Scilla 2011

[YT]

2011 blooming season has started

Scilla ingridiae, from JJA Seeds (Original collection: Turkey, Adana, N of Saimbeyli. 1300m. Ex R.& R. Wallis 93-33). It was identified as Scilla siberica subsp. taurica when I bought the seeds in 2004. It's a real tiny and lovely gem The scale unit is mm.

The description has been changed on newest Jenny's seed list as below!

874.009 : SCILLA INGRIDIAE (S. ingridiae var. taurica, S. siberica subsp. taurica)* Turkey, SE of Kahramanmaras. Ex. a N. Stevens coll. (This collection has been attributed to S. leepii and we have listed the R. & R. Wallis 93-33 collection from an adjacent area as S. siberica subsp. taurica. We believe it is now correctly identified. A seldom-collected, little species, edemic to the upper drainage of the Tigris, with up to 6, usually single-flowered, slender, 5cm.scapes rising from each bulb to carry flowers with lilac-blue segments with darker midribs. A lovely, early & long-flowering pan-plant.)

[Janis Ruksans]

2011 blooming season has started

Scilla ingridiae, from JJA Seeds (Original collection: Turkey, Adana, N of Saimbeyli. 1300m. Ex R.& R. Wallis 93-33). It was identified as Scilla siberica subsp. taurica when I bought the seeds in 2004. It's a real tiny and lovely gem The scale unit is mm.

Excellent picture, although plant is small. My first opinion was - Scilla armena for which 1 flower per stem is usual, but then noted that leaves are short, in armena they are longer at blooming time. My ingridae usually has 3-5 flowers on stem as you can see on attached picture from previous spring (stock from near Gezbeli pass, deep clay, at roadside from 1930 m and higher to melting snow ~ 2100m; under Juniperus and open spots). For first flowers here still left at least month. Here is only snowing and are beat all records. Last days I was again closed in for two days by uncleaned roads. Hope to first blooming after month or even later.
Janis

[Onion]

What a nice start of the Scilla season.
@YT a nice little you have there.
@Janis, is the colour in the picture true? A very bright blue. But a fantastic one.

[zephirine]

Among the first signs of spring awakening, several Scilla mischtschenkoana (or tubergeniana) have started to open their first flowers immediately as they sprouted from the ground. A wonderful and most welcome sight, as early as end January!

[YT]

Janis, thank you very much for details and picture of your ingridiae. Did you collect the plants by yourself? It seems yours has broader perianths and larger flowers than mime. Here is a picture of same pot taken last season. My plants tend to have a few flowers per stem in later season. I’ve already ordered S. armena to your nursery this year, so I’ll be able to compare both in same growing conditions here next season

Now, I have to thank sunny winter here and am hoping you have not so heavy snow at your place…

Uli, thanks

zephirine, nice herald of spring (bit early?)! The bright pollen colour makes good contrast with light blue perianths

[TheOnionMan]

Tatsuo, I like the top-dressing on you pot, looks very natural, a nice backdrop to those little blue gems.

[Janis Ruksans]

As this morning here is minus 24 C you can understand that no one flowers are picturable. So I'm showing few pictures of Scilla armena. 3 are from wild, one from garden. Note few special features of it:
1) Leaves at flowering time equal or longer than scape
2) each scape bears only 1, rarely 2 flowers, but it is compensate by number of scapes from well grown, good size bulbs
3) very special shape of flower, especially recognisable in first days of blooming.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Janis, thank you very much for details and picture of your ingridiae. Did you collect the plants by yourself?

Yes, this Scilla ingridae stock was collected by myself + Arnis & Henrik. It was very hot day when we reached the pass and I stood at our car to guard it but my colleagues went up to mountains up to snow level. From top they brought down few flowering plants but at road under large Juniperus I collected few Scillas in seeds (and some Corydalis) as it was much lower altitude. This allowed to check the seeds and so to identify the plants in situ. This species grow well, every year set a lot of seeds. Color on picture is true. At that spot we collected fantastical small Muscari, most likely new species, grown by us under nickname "miniarmeniacum".
Janis

[YT]

Mark, it's a kind of pumice collected at Kyushu island, Japan. It's useful for telling me watering timings by changing its colour as you can see a picture below

Janis, I just remember your book ‘Buried Treasure’, the story when you spot the S. ingridiae, ‘mini-armeniacum’ and Corydalis tauricola I'm also keen interested in your so-called ‘mini-armeniacum’

[YT]

Scilla libanotica from JJA seeds has just started to bloom today Original collection: Lebanon, East of Beirut, Tarchich. Damp, shady, rock crevices. Ex R.& R.Wallis 99-04.

[Hans A.]

Superb plants YT, Zephirine and Janis!

Here a wonderful plant which came from Jenny Archibald last year: Chionodoxa cretica 'Melvyn' 
(following world checklist of RBG Kew Scilla cretica)

[LucS]

Scilla libanotica from JJA seeds has just started to bloom today Original collection: Lebanon, East of Beirut, Tarchich. Damp, shady, rock crevices. Ex R.& R.Wallis 99-04.

I have the same plant in flower for at least two weeks now.

[YT]

Hans, what a precious and tiny gem Thank you for showing

Luc, yours look much larger than mine and better flower forms with broader perianths

[Maggi Young]

Hans, what a precious and tiny gem Thank you for showing

Luc, yours look much larger than mine and better flower forms with broader perianths

I agree the Chionodoxa cretica from HansA  is lovely.


 Tatsuo, is it not simply that your flowers are just openig while Luc's are fully developed?

[LucS]

 Tatsuo, is it not simply that your flowers are just openig while Luc's are fully developed?

Absolutely right Maggi.