end november) but I was not aware that they do this also here and even later ....But very nice tough.   

[krisderaeymaeker]

Unfortunately in best case it will be horrible mix. Really I planted them only if there will be some very good to be worth mark and keep it and again rise up stock.
Once late frost killed shoots of solida at very start of blooming but from underground stem's scale leaf was produced new shoot which even bloomed and tuber crop was not affected. Will be made new schoot from tuber? I don't know. Will see. Another problem was lacking of roots - they were cut off, too, but I think that roots can make new development in case of corydalis.
But restoring of bulbs from such rodent deposits is quite problematic. I was not very succesfull earlier with huge deposits of crocuses, Fritillaria pallidiflora. Only daffodils recovered more or less succesfully.
Janis

Really bad situation Janis    I hope the best for you but I can imagine that is horrible ... 

[annew]

So sorry to hear this, Janis. I hope you will be able to recover some of them

[pontus]

The first crocus to open here due to the very mild weather is the fabulous crocus baytopiorum, with its indigo blue turquoise flowers.

this is the earliest i have ever had a spring crocus in bloom, the earlier record only dating back to the 28th January 2000, with some hybrid orange crocuses and crocus imperati opening at the time.

This baytopiorum was in a pot plunged in a bed, so i decided to bring the pot indoors to see if the flower would open with the heat...but so far it is remaining shut...

That is terrible news Janis,! let me know if you lost any crocus sp completely...if i have some that you lost i can always send you a few corms in summer for you to rebuild stock...

I am having a similar problem to Janis at the moment...I was getting concerned that my oriental poppy beauty of livermere was not giving any above ground growth. (usually it has big leaf rosettes already present by now). When i went down to check on it, and pulled up some old stems, horror!!! the stems pulled up and under them big holes...i dug in the holes only to find pathways like labyrinths all around the border, the whole big poppy clump (now 12 years old!!) was totally gone. I suspected field voles, so started to dig up the pathways...(see attached images). I was hoping to discover their secret food stash, in their main hole, but failed, as the pathway eventually went under our neighbour’s wall.

I have now lost most of my sp tulips, lycoris and a few liliums. Only a few sternbergias (with chewed off roots) and colchicums, as well as polygonatums remained in this bed!

I did find a small stump/remain of my so much loved poppy...(see image) Can i save this somehow? any suggestions on how to make this stump reroot?

I am now declaring war on the field voles!!!

Pontus