December-2018

[Janis Ruksans]

Seems that it is the most silent time in crocus greenhouses. Everything and everyone fell in winter sleep...
Less than month ago following meteo-news about coming of hard frost from East with temperature falling down to minus 18 C, after 2 nights with temperatures minus 10-12, I called help from friends and we covered all beds for winter (picture 1) - but frost didn't came. When I again checked temperatures - below cover was +5, in greenhouse +2 C. So again sounded alarm call for help and all covers were removed (picture 2).
In the pause I built up small shed just side by side with greenhouse, for not to bring covering sheets long distance. So now again I'm waiting and ready for new frost wave. At present only dropping of temperature down to minus 7-8 C at weekend and for short time is forecasted. So crocuses are again exposed. On pictures green leaves on left side are Sternbergias, further seedlings. On the right side - the green masses are formed by leaves of autumn blooming crocuses. Still some boryi, laevigatus, melantherus, pumilus, and spring hittiticus are in flowers. In front part the green blotches are from some Ornithogalums, Muscari and some other runners.
But I used the time for ordering garden notes, preparing of research program for following season, and, of course maid new catalogue. Last summer I re-potted almost all my pot grown plants (only reticulata irises were not repotted) and in total it was 9000 pots! Incredible number. I started in May and finished in October. Looking back I can’t understand, how it was possible to offer to my customers every year at least 600 items, sometimes even 700. Now, when I made this current list, at first approach it again reached 600, but I gave me strong rule - not more than 400 items and then started very difficult task - shortening of list. What to stripe out - to be or not to be - that is the question. Total number of grown samples still exceed 6000, so you can image how much still left outside. New offer will be open on my home page 22nd of December - just before Christmas, and it is my Christmas present to all bulb and especially Crocus lovers.
But before New Year, most likely at Christmas, new Crocus species from me will be published in International Rock Gardener.

[pehe]

New offer will be open on my home page 22nd of December - just before Christmas, and it is my Christmas present to all bulb and especially Crocus lovers.
But before New Year, most likely at Christmas, new Crocus species from me will be published in International Rock Gardener.

What a nice Christmas present!

Here temperature are around +5C during the day and around freezing point in the nights.
In the Green House Crocus sakaltutanensis and different clones of Crocus laevigatus is flowering and in the garden the one I got many years ago labelled Crocus imperati de Jager has opened.

Poul

[Janis Ruksans]

Oh those weather broadcasts. I more and more can accept laws from Medieval times who weather predictors punished with death... I'm usually checking 3 companies from which most trustable (and most acceptable ) seem to be meteoblue. Most horrible prognosis usually came from Russia on Gismeteo site. Not so horrible, but not so nice as meteoblue usually comes from yr.no.
Meteoblue predicts that next week temperature could drop for some nights down to minus 7 C, yr.no - down to -9 whilst gismeteo - minus 15-19 C. All my beds were open from winter cover. Again to cover with glass-wool? Heavy job and not the nicest. Then I remembered that my Estonian friend and bulb grower Sulev Savisaar told me, that he covers crocus beds with species forming leaves in autumn  for winter  with plastic film used for protection against night frosts. With such protection he protects such species as Crocus goulimyi, which with me (not using such protection) invariably died in winter.
So yesterday I went to my local farmer-shop and bought 160 meters of 1.5 m wide night-frost protection film. It is very light and not expensive at all. So on attached pictures you can see how looks my Crocus beds now. On second picture you can see how this film covers very long leaves formed already by C. goulimyi, niveus, tournefortii etc.
On last picture thermometer showing temperatures - "in" on screen means temperature of air in greenhouse; "out" - is temperature between pots. I bought 4 such thermometers (they are quite expensive - almost same sum as I paid for night frost film) and each shows different temperatures, but difference is not larger than +/- 0.5 C.
Other news are that my "computer guru" repaired mine home page programm and now again you can freely register yourself on it and now again you can put your comments at "Garden News" page. Still left three days to opening of my current offer.

[Yann]

With this textile called Agryl P17 how many degrees ared gained(2-3??). I'm also thinking of buying a roll.

[Janis Ruksans]

With this textile called Agryl P17 how many degrees ared gained(2-3??). I'm also thinking of buying a roll.

I don't know. I only just bought it for the first time and now I'm everyday checking temperatures in greenhouse and below cover. As I already wrote - it is used by very famous Estonian bulb grower and author of many books about gardening, paeonias and bulbs - Sulev Savisaar. He use it to protect crocuses grown in outside garden and making leaves already in autumn. With me those species always died in open garden, but next year I will try to plant some of them in open ground and to cover with this "textile". There are several types of it - in the first half of greenhouse where crocuses are placed I used type 50g/sq.m., in another half is two layers of 17 g/sq.m. In shop they recommended 50 g production as better to protect against frost, but they hadn't more of it, so I bought half of 50 g and for another half double amount of 17 g. Will see the difference. Price was the same for both halfs. All covering cost for me 69,- Euro (80 m of 50 g/sq.m and 160 m of 17g/sq.m) together. I think that up to minus 10 C it must work, but when temperature will drop below for longer time, I will return glass-wool sheets.

Just returned from greenhouse. Outside temperature at this moment is minus 5 C (-4,8), inside greenhouse - minus 2 C, but below cover, between pots +2 C.

[Janis Ruksans]

We passed quite cold night. In late evening temperature outside dropped till minus 9 C. When I checked minimal temperature observed last night below cover, it was +1 C, but now it again is +1.7 C. It shows that at least up to minus 10 C this cover works. Will see following days.
We have the first really white Christmas since 2012 - all is covered with around 10 cm of snow, but just after Christmas weather will become warmer and at New Year according last prognosis all snow will be gone.

[Carolyn]

Janis,
Is Agryl P17 different from horticultural fleece which we buy in the UK?

[CRSHEP0]

I use a product called Agribon.  At the time I bought it, there were several choices:

AG-15 90% light transmission (called light weight insect protection
AG-19 85% light ", provides 2-4 F degrees
AG-30 70% light, 4-6 degrees
AG-50 50% light  6-8 degrees
AG-70 30% light 8+ degreees

I bought the AG 70 because it came in the smallest roll of of 26 feet long and 300' wide, and cost me the least.  Admittedly, I did not price out the others as I had no room to store those sizes.
I use this for my tropical palms and wrap for predicted cold spells, and then remove.  I construct PVC piping in a three leg tee-pee type structure over the palm (drilling a hole through each side of the top of each leg, and then use a wire to connect the top of the pieces together and spread the legs out and hammer the bottom ends into the ground) and wrap the fabric around, as the upper legs must be shorter to keep it vertical.  Obviously, when the palm gets too tall, I won't be able to do this.  I have kept them on for about 4 weeks at one point, and the plant didn't suffer from the lack of light.  Also, this fabric breathes, and doesn't creat sweaty conditions.

The big palms are my Parajubaea Torallyi when acclimated are from the highlands of Bolivia, and, are supposed to survive 24 degrees Fahrenheit, and the little palm is Lytocaryum hoehnei, from Brazil and can tolerate 25 F (I have him under the house eaves for additional protection.
Cecile

[Maggi Young]

Janis,
Is Agryl P17 different from horticultural fleece which we buy in the UK?

I suspect it is  much the same - there are differing "weights" of  fleece available here too- but nothing I've seen shows a direct comparison between the types we usually see here in the UK.  Heavier weight fleece  is more  durable, of course and in the UK the types are usually seen  as  17gm and 35 gsm types.   It appears that the  Agryl  textile  comes in 17, 19, 22, 30 and +50  gsm ( gms per square metre)  weights

[Janis Ruksans]

At present I'm very satisfied with mine 50 g/sq.m. It seem to be long lasting and even using two layers of it would be much cheeper and more handy than glass-wool. Not less important is that some light goes through, but real results will be seen at end of season. 6-8 degrees is good for moderate frosts, but if temperature will drop below minus 20 C more serious protection will be needed. I would be putting 2 layers, but simply stock in my local farmers shop ended, because it is out of season. May be I will go to neighbour district to buy more when hardier frosts will start. Otherwise glass-wool sheets will be returned. Relating to crocuses only very few species can be regarded as something tender. Although I have quite good stock of Crocus caspius, I'm never offering it in my catalogues as I never know - will I have it in spring or not more. Several times I lost it and only seeds remained to restore stock. May be some other species from very South could be similar but at present I had problems only with C. caspius.

One of my customers seeing that his orders number on home page is around 950, asked me about chances to get ordered crocuses. But it is not so dramatically. On my homepage you can see total number of orders since I started it some years ago and finished editing of printed catalogues. Computer simply gives new numbers in line as they comes from the very start. After receiving of order by e-mail, I’m registering it manually on another program which is not joined with home-page and there I’m giving numbers from start of season. Every new season starts with number 001. Number’s 000 are given to those who remained in debt or paid more than necessary in previous year. When new order came from this customer, the number is changed (actualized) but on invoice is included debt or credit from previous season. At peak of my activities I served up to 250+ orders in season, now I try to limit me at 100-130 – depends from orders size - for not to exceed limit of income allowed to keep small nursery status and simpler book-keeping. Last year I stopped accepting of orders at end of April and had slightly more than 100 orders only. It allowed for me to despatch orders already in June-July. I’m now in 73rd year and not more so powerful and I’m working only by myself using some help only to make soil mixes and some other jobs too heavy now for me or watering and fertilizing when I’m out of home in mountains.

[Yann]

I don't know. I only just bought it for the first time and now I'm everyday checking temperatures in greenhouse and below cover. As I already wrote - it is used by very famous Estonian bulb grower and author of many books about gardening, paeonias and bulbs - Sulev Savisaar. He use it to protect crocuses grown in outside garden and making leaves already in autumn. With me those species always died in open garden, but next year I will try to plant some of them in open ground and to cover with this "textile". There are several types of it - in the first half of greenhouse where crocuses are placed I used type 50g/sq.m., in another half is two layers of 17 g/sq.m. In shop they recommended 50 g production as better to protect against frost, but they hadn't more of it, so I bought half of 50 g and for another half double amount of 17 g. Will see the difference. Price was the same for both halfs. All covering cost for me 69,- Euro (80 m of 50 g/sq.m and 160 m of 17g/sq.m) together. I think that up to minus 10 C it must work, but when temperature will drop below for longer time, I will return glass-wool sheets.

Just returned from greenhouse. Outside temperature at this moment is minus 5 C (-4,8), inside greenhouse - minus 2 C, but below cover, between pots +2 C.

I bought a roll yesterday,  ready for frosts.

[Yann]

I suspect it is  much the same - there are differing "weights" of  fleece available here too- but nothing I've seen shows a direct comparison between the types we usually see here in the UK.  Heavier weight fleece  is more  durable, of course and in the UK the types are usually seen  as  17gm and 35 gsm types.   It appears that the  Agryl  textile  comes in 17, 19, 22, 30 and +50  gsm ( gms per square metre)  weights

I found the 35gr

[Steve Garvie]

Some Christmas Crocus in flower today:

Crocus allepicus


Crocus fleischeri -typical form and closed flower of a striped form.



Crocus michelsonii -ex Turkmenistan. This pot is way too early, my other michelsonii are barely showing.


Crocus concinnus


Crocus leichtlinii -really passed its best but flowering much earlier than last year.


Crocus nevadensis -Flowering too early and with a less substantial flower than is normal.


Crocus moabiticus -This has gone over now but was in flower at the start of December during a prolonged mild but overcast spell -hence the rather poor flower.


Merry Christmas everyone!

[Yann]

the last Crocus of 2018: Crocus nevadensis