Crocus October 2019

[Gabriela]

Many thanks for the inspiration to all who are posting here beautiful Crocus every spring and fall - here's my first Crocus grown from seeds to flower C. banaticus; and it will not be the last, I just sowed C. veluchensis 

[Janis Ruksans]

Thank you Yann!

Specially the damp growing crocus like nudiflorus, banaticus and vallicola are doing well in my garden and are self-seeding.
Here is a nice dark Crocus banaticus seedling.

I'm only rarely planting crocuses in open garden (only few, where I have too large stocks for pots (not more than 4 pots from stock are planted) but I'm not re-using substrate and all used soil goes to garden together with some seeds, some occasional corm which escaped collecting to rise up soil level in too damp spots etc. This autumn a lot of crocuses bloomed in different spots of garden - between rows with my wife's Phlox and hosta beds, between daughters peonies etc. I don't know how permanent will be those which are forming leaves in autumn, but speciosus, pulchellus, nudiflorus, banaticus and even some pallasii this autumn bloomed very well in op4en garden, too.

[Janis Ruksans]

According weather broadcast next week will start night frosts and dropping of temperature up to + 5 C during day. Crocus blooming is not more so abundant as before but a lot still even didn't started. Here and in next entry pictures from Sunday, when we had some sun and very warm day.
The first is quite unusual yellowish C. cartwrightianus from Naxos Island - it blooms extremely abundantly sending up one flower after another. Although pot was labelled as - poorly looking corm - it came up and I hope will alive.
Next is most unusual selection from Crocus goulimyi 'Agia Sophia' found by Melvin Jope, followed by bicoloured 'Harlequin' found in wild by John Fielding.
Then follow first blooming of seedling from Crocus hermoneus collected in Jordan
And as last in this entry Crocus pallasii aff. selection from Chios Island named 'Homeri' in Gothenburg BG.

[Janis Ruksans]

From Crete I described very tiny crocus close to Crocus laevigatus, but well separable by 2 features - the very small size of flowers and absence of scent or even it is unpleasant (each nose is different, personally I can't catch any hint of scent in it). For size of flowers I named it C. pumilus. It keeps small size even in cultivation. Crocus laevigatus from mainland Greece and some other Islands has much larger flowers and they are very sweetly scented.
In autumn 2016 I was in Crete and observed this crocus in full bloom at several localities and everywhere it was typically dwarf and scentless. The largest amount our small group observed near Psychro where is one of several "Cave of Zeus". They were quite variable by colour but identical in their minor size of flowers. Very great was my surprize in autumn 2018 when two colour forms collected side by side in wild, popped out in my pots with very large flowers, by size inseparable from typical laevigatus, but still completely scent-less. I supposed this as occasional but this autumn both repeated the large size. Most interesting that other forms from the same spot (all were collected on some 4-5 sq.m. quite densely covered with flowers of this crocus) still are keeping their dwarf size.
On last 2 pictures the population where those crocuses were collected in the wild.

[Janis Ruksans]

Still are blooming two species from Crocus speciosus group - Crocus ibrahimii (shown earlier) and Crocus sakariensis. Both are from low altitudes and it is quite common that plants from low altitudes even in cultivation blooms later than those from high altitudes same as in wild (of course - this rule is valid for autumn blooming crocuses).
On the first picture C. sakariensis, growing wild at altitudes around 300 m. It is something similar to C. xantholaimos from high altitudes in Central N Turkey. Both are easy separable by branching and position of style - in C. xantholaimos style is much less branched and hidden between anthers, in C. sakariensis - much more branched and positioned much higher. Both has yellow throat, in cultivated forms of xantholaimos much deeper yellow, although in wild are individuals with lighter throat, too.
Then Crocus thomasii seedling, unusually dark, and could be hybrid
And as last is the first albino between C. tournefortii seen by me. It was collected on Karpathos Island in spring 2017 when I searched  for C. ruksansii, but found only C. tournefortii (of course, without flowers).

[Janis Ruksans]

Another beauty pictured yesterday - crocus from cancellatus group originally collected in Syria before 15 years. It is hand pollinated seedling from original corms.

[Janis Ruksans]

Very few crocuses still didn't start blooming. I'm now ordering my collection lists, labeling pictures, so some earlier made pictures I can show only now. This entry is decided to Crocus puringii growing wild in Crimea (territory of Ukraine at present occupied by Russia).
This species was known for long as Crocus speciosus although already quite long ago (in 1983, C. Brighton et al.) found that it has completely different chromosomes and their number than other "speciosus" crocuses (that means - it is different species) and I decided to name it after Latvian botanist Nikolai Puring (Puriņš) who at change of XIX/XX centuries worked in Crimea and described Crocus tauricus. Observing it in the wild, in most places its stigma overtopped anthers, but there were one group where stigma in all individuals were level with their tips and 2 groups where stigma ended below them. Making randomized collection of flowers (1 from each micro-population (group) - turned than in 11 % stigma was equal or shorter. From each group were collected few corms and kept separately. And it turned that last and this autumn all individuals which in wild had shorter stigmas, in cultivation formed plants with stigma well overtopping anthers. So this (and not only) confirms my suspicion that Kerndorff's use of position of stigma concerning anthers (and counting of position index) has very little value in identification in cases when position is variable. Observation of some spring blooming crocuses showed that position changes and depends from age of flower. It is valid only in cases where greatest part (may be 90+%) of individuals has constant position - below or overtopping. Observations in wild, so important according Kerndorff, not allow to judge about age of observed flowers. Such indexes could be valid only observing all flowers of same age, what is difficult even with cultivated plants, but impossible in wild. Those data will be published later in my "The First Supplement for the World of Crocuses".
The first two pictures show flowers from 2 groups on Tschatir Dag where stigma is equal or below tips. The 3rd picture - the same plant in cultivation, and last two C. puringii from groups where stigma in wild overtopped anthers.
Crocus puringii is one of the earliest bloomers, and now completely finished, but it is very spectacular representative of large and variable Crocus speciosus group.

[Janis Ruksans]

Some more pictures from last week - this very fragrant blue Crocus laevigatus was collected between Crocus harveyi at locus classicus of last on Ikaria Island, E Aegean.
Still abundantly blooms another very fragrant species - Crocus longiflorus from Nebrodi r. Italy
Crocus oreocreticus from Lasiti Plain, Crete is quite variable, here lighter form of it
One of the most beautiful form of Crocus pallasii sensu lato was collected accidentally, out of flowers in spring between ruins of Ariasos, N of Antalya by my friend Vaclav (it is well increasing clone). Population is very strange - some individuals more resemble C. assumaniae, some looks closer to kofudagensis, of course it is not pallasii, what you can see on the last picture - where is true Crocus pallasii from Crimea (Ukraine) - locus classicus of this species.

[Janis Ruksans]

Yesterday according weather broadcast should be full day of sun and it was prognosed as last sunny day during last days of October and start of November. Unfortunately already at midday came dark clouds, started drizzling but I succeed to use some hours for some pictures.
I'm starting with Crocus aleppicus from Syria, collected there before started war and following with new species up to last regarded as C. aleppicus from Israel.
The next pair is Crocus clusii from Ribamondego, Portugal - the first blooming with me. I nature it is growing in extremely acid soil.
The last is white form of Crocus goulimyi.

[Tim Harberd]

Hi Janis,
   Thanks, once again, for brightening up a rather grey day here...

   On a couple of occasions you've mentioned you daughters peonies... Has she photo-cataloged them? I'd be interested to see how they vary from the cultivars available in 'The West'.

Tim DH

[Yann]

The last rains and the caterpillars destroyed many flowers in the garden, hopefully inside the greenhouse it's getting better

Crocus goulimyi

[Janis Ruksans]

Hi Janis,
   Thanks, once again, for brightening up a rather grey day here...

   On a couple of occasions you've mentioned you daughters peonies... Has she photo-cataloged them? I'd be interested to see how they vary from the cultivars available in 'The West'.

Tim DH

Yes, she has.  I will ask her about link. We have collection of around 300 cultivars. On attached picture part of our Peonies.

[Janis Ruksans]

On this entry - Crocus hermoneus from Jordania and Crocus hyemalis from Israel.

[Janis Ruksans]

In this entry various samples of Crocus laevigatus - now in full bloom. Localities on picture captions.

[Janis Ruksans]

Outside dark, wet and horrible wind. Almost impossible to walk. Closed top windows and tomorrow few side windows will need repairing. Here still pictures from Friday.
The first 4 are from most aromatic autumn bloomer - Crocus longiflorus from Italy. Here you can watch variation of inside base colour.
The last picture - Crocus merlantherus