Crocus July 2012

[udo]

A good start, Crocus scharojanii from Caucasus in flower today.
Right the still green leaves from Crocus scardicus and pelistericus.

[Maggi Young]

A good start indeed, Dirk.

More treats for fellow croconuts here : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9365.0 with Crocus in Macedonia in June.... 

[Lesley Cox]

Perhaps you won't mind some southern crocuses in this thread Dirk as July is the real start of our spring, so far as crocuses are concerned. I have maybe 20 different out at present. One of the prettiest is C. x Bornmuelleri, in a trough. I'll try for some more pictures later today.

[krisderaeymaeker]

Perhaps you won't mind some southern crocuses in this thread Dirk as July is the real start of our spring, so far as crocuses are concerned. I have maybe 20 different out at present. One of the prettiest is C. x Bornmuelleri, in a trough. I'll try for some more pictures later today.

Always ready to enjoy them Lesley ....anytime is ok....

[krisderaeymaeker]

A good start, Crocus scharojanii from Caucasus in flower today.
Right the still green leaves from Crocus scardicus and pelistericus.

That's an early start Dirk ! But it is certainly a start to remember , very nice one... 

[krisderaeymaeker]

In 2010 I plant my first Crocus mathewii in the garden ...Only one bulb ...And now 2 years later I was surprised by the amount of bulbs I get from this  single bulb in 2 years ...
I keep it in the garden al year round and this winter it gets minus 15 degrees ...

[pehe]

A good start, Crocus scharojanii from Caucasus in flower today.
Right the still green leaves from Crocus scardicus and pelistericus.

Lucky you, Dirk!

It is my 'dream' crocus. It is great to see that you succeed with it. Can I ask how you grow it? How wet do you keep it?

Poul

[pehe]

In 2010 I plant my first Crocus mathewii in the garden ...Only one bulb ...And now 2 years later I was surprised by the amount of bulbs I get from this  single bulb in 2 years ...
I keep it in the garden al year round and this winter it gets minus 15 degrees ...

Kris, what a nice sight!
I had the same success with c. mathewii some years ago. It multiplied very well for 3 years in the open garden until one wet summer where all but one were killed by rot. Now I grow them in a pot, where I can give them a dry summer rest.

Poul

[udo]

Lucky you, Dirk!

It is my 'dream' crocus. It is great to see that you succeed with it. Can I ask how you grow it? How wet do you keep it?

Poul

The pot Crocus scharojanii with very peat soil stands the whole year under a window. At the growth period it is richly poured if the foliage becomes yellow in June or July, only slightly humid hold. From June to September is covered with a black net for a bit shadow.

[Gerry Webster]

Kris, what a nice sight!
I had the same success with c. mathewii some years ago. It multiplied very well for 3 years in the open garden until one wet summer where all but one were killed by rot. Now I grow them in a pot, where I can give them a dry summer rest.
Poul

Poul - My experience with many crocus (& fritillaries) is similar. They are OK for 3-5 years & then a bad summer or winter & they disappear. In my garden the only 'bulbs' which succeed & increase for a long period (>20years) are Galanthus nivalis, Chionodoxa sp., Crocus tommasinianus & its hybrids & Cyclamen hederifolium. Chionodoxa has effectively become a weed.

[Lesley Cox]

Very nice weed though.

[Otto Fauser]

some of the thousands ofselfsown seedlings in my garden at the moment of the "weedy' Crocus tommasinianus ,also of a feathered one

[fermi de Sousa]

I got this from one of the bigger suppliers of bulbs as "Sunkist" but I think Hubi ID'd it a couple of years ago as Crocus flavus.
When I took the pic it certainly was "sun-kissed" 
cheers
fermi

[Boyed]

Poul - My experience with many crocus (& fritillaries) is similar. They are OK for 3-5 years & then a bad summer or winter & they disappear. In my garden the only 'bulbs' which succeed & increase for a long period (>20years) are Galanthus nivalis, Chionodoxa sp., Crocus tommasinianus & its hybrids & Cyclamen hederifolium. Chionodoxa has effectively become a weed.

Gerry,

I don't think that the reason for lost is wet summer or winter. During the years the crocuses, growing in good garden conditions, multiply and the space becomes overcrowed. So if you don't replant or repot then once in 3 or 4 years, they die. In the wild they don't increase so rapidly, they just survive. For a test, you can grow a good multiplying crocus species in pot, give a dry summer rest and don't repot for over 3 years. You will eventually end-up with loosing them. The same applies to lilies and some other bulbs. That's shows my experience.

[Gerry Webster]

Zhirair - this is not consistent with my experience over 20 years. For example, fritillaries disappeared following the removal of adjacent shrubs  which presumably kept the ground dry in summer. Others disappeared after little or no multiplication for no obvious reason. I've kept crocus in large pots for over 5 years with no problems even though they have multiplied to the point of crowding. I have little doubt that excessive wet &/or cold is the cause of most of my losses in the open garden