Crocus Breeding

[Chuck]

I am wondering if spring blooming crocus can breed with fall blooming crocus so we can get something that blooms twice a year.


Does anybody know if this is possible?
I am thinking of freezing the pollen of crocus in spring and crossing it with a flower in the fall

[Janis Ruksans]

Spring/autumn blooming is caused by temperature regimes. For blooming twice in year you must have two warm periods and two cold periods in year. Each period has minimal lobngevity during which develops flower parts. Shorting of this period will cause undeveloped flowers or flower parts.
Even if cross would be possible it will raise only some hubrid, but not double blooming seasons.
Janis

[Lesley Cox]

You'd have to save the autumn pollen and the species would have to be of the same groups/series. If it were possible you'd probably get plants which flower between the two, not twice as Janis says above. Since there are so many which follow immediately on from the autumn flowering, right through winter to spring, I don't see any advantage anyway.

[Janis Ruksans]

I agree with you, Leslie. Main question - why? I saw nice hybrid between autumn blooming form of vitellinus (spring bloomer generally) and autumn caspius, but it was lost as well autumn vitellinus.
Really pollens can kept dry at around 0 to +4 C over silikagel for at least 2 months. So late autumnals theoretically could be used as pollen parent for forced early spring bloomers.  In Tulips they were kept in such conditions even till next spring (to cross very late varieties with very early). I did it some 40 years ago but not repeated later.
Crocus species are quite conservative and hybrids are produced quite rarely. They are not so conservative as supposed Brian Mathew at his Monograph time, but interspecific hybrids are very rare.
In any case it is impossible to rise variety/hybrid which will bloom in spring and again in autumn.
Janis

[Chuck]

Thanks for the response everyone. I know with orchids it is possible to extend blooming seasons. But I think you are right Crocus might not have enough energy in the bulb to perform an additional bloom.