Crocus March 2007

[hadacekf]

Thank you, Maggi and Thomas! As I both crocus saw was clear everything.
 It is wonderful , that we have the forum with outstanding experts. It was never so easy for a plant lover too receive a correct information. I would like to thank also the administrator of the forum for his perfect work.

[John Forrest]

Whilst we have got our experts at hand can you put a name to this Crocus which has just flowered from exchange seed under the name Crocus sp Slovenia. I think it is rather lovely and I'm sure I have seen something very similar posted but can't find it or remember what it was.

[Anthony Darby]

That looks like Crocus (vernus) heuffelianus Franz? (Sorry, I mean John) Here is Crocus heuffelianus 'Dark Eyes'. The second pic, taken without flash, is more its true colour. I think it is fabulous.

[Maggi Young]

Anthony, I think you mean Jof (John Forrest) not Franz, do you not?

[tonyg]

Jof - your lovely seedling is indeed C vernus vernus, the form with the dark v at the tips used to be called C heuffelianus or C scepusiensis (depending on whether there are hairs in the throat of the flower or not!  Scepusiensis has the hairs.)  Yours is a very short tubed form, I guess the mild bright weather has rushed it into flower - nice!  Crocus vernus has many synonyms, the local variations were once all given specific names.  Sometimes I think it would be nice to have individual names for the many variants - what heresy!

[Anthony Darby]

Michty me Maggi, maybe I should have another nickname: Seņior Moment?

[Armin]

You are progressing well, Armin.  The meadows of Franz and Thomas are an inspiration are they not?

Maggi, of course they are! Very beautiful and exciting.

[mark smyth]

Thomas do you get people stopping to view your collection? Franz is your garden visible to the public?

[Thomas Huber]

Yes Mark - as I live beneath the local park, I often have people
looking above the fence when the sun is shining. But when
the flowers are closed nobody realises them 

Franz, today I had an interesting discussion with a beautiful
young lady that made me unsure about my tommie ID's!
We'll try to clarify the problem and tell you the result later!

[John Forrest]

Anthony, you are forgiven. I have the same affliction from time to time.
Tony, thanks for the ID and I shall go and check whether it has a hairy throat but will name it C.vernus vernus I think.
Just been to check and it has got a hairy throat, if that means a little white 'FRILL' at the base.

[tonyg]

A few late-comers still looking good.

Crocus vernus vernus 'National Park' - A Ruksans selection, very dark flowers lit up a bit by the backlight from late sun

Crocus vernus vernus - form collected as seed in the Val d'Incles, Andorra.  (By me in 1996BC )

Crocus vernus vernus - 'Napolitanus' was the name appended when the seed was sown in 1992.  A small but very attractive form with slightly skinny flowers (Mark!)

Crocus minimus - late flowering form.  Appeared in flower yesterday, about 10 days behind the trade form

Crocus angustifolius 'Bronze Form' - the flower with the darker blotch is just 'younger' than the more feathered form which an earlier pic shows with the same intensity of colour as the flower opened.

[Anthony Darby]

Here is another view of Crocus rujanensis grown from SRGC seed (2002 catalogue no. 84) and what came up in a pot labelled Crocus gararicus herbertii (again, SRGC seed 2002 cat. no. 39).

[Thomas Huber]

Anthony, was it wild collected seed of gargaricus?
It grows together with biflorus ssp pulchricolor on
Ulu Dag in Turkey!

[hadacekf]

Mark, you ask if my garden is visible to the public. Sometimes! There are nearly no private gardens witch are visible to the public in Austria.

[Anthony Darby]

 Time will tell if it is the only rogue in the pot?
It was in the domestic part of the catalogue, so would have been home grown seed Thomas. It may be just a stray that has got into the batch?

Anthony, was it wild collected seed of gargaricus?
It grows together with biflorus ssp pulchricolor on
Ulu Dag in Turkey!