crocus Orange Monarch by Jacques Amand

[Jacek]

I looked through the offer of Jacques Amand and found crocus Orange Monarch http://www.jacquesamandintl.com/store/item/1062. I cannot find any reference to this name in this forum or by Google. Is it another commercial form of C. chrysantus? Any experience?

[Maggi Young]

This is a new cultivar which only became available on the market in the autumn of 2012, I believe, though it appears to be listed by lots  of suppliers now. Seems to be a  registered name :  Orange Monarch®  but I don't see it on the KAVB Crocus lists.

Listed by some suppliers as  C.chrysanthus 'Orange Monarch' 

[udo]

With some traders he is also offered as a Crocus olivieri `Orange Monarch`. This seem to fit already rather.

[Jacek]

Thanks. I know it's new on the market. Any personal experience then? How is it doing in the ordinary garden conditions?

I ask, because I have not yet moved towards rare plants (though I've clearly started collecting them) and I am still happy with relatively cheap commercial plants. I will certainly try this new crocus.

On the other hand, I have not had much luck with yellow crocuses, primarily out of chrysanthus stable (severe frost losses). The commercial korolkowii tend to have very small and few flowers (virus?). As a result, the only yellow crocus doing really well is ancient Yellow Mammoth. So I search for something more robust and hardy. That's not easy for little money....

[Lvandelft]

Seems to be a  registered name :  Orange Monarch®  but I don't see it on the KAVB Crocus lists.

Listed by some suppliers as  C.chrysanthus 'Orange Monarch' 

Maggi, the symbol ®   has nothing to do with registration of plants nor with PBR, but it is often used by growers to deter other growers from growing that particular plant and is officially of no use at all. We see at the Show in Lisse every year again growers putting labels added with this symbol, for instance there are some growers who put this symbol yaer after year on the label to Corydalis Beth Evans, which is an older cultivar and the plant shown and in the meantime grown and sold  'en masse' is in my personal view not even the same as the original plant which got an AM many years ago at shows in GB.
Hope these lines are a bit helpful.

BTW the Crocus Orange Monarch seems to be the same as C. olivieri Balansae and just a trade name for better selling the bulbs. It sounds much better as C. olivieri, doesn't it

[Maggi Young]

Thank you , Luit 

[Jacek]

Thanks Luit for help in identification.

So taking into account crocus olivieri balansae description in Janis book - it is not a plant for my garden. What a pity.

Unless there are some folks on the forum from colder countries, like Sweden or Finland and positive experience.

[Thomas Huber]

Jacek, if you're looking for a hardy yellow crocus you could try Crocus angustifolius.
This was one of the few species that survived in my garden. In the lawn I also had
luck with chrysanthus Dorothy and Romance.....

[Eric Breed]

Luit has that right, it is good old olivieri balancea Zwanenburg, we have grown it for decades and i see no difference.

[David Nicholson]

Seen in a garden centre today, a pack of 'Orange Monarch' marketed by Taylor's Bulbs, who are I think are part of Walkers, bearing the statement "The only orange Crocus". I would have expected better from a company of Walkers experience. I think I shall be writing to them.

[Hartwig]

BTW the Crocus Orange Monarch seems to be the same as C. olivieri Balansae and just a trade name for better selling the bulbs. It sounds much better as C. olivieri, doesn't it

Thanks a lot for clarification. It looks the currently used trivial-name for this species is inspired by the orange form of the Monarch butterfly  (Danaus plexippus) which shows a stunningly alike color-pattern: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly 

Best regards,

Hartwig